Eric pages to Dillan, Bloody Sky, Dusty, and Derrick: Derrick and Dusty are currently talking to the Get. You paged Dillan, Bloody Sky, Dusty, and Eric with 'We're just good at telepathy or something, so you can't hear us.'. The other two Gurahl appear, and make their way toward the trio. They have a short conversation with their third member and then the leader turns toward Dillan. He says nothing, watching the Garou for a reaction. Dillan hooboys. He takes a calming breath, then looks up (waaaay up) to the Gurahl. *Uh, homeboys went to talk to the Get.* He gulps, then continues. *And, well, thing is, we gotta go tag-team style to beat the wyrm-dancers.* Earthshaker doesn't seem the least bit bothered by Dillan's choice of words. *Do you believe the Get will fight alongside their long-time enemy to perform the task Gaia set them?* Dillan grins, a tad smug. *Not a problem. The Get aren't too bright. They needed to be aimed in the right direction.* He relaxes, gesturing with his thumb back towards the caern. *My packmates are straightening things out as we speak.* Earthershaker doesn't seem satisfied. *How do we know they will not attack us, instead?* Dillan smirks. *They may be dim-wits, but they're honor-bound. My packmates won't rest until they have the word of the Get.* *Where are we to meet?* asks the bear. Long distance to Dillan and Dusty: Derrick has visions of Derrick, Dusty, and the philo Get coming up to the caves after the bears have left to go fight. "Oh, no one home. Oh, well." Pardon me, I'm tired. Dillan rambles off the pre-arranged location the cubs worked out. *Cool?* *Then let us be off.* Dillan trudges off, taking the lead. Wisely enough, he remains in homid form - no sense in spooking the big nasty bear-thingies. He picks his way through the trees, eventually showing at teh meeting spot. Hammer-of-Justice and the other cubs arrive later than Dillan and the Gurahl. After a brief conversation (the Garou and Gurahl both seem to speak German and have no trouble communicating in their Homid forms), Crushes-The-Wyrm seems satisfied, and sends the pack's Galliard back for the other Garou. Bloody Sky and the other Gurahl keep close together. Though currently, they could take the four Get with little problem, they know that more are coming. Only Earthshaker seems unperturbed. Dusty lies down on the edge of the agreed clearing, watching the conversation. As it wraps up, he turns his head to look at his nearest packmate, relief radiating from him. Dillan grins, almost extatic that things have gone so good so far. He flashes a thumbs up to the other cubs, then as an afterthought, to the Gurahl as well. The Gurahl wait in silence. It's about a half hour before the Get arrive. Everyone but the Warder and the Guardian pack has turned out. Odinson looks the Gurahl over critically, ready to leap at them at a moment's notice. The moment here, Dusty stands and pads over to the two groups, seemingly ignoring the enmity between the two. It is time, and the sooner these....A disgusted snort expresses his thoughts better than words....are gone, the better. Dillan steps (foolishly, or is that obliviously?) between the Gurahl and Get. *Alright. We've got a crew of wyrm-dancers to clear out. Common foe sorta thing, here. My enemy's enemy is my friend. 'k?* Bloody Sky looks ready to return the favor. Earthshaker gives a subduing grunt that ends in a low growl. He then turns to Odinson and watches him with assessing eyes before Dillan's words draw his attention that way. Odinson speaks to Earthershaker in German, and the Gurahl replies. Another brief conversation ensues, while they work out specifics, and then he looks at Derrick. ~Your pack will deal with the fomori. We and the Gurahl will attack the Spirals. Understood?~ Derrick whurfs. Understood. Madeline is very full of nervous energy. Dusty's tail droops a bit, but he does not argue, and waits quietly for everyone else to move out. Dillan offers no complaints. He turns to the rest of his pack, "So good so far..." Once everyone is ready, the group sets off. It doesn't take long before they slow, shifting to more stealthy forms, and begin moving carefully toward the caves that the Spirals have taken as their home. For all their glory and bravery, the Get are no fools. They send their scouts out in advance, to make sure the Spirals haven't prepared any ambushes. A pair of sentries are discovered; one is killed, but the other escapes. Dillan shifts into Lupus form. Madeline shifts into Lupus form. The Garou do not give chase, being too far away from the remaining sentry to catch him before he reaches the caves. Instead, Odinson turns to the Gurahl and the visiting pack. ~Stay out of sight,~ he says. ~When they see us, they'll think they have us outnumbered and come out. If they see you as well, they'll know they can't win, and they'll run like the dogs they are. Wait until they're in the open, then spring them.~ He repeats the instructions in German for the bears. Sleek Black slinks off into the underbrush, keeping low to the ground. Understood, Odinson. He finds what's hopefully a hidden location, reaedy to pounce. Dusty disappears into the brush as well without comment, tryingg his best to hide vague disappointment. Derrick waits for the Gurahl, and then fades off as well. Odinson steps out of the the cover of the trees and begins advancing toward the caves. Already warned by their sentry, the Spirals are starting to spill from the mouths of the caves, the bleached fur of their twisted and deformed bodies showing up clearly against the darker land behind them. Odinson lifts his hammer over his head and calls out a challenge to the Spirals, insutling their lineage in the process. The Dancers, in return, jeer and taunt the Get that fan out to both sides of Odinson, as more and more appear from the caves. Fully a dozen emerge, and then the fomori begin to pile out. There are five or six of these, and then the Garou can see that some are closing from the left and right flanks as well. All in all, the Get seem outnumbered about two-to-one. Beneath the brush, Dusty watches, trembling slightly, his reserved demeanor gone, for once. Rage easily held in check, Sleek Black waits for the Gurahl to take the lead. Only the slightest quivering of anticipation marks the fact that he's waiting for battle. The Get spread out, thining their lines to keep them as wide as that of the enemy, giving the impression that they can't afford to let anything get through. The Wyrm creatures make some crude comments and gestures at pitifully small group that has come to attack them. With a fierce battle-cry, Odinson charges the lead Spiral, and the enemy begin to converge on him. Curiously, the other Get do not charge in. Derrick watches Madeline for their cue, impatiently. Madeline waits impatiently for the Get to move. She seems to grow less nervous as her instincts start to come alive. Sleek Black itches to leap into the fray, but takes heed of Odinson's instructions. He refuses to move unntil the Fomori and Spirals have all left cover - left the caves. He pokes his head over the cover of the foliage to grab a better view, a furtive glance cast towards the Gurahl. As Odinson closes to within ten feet of the Spirals, he issues a scream that sets everyone's hair on end. The ground itself seems to echo his call, and every last Spiral is knocked to its feet. Before they have a chance get up, his hammer comes down on one Spiral's head. A thunderclap comes down from above, heralding the death of the first Betrayer. The remaining nine Get give a cheer and charge in, and the battle begins in full. Madeline bursts forward slightly behind the Get, shifting into War Form, and charging towards the first Fomori to cross her path. She seems to move with surefooted experience, the battlefield her element. Asd Madeline moves, Dusty doesn't wait any longer. He lets his warform slam, Rage-driven, up out of the brush before charging another Fomori. Sleek Black summons what rage was granted him by luna; lupus one moment - crinos the next. He bursts from cover, circling to block one of the flanks as best he can by himself, a fomor singled out to feel the wrath of a garou in warform. With a howl, he joins the fray. The Gurahl have not yet appeared when Madeline leaves her hiding place. The Get, now too involved in the fight, don't notice her either. With a sigh that's clearly audible by those nearest him, Earthshaker lumbers to his feet and shifts upward into his warform. As he begins wading into the melee, the other two bears follow suit. Earthshaker bursts from his place in the brush. His form grows to that of a twenty-two foot humanoid bear, a bellowing roar coming from his chest that seems to rock the very earth to its foundations. The other two Gurahl also shift to crinos and attack from their points closer to the cave, so that the bears make a three-pronged attack on the battleground. Bloody Sky picks up a Spiral and shakes it like a toy, bellowing in its face. Two other crinos attack his lower body, but he ignores them in the heat of his rage. Broken Stone is likewise engaged. Derrick snarls, and bursts from cover, giving into the warform with a rage aided impact. He dives onto the nearest Fomor gleefully. At first, many of the Spirals don't notice the sudden change in the odds, so engaged are they in their battle with the Get. Madeline manages to take down one fomor before it even knows she's behind it. As realization begins to dawn on the Wyrmspawn, two of the fomori break and run. The Spirals are either too lost in their own Rage, or simply too insane to try and run. The remaining fomori continue to fight beside their masters. Madeline shifts into Crinos form. Sleek Black shifts into Crinos form. Dusty shifts into Crinos form. Eric pages everyone: OK, there were nine fomori total. One is dead, leaving eight for you guys to handle. Two of those eight are running, six are fighting. Each of you page me (not Quiet) what you intend to do, if you're spending any Rage, etc etc. Madeline calls out to her pack, ~Stop their escape! Let not one Wyrm Creatuere leave this place alive!~ She is in the thick of the battle herself, and concentrates on the six nearer to her, assuming her words will be heard. You shift into Crinos form. Sleek Black's already on it before Madeline's words leave her lips. With rage-borne speed, he's after the cowardly spawn of the wyrm, claws readied, a strike poised to rake down their backs. Dusty, also in the thick of battle, leaps at another fomor, claws bared. As he does so, a golden glow begins to coalesce around him, and he howls a curious-sounding warsong. The battle continues to rage in a bloody, confusing cacophany of images. Calls-The-Moon falls early, her death avenged by Crushes-The-Wyrm's bloody claws before her lungs give out her final breath. Odinson has seemingly disappeared under a mass of Dancer bodies, but loud curses and joyful callings of 'Modi!' proclaim the alpha still lives yet. Bloody Sky staggers as the black tip of a horn protrudes through his lower stomach, the crinosed Spiral on his backside having rammed him like a bull. Broken Stone fights to the ahroun's side and rips the Dancer like a wishbone, flinging the parts away like so much rubbish. Earthshaker has waded into the center of the battle, mauling any Dancer that seeks to oppose him. The eldest bear's flanks and back bleed from multiple wounds. Derrick whips his head around at Maddy's cry and snarls. He launches himself after the fleeing Wyrmspawn, reflexively. Dillan's claws rake down one fomor's back. The creature stumbles and falls foward, but isn't dead. Derrick takes off after the other, which was running in a different direction. His faster form allows him to close the distance - slowly - with the creature, but it still has a good lead on him. Dusty sinks his claws into the fomor he's fighting as the thing turns on him. Its body is covered in spikes that range from three inches to nearly a foot long, and while the Child of Gaia's claws score on it, the thing manages to get one spike into Dusty's stomach. Madeline's second kill is going to come a lot harder than her first. This fomor bears a hard exoskeleton that seems impervious to her claws. Dusty's howled song turns into a cry of pain, and from there into a snarl. The Gaian's claws scramble for a hold on those wicked spikes, his furry fingers seeking to grab onto the appendages and swing the fomor into another behind him. As Madeline's claws seem to do little of impact on this Fomor, she shifts into the mighty Hispo form, hoping that the jaws can break through the exoskeleton. Madeline shifts into Hispo form. Dante shifts into Crinos form. Laughing-Coyote picks a random fomor not being attacked by anyone else, and leaps up... over, and apparently above it, then striking with at it with his claws as he flies by. Rose's gymnastics lessons have obviously paid off for the tiny, scrwany crinos. Dusty manages to grab a hold of the fomor, but it holds onto him tightly as he swings it around, driving its spikes deep into his arms and hands. The other fomor is knocked over, but immediately begins getting back up. Dillan finishes off the one he'd already knocked down and then looks for a new target, while Derrick finishes closing the distance with his target and leaps at it. The fomor never even sees the attack coming, and falls under the Silver Fang's claws. Coyote's attack looks wonderful, but being in mid-air gives him very little leverage, and his claws do nothing but bring out shallow gashes in the fomor as he sails past. The armored fomor grabs Madeline's head as she shifts into Hispo, driving his fingers into her eyes as she bites down on his leg. The enermous jaws shatter the skeleton beneath them, but the Ahroun is now blind. As the pain washes over her, her form shimmers and a golden yellow radiance surrounds her. The remaining two fomori that hadn't been engaged by anyone choose to attack the blinded Hispo. Derrick growls at the fallen Fomor, then whirls around and looks for more things to go after. Seeing the two Fomor closing in on Madeline, he heads thattaway, rage speeding his advance. Laughing-Coyote snarls something about that not working very well, and wheels, striking low this time, claws and jaws going after any available enemy hamstrings. Madeline howls in pain, as she loses her sight. She doesn't back out of the combat yet, however, hoping the stench of her enemies will be enough. Dusty resumes his warsong, fighting to his own rhythm that attempts to carry itself ot the other cubs. Keeping his hold on the spiked fomor, he drives a vicious set of claws into its throat, trying to rip it out. The Get and Gurahl continue their own battle, fully absorbed in the dance of dealing and receiving death. Two more thunderclaps ring out, to a renewed cry of ~Modi!~ among the Garou. Sings-The-Deeds howls out a joyous battle cry as he and Crushes-The-Wyrm fight side-by-side, Tallpuller and Calls-The-Moon dead among the Dancers at their feet. On the other side of the battle, Earthshaker fights with two children of Green Dragon, his fur scorched and blackened as he strikes with the strength of his rage. Bloody Sky and Broken Stone fight back-to-back as they are surrounded by a ring of Dancers, the Gurahl claws causing a plethora of wounds in their attackers. Finally, one Dancer roars for the others to fall back. They do so. The wart-skinned crinos smiles, a twisting of teeth and malformed lips. Green fire forms between his paws and he flings the sickening green ball at Bloody Sky. The Gurahl roars in agony, the mutating green flames licking his chest and hide. Laughing-Coyote steels himself against pain. Sleek Black notices Derrick's got the other Fomor well under control, and turns back to the main fray. With a quick pause to catch his breath, the Crinos Shadow Lord heads for the nearest Gurahl, seeking to pick off the easy targets that attack it from behind. Dusty's latest attack proves to be much more effective; his hand drives through the thing's throat and comes out the back of its neck. he suffers only incidental wounds in the process, protected as he is by Luna's Gift. Madeline and her fomor continue to fight, blind Hispo against the crippled fomor. With only one leg, it chooses to stay and fight, driving its own claws through the Silver Fang's back before she crushes its throat in her jaws. Dante and Derrick turn and run back toward the melee to help their packmates. Dante's second attack also proves to be more effective, cutting the fomor open to the bone. The thing screams in pain and then dissolves into a pool of sludge. The remaining two fomori reach Madeline. One begins biting while the other attacks with a silver blade. Again, fortunately for her, the golden glow surrounding her seems to protect her from the worst of the damage. Dusty turns and throws the crushed windpipe in a random direction, lost as he is in his own song as he fights on. He turns to the one he just knocked down, more careful not to tackle it this time. Madeline pulls herself up into Crinos and enters into a desperate, rage-fueled attempt to defend herself, dancing the edge between sanity and frenzy. She begins to add the glow of Lambent Flame to her already luminescent armor, in attempt to even out the sight difficulties somewhat. Bloody Sky's roar dissolves into a pitiful growl, his mighty front legs shrinking and twisting until they curl uselessly next to his body. The Gurahl goes down under three Spirals as Broken Stone leaves his side to wipe out the balefire-throwing Dancer. Sleek Black easily lands on the top one of these, his teeth sinking into the toughened orangish skin of the Dancer. Blue pus drips between the Lord's teeth as some of the warts break. Laughing-Coyote now leaps after one of the fomor attacking Maddy, starting low, and then rising up to strike between its legs, and through any genetalia it may have. Derrick dives at the Fomor with the silver blade, hurling imprecations as he does so. Sleek Black grabs the spiral with clawed hands, a 'spitooey' marking his complete lack of desire to bite the wyrmy-pussbucket any further. From his position on the creature's back, the theurge tries to use his leverage to introduce the wyrm-dancer's head to the ground, at high velocity, preferably. Probably not the most efficient of tactics, though. Coyote hits his target from behind, as the thing continues to bite at Madeline. The female Crinos lashes out blindly, literally, hitting both the fomor and the Child of Gaia. The bladed fomor turns away from the near-frenzied Ahroun to attack the other Silver Fang, and the two begin a deadly dance of dodge-the-silver-blade. Dusty, now concentrating on a single enemy, has a much easier time. The fomor's hands extend until they're the size of Crinos claws, but it still doesn't have the mass or height of the Garou it's facing. Laughing-Coyote snarls, upset more at the _idea_ of being hit that anything else. Derrick growls, ~I knew I should've taken fencing lessons,~ as he tries to find an opening. More thunderclaps come from behind, but the battle cries are weaker as Garou on both sides drop, dead or dying. Odinson becomes visible, his entire body wreathed in flames. The flames make the silver hammer glow, until the pure-bred alpha indeed seems the son of the gods. Earthshaker crushes the last of his attackers with a final paw-swipe, almost at the same time that Broken Stone takes on the Elder Spiral. Sleek Black indeed distracts the one Dancer he has closed with, struggling to slam the orange-hided monstrocity's head into the ground, but the other two have no such worries. One tears Bloody Sky's throat out with a gleeful howl of victory. The life leaves the Gurahl's eyes, seeping with his blood into the earth bellow. The final crinos, cheated of the death of the Gurahl, decides to help her tribemate with the Shadow Lord. Her twisted knife stabs deep into Sleek Black's unprotected side. The theurge raises his head in pain, just as a silvery shadow coats his form and sinks into his fur. Dusty decides that his previous tactic was quite effective and tries it again, one clawed hand grabbing for the other's arm as the other seeks a opening to rip out the Wyrmspawn's throat. He never drops the rhythm his own singing creates, and it seems to carry him to some other time and place. Laughing-Coyote continues moving upward on the fomor he is under, mostly oblivious to his wound, biting and clawing his way through it. Madeline continues her attack, until the enemy drops or she does. Laughing-Coyote snarls at Maddy to watch where she's clawing. Madeline's claws continue to do damage, both to the fomor and to Coyote. Between the two of them, the thing does drop. However, the now-frenzied Ahroun doesn't cease her attacks, still sensing motion nearby. Dante is hit again, and a warm, protective glow - similar to Dusty's - forms around him. Dusty blurs in with the force of Rage, one hand reaching out to grab the fomor's while his other attempts to throat it. The thing is on the defensive now, however, and rather than attack Dante, it uses its free hand to deflect the blow, saving its life. Derrick tries a similar ploy, trying to grab the knife arm of the fomor armed with silver. The fomor is better trained in the use of blades than the Silver Fang is in defending against them, however, and it plunges the blade into his stomach; his silver fur goes red as the blade sinks in. His free hand slashes out at the beast's unprotected throat, killing it, and their bloods mix together. Faced with two attackers, the Shadow Lord tries to neutralize one before concentrating on the other. He shifts his crinos bulk to try and pin the wounded puss-spiral beneath him, knees set to keep it pressed to the ground below. Weathering attacks from the other spiral until now, he finally twists his torso, aiming to knock the knife or (preferably) the spiral's hands to the next realm. Dusty's warsong takes on a note of frustration as he misses, and uses the awkward positioning of his opponent's free hand to try again. Laughing-Coyote decides this is the wrong side of Madeline to be on, and looks for fomor to attack that aren't about to be cleaved by the ahroun cuisinart. The only fomor left standing is the one Dusty is holding. Derrick pants, takes the klaive out of his gut, and dives at the back of Dusty's fomor with it. Laughing-Coyote leaps over Madeline, using her as leaverage and goes after the legs of the fomor the others are attacking. The last fomor dies quickly under the claws of three Garou. With a quick glance around the battlefield, they confirm that all the fomori are dead. Laughing-Coyote looks for more bad guys. Derrick heads for Dillan's Spirals. The last struggles of the other fight continue in the background, Broken Stone and the Elder Dancer the only two still fighting at full volume. One of Odinson's foes breaks and runs; the ahroun flings his hammer after the craven Garou, striking it dead from behind. The air echoes with another thunderclap as the hammer flies back to the blood-stained alpha. Sleek Black manages to stay on the back of the bucking, twisting Spiral, but its movements effectively keep it from doing anything effective to the second Dancer. The third has finished gorging the eyes out of the dead and deformed Gurahl and turns to attack the Shadow Lord with his packmates. Sleek Black is hit from two sides. The bucking motion--or just a poor hit--does save him from another gut wound from the knife but the claw attack on the other side does catch him at full strength. Bloody furrows track through his black fur. Laughing-Coyote leaps for the legs of the BSD which has just turned on Dillan, flying at it's hamstrings with claws and shining, bloody teeth exposed. Madeline comes to her senses as the battle around her fades. The pain and realization of her injuries start to set in, and she puts a paw up to her bloody eyes in a bit of shock. The Shadow Lord doesn't flee the battle, his claws sinking deeper into the wart-covered crinos as he tries to use the bucking crinos beneath him to dodge the attack of the gurahl killer's claws. He manages this, only getting scored shallowly by the Spiral's lashing attack, but again, the second Spiral gets him. Discounted, the Spiral plunges her knife into his shoulder. It strikes bone and snaps, leaving the tip of the fetish in the theurge's shoulder. Odinson sees the odds against the visitor, even as Derrick and Dante plunge toward their packmate. His hammer whistles through the air to strike the clawing Garou's skull even as Dante hits it low. Derrick goes for the female, who is looking at her broken knife with a growing rage. Dillan, bleeding from multiple wounds, is thrown off by the struggling crinos. Sleek Black uhm, flees. Not too much else to say there. Dusty turns in time to see his packmates' predicament in the raging battle, and takes a moment to study the scene before leaping in. Laughing-Coyote growls, snarls, snaps and leaps after the remaining standing BSD, his rage allowing him to both bite at her legs, and claw up at her crotch. Derrick proceeds to try and stab the female Spiral in the back. Madeline stays in her pool of blood, both her's and her victims', hands covering her eyes. Broken Stone finally triumphs over the BSD Elder, crushing its head under his lamed forepaw like a grape. Brains seep out and join the blood on the battle-scarred soil. Sleek Black staggers a little way, moving with difficulty because of his heavy wounds. The warty-skinned Dancer he was sitting on stands, turns to take in the fight, and flees. Two of the Get left standing, which had been moving toward the fight, give chase. Coyote gets a good jawgrip on the lower legs of the Dancer, only to feel himself being lifted in the air by his hold. Earthshaker has come up from behind and is lifting the Dancer like a toy, his silence even more grim than his earlier bellows. Derrick's knife is a little awkward, being small for his crinosed hands, but it does penetrate the female Dancer's back. She rounds on him, snarling, then pauses in apparent fear. Dusty's warsong fades as he sees that his packmates and companions have the battle more or less taken care of. With a soft snarl, he shifts down to homid and drops to his knees next to Madeline. Dusty shifts into Homid form. Sleek Black manages, much to his surprise and delight, to drag most of himself away from the brawl. Despite the brutal wounds lining his sides, his insides stay on the inside, silently dragging himself away. The Shadow Lord refuses to dignify the spirals with any further howls of pain. Heedless of the blood and noise and bodies around him, Dusty lays a hand on his female packmate's shoulder. "Madeline. Look at me." Madeline turns her head towards Dusty, and removes a bloody paw from one eye. ~Can't see.~ Dusty nods to himself, but doesn't comment, only pulling the Crinos' hand from her other eye and laying one hand across both ruined eyes. He murmurs a few words softly to himself, a tune to go with them, as he concentrates. Laughing-Coyote drops off as soon as he feels himself raise in the air, then peers around to check for more bad guys. Derrick, seeing the Spiral is distracted and all, takes a swipe at her neck. Laughing-Coyote's long crinos legs stride over to Dillan. Broken Stone grinds the Dancer's head into mush before looking up. His muzzle and visage is a bloody mask, half of the flesh covering his huge teeth ripped away. He turns to back up Derrick, his eyes locked on the Dancer. She drops her knife and half-turns. As she does, Derrick lashes the knife out again. This blow catches her in the throat, a spray of blood bathing the Silver Fang as he completes the attack. The blood sizzles and burns where it lands on his silver fur. Knowing her death stroke, the crinos reaches out to grapple Derrick in a bear hug, seeking to take him with her. Her blood-flecked teeth are still bared in a contorted snarl. Meanwhile, Earthshaker has completely hoisted the last Dancer alive to his full height. Coyote falls to the ground heavily. As he pauses, panting, some of the wounds on his form begin to close. Seeing the ragabash fall, Earthshaker hurls the Dancer against the ground. Over and over he pounds her into the bloody soil next to Bloody Sky's twisted body. Her bones crack, then splinter, until her form is as limp as a rag doll. Dusty's hand glows a pale gold, barely noticeable under the press of battle as he concentrates, using his soft song to aid him. Derrick drops in his attempt to get away, scrambling hastily from the acid-blooded thing. Her bloody hands grasp him, then lose their grip, trailing away in death. She falls, and does not move again. Laughing-Coyote moves over to Dillan, helping him scoop his intestines into what remains of his belly. Sleek Black doesn't notice anything, intent on reaching the woods, fleeing the corruption and destruction around him. Slowly, ever so slowly, he drags himself away from the taint that surrounds the battlefield. Derrick reaches his feet, and looks around wildly. Madeline blinks after a while, her eyes restored. She's still a bit mentally woozy after all of this, though. Dusty stands slowly when he is done, to survey what is left of the battleground, dead and survivors bothy of the Gurahl and the Get. Laughing-Coyote's small claw holds onto Dillan, mumbling, ~Great Spirit, and Mother Gaia, please heal your warrior through me.~ The Get begin to regroup once the enemy have all been slain. They begin to gather the bodies, Wyrm creatures in one pile, Garou brethen in another, neater one. Odinson oversees the gathering as a Theurge prepares to do a Rite of Cleansing over the tainted corpses. Bloody Sky lowers his beaten, bloody head to Derrick. He whuffs, once, then lumbers past toward the dead body of his fellow Gurahl. Earthshaker finally drops the dead Dancer and also turns toward Bloody Sky. The two begin to pace around the body, knocking away the Spiral corpses with heavy swipes. Laughing-Coyote lets the healing glow flow from him, healing the Shadow Lord, and then turns back to the other happenings. Derrick winces, and curls around his gut wound slightly. He hesitantly tries to help to remove Spiral corpses from around the Gurahl. Laughing-Coyote attempts to help the Get gather corpses, his obvious distaste showing. Dusty moves to help as well, glancing back only once at Madeline, and grumbles under his breath as the Spirals' pus and acidic blood get into the bloody punctures that coat his hands and arms, and the one in his ribs. Laughing-Coyote says, ~Whispersong? Can you heal again?~ Bloody Sky and Earthshaker say nothing to the cubs as they pull the corpses further away, but they do widen the circle. Now they raise their voices in song, the harsh syllables of the Gurahl language piercing through the babble of the nearby Garou. Name Sex Form Doing ---------------------------------------------------------------------- Laughing-Coyote M Crinos 2 levels down, helping others first :) Dusty M Homid - Derrick M Crinos Five down, and lllloving it. Eric M Homid - Bloody Sky M Homid - Madeline F Crinos - Dusty looks up as he hears his name, then over at Laughing-Coyote, and shifts to Crinos to better manage a reply. Dusty shifts into Crinos form. Once the corpses have been placed in a pile, the Garou begin performing a Rite of Cleansing over them. At the end of the Rite, the Theurge throws a torch into the pile of bodies, and the stench of burning flesh and hair rises on the wind. Dusty growls softly as he finishes his work, then turns to Laughing-Coyote. ~I can, I think. Is there someone else?~ He takes a deep breath to steel himself as he gets an untimely whiff of the flames' stench. Laughing-Coyote points at Derrick. ~Falconwing.~ Derrick, ignorant of Gurahl language, leaves the bears to their mourning chant. Cocking his head at Dusty's question, he manages, ~Me...~ Derrick gives in to his impulses and belts a mournful howl. He then backs up out of the circle, unwilling to cause more offense. Dusty turns again, to study Derrick's wounds a little more closely, his verbal comment falling silent as the words of a song come to his lips. Laughing-Coyote follows Dusty over there, again whispering his prayer, as he heals Dusty as Dusty heals Derrick. As the Rite of Cleansing is concluded, Odinson makes his way over to the visitors. ~Everyone survived, I see.~ The Get is covered in blood, most of which is not his own. The hammer, now hanging from his belt, is equally stained. l Laughing-Coyote looks to Odinson. ~Thanks to the blessings of Gaia, and the mighty skills of our hosts, as well as the bears.~ Minutes pass, but the Gurahl continue to call and dance. Their motions are strangely formalized and, for the form, elaborate. Both seem to be beyond their own pains and move without hinderance, the only hitch Broken Stone's long-lame paw. They ignore the approaching Get alpha as much as they had the mixed pack of Wheel Garou. Dusty turns at the voice, the song dying on his lips as the glow fades from his clawed hands. ~Of us? Perhaps. Your courage and honor does us honor as well.~ Madeline looks around, still registering what's happened. ~Now what?~ Odinson nods once to Dusty, and turns to look at Madeline. ~And how is the warrior doing?~ Madeline grins wolfishly. ~Killed three.~ Derrick straightens somewhat as he is healed. ~My thanks for aiding in the fight, sir.~ Odinson nods once as he approaches Madeline. Then he draws his arm back and backhands her across the face. ~You jumped out before your time. You could have given your entire group away and had the Spirals running because of your impatience.~ Madeline doesn't have the strength left in her for another struggle just now. She sighs, and nods. ~Yes, Odinson-rhya.~ Laughing-Coyote kind of smirks, glad someone finally smacked Maddy and got away with it. Odinson turns back, that lesson completed, and looks at Derrick. ~And the Shadow Lord deserves similar treatment for charging the Dancers when your role was clearly to kill the fomori. But he looks like a slap might kill him. I'll trust you to show him his error when he's hale.~ Derrick nods, firmly. ~He has never been one to take orders well. He will be... reminded.~ Dusty sighs as Odinson backhands Maddy, but does not argue either, listening silently. Odinson nods. ~Good. Otherwise, you all did well. Your names shall be remembered at this battle.~ His gaze slides over to the two bears. ~As will those of our latest allies.~ Derrick restrains a grin. Dusty nods to Odinson again, and says quietly, ~And yours as well, if I have anything to do with it.~ The bears' ritual approaches a climax, the pair of crinos standing to their full heights and bellowing to the sky. The smoke from the burning corpses bellows around them in choking waves. Gradually, it begins to coalesce into a shape. Dark pits for eyes hang ten feet off the ground, and the smoke billows as if it were muscles flexed under an enormous coat. Laughing-Coyote shifts into Lupus form. Derrick stares in some awe. Laughing-Coyote stands there, waiting, shifting from paw to paw, unsure what to do now. Odinson turns at the sounds of the bears calling, and mutters an exclamation in some unknown language. The other Get react similarly, some looking ready to begin the fight anew. Derrick asks, ~Why are you reacting in that manner?~ Odinson's hand closes over the handle of his hammer, but he doesn't draw it. ~I wait to see what happens next.~ Dusty looks around the battlefield, from the angry Garou to the rapt Gurahl, and drops to his breed form and to one knee. He mutters in his native English, wearily, "Haven't you all had enough ass-kicking for one day?" Bloody Sky backs off, eyes on the ghostly bear. The smoke image turns its massive head to look at Earthshaker, who stands protectively over Bloody Sky's twisted form. The spirit nods, once, and the eldest of the bears steps forward. The pair circle, Earthshaker and spirit, tensed in anticipation. Derrick starts to say something, but instead gapes in renewed interest at the bear-spirit. Laughing-Coyote quietly watches. Earthshaker strikes first, claws already bloodied in fighting Dancers scoring for the spirit's right shoulder. The smoke image eludes him and soon closes in for close combat. The fight between the two bears is nearly silent, except for Earthshaker's grunts and growls, but the display of power is humbling. Earthshaker is thrown, felling a pine on the edge of the clearing near the caves, but he again enters the fray. The old bear's coat bleeds from new wounds inflicted by ghostly claws, and reopened injuries taken from the Dancers. But finally, the theurge prevails. The ghost bear backs up and bows the front part of his body. He shambles to Bloody Sky's broken form and leans down. It breathes on his face, and the dead Gurahl twitches. The malformed limbs lengthen and become again normal, though the wounds on Bloody Sky's coat do not heal. The bear continues to breathe, not yet opening his eyes. The smoke bear takes a step back, then drifts away in a breeze. Laughing-Coyote sits back on his haunches, having this odd feeling that all hell is about to break loose. Sleek Black sorta sits around, being dazed and hurt and stuff. Dusty contorts and blurs as he is transformed. Dusty shifts into Homid form. Derrick stares at Bloody Sky. ~Wow.~ The two Get that had chased the last Spiral come back in time to see this, another head at the lead one's belt. Both halt, jaws dropped. Dusty stares as well, shivering faintly. Laughing-Coyote whimpers quietly. Odinson stares in surprise as the dead Gurahl comes back to life. Surprise which quickly turns to outrage. ~You use your foul Rites to call the dead back? This is how you use the power Gaia has given you?~ His voice rises with every question, his fur bristling. ~We should have destroyed you when we had the chance.~ Another Get chimes in, ~They're like vampires, dead and not dead!~ With a howl, Odinson leaps forward, once again drawing his hammer. At his signal, the other Get charge the wounded Gurahl as well. Laughing-Coyote says, succinctly, ~Oh, shit.~ Madeline watches the Get streak by her, a bit at a loss. Dusty rubs at his face sadly as he watches the battle renew. "Some people just don't learn, do they?" Bloody Sky continues to breathe with his eyes shut, unconscious, but not dead any longer. Earthshaker is taken by surprise by the attack, bowled over by Odinson and the Get that follow him. Broken Stone bellows in impotent fury, then wades in to fight. Bloody Sky continues to simply breathe, Broken Stone fighting for both of them. Sleek Black's with Madeline on this one. He's got no clue what just happened, let alone what pissed Odinson off. ~You'd think they'd be sick of fighting... er, nevermind, they're Get.~ The Shadow Lord falls to his haunches, crouching, and shakes his head. He knows full well his pack can't stop the Get physically, and the time for words has passed. Derrick says, ~What the _hell_...~ He yells, ~They're NOT WYRM. WHY FIGHT THEM??~ As the Garou ponder what to do next, the scene begins to fade around them. The images of the Get and Gurahl become ghostly. Derrick's last scream fades away with the battling figures, and the group finds itself surrounded by darkness. Darkness and silence. And then, they're in the Penumbra of the woods they know well: the woods of home. Madeline frowns. ~Nothing we can do. Stand back, and see who is standing later.~ Laughing-Coyote shakes his head and blinks, blinks blinks. Dusty blinks, then stop, and looks around. "Hey." Derrick readies for a leap, and then blinks. ~Uh, maybe not.~ Laughing-Coyote shifts into Homid form. Madeline says, ~What the hell happened?~ Sleek Black flops. ~I'm too old for this.~ Dante says "Important Lesson." Derrick uhhs. ~Apparently, we did what we came for. Or something. Fucking Get.~ Madeline shrugs. ~Who cares? We must've passed!~ Dusty shrugs, looking around his companions. "There are some people that are just too dumb to live." He leaves his sad commentary at that, studying Dillan's wounds without another word. Dante looks at Madeline, considering the joy of beating her with the pain of her kicking his ass. Dante shrugs, shakes his head and sits down. "So, should we go home?" Derrick eyes Dante. ~Not now, chief. I think we go home, now. To _bed_. And then get interrogated by our Elders.~ Sleek Black, prone on his back, crinos in the middle of Wolf Woods and looking like he's too tired to care, sides with Derrick. ~Fucking Get is right. What a bunch of dorks.~ Dante says "You know, it isn't just Get who are assholes, you know." Dante says "Remember that." Dante says "Well, I'm going back into the real world. Are we coming?" Derrick nods. ~We's amovin'.~ Madeline nods. Dusty kneels down next to Dillan, extracting from his belt an almost forgotten bandanna. Hat still miraculously topping his head, Sleek Black props himself up on his elbows. He lifts a brow at Dusty, grunting at him. Dusty tilts his head, looks at the crushed remnants of what he had gathered earlier, and sighs. "Later, if you can make it back." Sleek Black grunts again, nodding. He's given up on speech for now apparantly. He slips down into lupus and pads away, caern-wards. Derrick follows Dillan. You shift into Lupus form. Dante shifts into Lupus form. Dusty follows Dillan as well, shifting down to lupus after his homid feet get tired. Madeline moves tiredly back towards the farmhouse, and a well-earned rest. Madeline shifts into Lupus form. Laughing-Coyote leaps ahead of both of them, prancing towards the caern.