newham territory claim (25th - 27th ~and beyond~)

[ghoulaid]

As with most things involving werewolves (or just Ghoul in general), it happens fast and without much warning. Tensions between wolves and vampires have been high lately- there have been a number of small spats throughout the month, but nothing particularly noteworthy or lasting happens.

The 25th seems to be a day like any other, until night falls. It starts small, with a handful of wolves deciding to strut their way around Newham like they own the place. The pack has been feeling stable and stronger lately, and the wolves themselves are ornery. Why not take back what's theirs?

Word spreads quickly, and by the 26th, the wolves have committed to a full-blown invasion. It's when the fighting begins in earnest, and each side takes turns rapidly gaining and losing ground. The standoff continues in to the 27th, with neither group able to make their claim stick. Newham is a lawless mess, unsafe for either faction as violence continues to escalate. No one seems to find surrendering an option. There's no telling how long this will last, or how much damage Newham will suffer for it.

Comments

[cabins]

26th-27th

This was probably a terrible idea to be here, but what sort of leader stood behind the walls while they let their subjects fight. But Laura had plans, and part of those plans was working hard on an anti-vampire initiative. She wants to prove to her Alpha that she's trustworthy, that she knows what she's doing. Not to mention, Ghoul was a great kid and she wanted to support the individuals in the pack as much as the pack as a whole.

Still, Laura isn't necessarily in the thick of the fighting. She can't change at will, and let's face it, she's a middle-aged woman who grew up using magic rather than her fists. She hangs back, just a bit, helping care for the wounded where she can, marking out safe spaces for pack.

She stays all night, offering her support where she can. By the time the sun rises on the 27th, and Laura surveys the damage, she knows they're not done here. They don't have Newham. But, more importantly: neither do the Vampires.

ayy 27th

[ghoulaid]

Ghoul can't change outside the full moon either, but that's not stopping him. He's in the pit where he belongs, and at times, he really pays for it. This time, it's in pursuit of a willowy vampire. The sun is set to rise at any moment, so there's an element of desperation in the chase, but otherwise it's a fair 1-v-1. At least until a second vampire pounces him from behind; two against one has the potential to get very messy very quickly, but both vampires seem focused on escaping rather than fighting.

It's kind of a shame. Hitting the pavement like that has busted Ghoul's face wide open, and he'd like to take it out on someone. He picks himself up after too long of a delay, scuttling around a corner in whatever direction he supposes they've gone in, smeared with his own blood and looking like he's about to tear someone a new asshole-

And he finds Laura. Which is fine, even though means his vampires definitely haven't been over here. "Fuck." He can't exactly track them by scent with blood gushing out of his nose- and speaking of which, he sniffs, reaching up to wipe at his face so he can greet her properly. "Hey, lady." He grins at her, his teeth red from bleeding in his own mouth. "You doin' okay?"

That's an interesting question, considering...

[cabins]

A little blood never scared Laura- she would have made a very poor woman indeed if that were the case- but Ghoul's absolute casual greeting is something else. She takes a moment, processing it all.

And once she has... "Far better than you." She smiles just the tiniest. "Are you here to get cleaned up?"

[ghoulaid]

"M'good," is what he mumbles against his forearm as he drags it across his face, sniffling grossly a couple more times. Because if he sucks hard enough the blood will stay in his body, right?

He's here to shred a couple of already-dead assholes in to meat ribbons, actually, which is the exact opposite of cleaning up. But that won't be happening any time soon. No doubt they're long gone by now, so Ghoul exhales loudly through his mouth. Might as well wipe off on something instead of himself, if he's here anyway. "Y'got a tissue handy?" Yes. A tissue. Just one.

[cabins]

"Just a tissue." Laura looks at him without batting an eye, and immediately hands him an entire box of tissues.

"Tilt your head back a bit, that'll help stop the blood." She's already pulling on rubber gloves.

[ghoulaid]

"Yeah, just- oh, 'kay." That sure is a whole box. "I meant, y'know, like, one piece of tissue, not one box." It's fine. It's a little awkward, tilting his head back and leaving smudges all over the box as he yanks a few tissues free, but he's talented, he's got this.

His head quickly lowers again once he recognizes the snap of rubber gloves. "Whoa, let's not get serious here." It's only a wrecked face, gosh.

[cabins]

"Take the box," she tells him, and gestures for him to have a seat on her chair.

"It's a safety precaution. I think both of us would rather I touch your bloody face with gloves on." Seriously, it looked like he had a nasty gash across the top of his nose from what she could see through the blood and the tissue.

[ghoulaid]

A chair is nice. Maybe he deserves to sit for a minute. He's been running around practically nonstop for days, so he drops down in to the seat without a fuss, letting the box rest in his lap. "You're gonna touch it?" Ghoul grimaces, though the expression is mostly hidden due to his hands and the tissues he's got crammed against his face.

"It's gonna be fine, for real." Even if it's broken, it'll heal. Nothing to fuss over. No reason to poke at it. It's okay, and it hurts, so obviously it's best to leave it alone.

His logic is sound, which is why he will absolutely lean away like a difficult child whenever she reaches out to touch him.

[cabins]

She reaches for his hands, trying to lower them from his face. When Ghoul leans away, she sighs. "Do you want this to get infected? You could lose your entire nose." In a severe case, sure.

And if that doesn't work... "And if you let me do it, I'll give you some candy."

26th

[thelastjoy]

Girl's not doing much fighting either, other than an odd sucker punch as she weaves through the crowd. She's not here to get more blood on her hands. It's pack business and none of her reservations were strong enough to keep her away.

She slides to Laura's side in the middle of the night, walking up skittish and wincing sympathetically at the poor soul Laura's trying to tend to. She offers antiseptic wipes from her back pack. "Emptied a bunch of first aid kits. Figured we could use it."

[cabins]

The first thing Laura wants to do is scold Girl for being here. She shouldn't be- she's far too young to see this sort of carnage. Laura's hardly a seasoned veteran, though she is First Aid and CPR trained. A lot of these wounds, unfortunately, are way above her pay-grade, and those wolves were sent on to the actual doctors and nurses amongst them. Those with cuts and scrapes, nothing more than a few stitches wouldn't fix, Laura was capable of aiding.

But instead of scolding her, she takes the wipes from her. "Thank you. That was incredibly smart of you." Looting for first aid. She knew some were looting for money and other valuables.

"Stay here- if you don't mind." She glances up over the top of her glasses toward Girl. "I'd like to talk with you." The scolding will at least be private.

[thelastjoy]

She shrugs off the compliment, heat rising up the back of her neck. It was what little she felt she could contribute, given the circumstances. Some part of her had hoped, childishly and foolishly, that showing some initiative would be enough to prove her place here. That she wouldn't be told to go home. From the tone Laura takes with her, Girl is sure she's missed the mark.

It's tempting to run off. There's enough chaos Girl thinks she could slip away unnoticed. But she kneels to help Laura instead, eyes focused on the patient.

"I don't plan on leavin' 'til it's over," she says, talking more about the fighting than sticking to Laura's side. She nods anyway. She can take getting yelled at, even if her lips curl in disgust as the thought. "So just tell me what you need me to do here."

She opens back up her bag, expression hopeful. Maybe if she makes Laura think she's useful, the lecture won't be quite so bad.

[cabins]

Oh, she likes the initiative. She likes it a lot. But that isn't the problem. This is a battlefield. It's no place for children, and Girl is still so young.

She knows, she realizes, better than to straight up tell Girl to go home. She's the type who would sneak back out and get herself killed. If someone sets their mind to something, they'll find a way.

"Put some rubber gloves on, if you're going to help," she tells her calmly. "and then hand me some gauze?"

[thelastjoy]

She smiles, brief and relieved. She's young and inexperienced enough she can almost believe this will be the end of it. To mistake permission to help as permission to be here.

Girl starts pulling things out of her bag as Laura speaks, carefully putting on gloves. "I can do that," she says eagerly, handing over a roll of gauze and holding a pair of small scissors.

[cabins]

It was better that Girl stay here with her, out of immediate danger. She'd be a tasty snack for any of the vampires out there right now. Laura thought idly of how Marius had sent Gavroche on errands to keep him away from the barricades in Hugo's Les Miserables. How appropriate.

"Thank you." She takes the gauze first and starts rolling it around the other wolf's arm. When she's done enough, she takes the scissors and cuts the gauze. "Medical tape?" She sets the scissors down, but only for a moment.

[thelastjoy]

"It's no problem," she says, shrugging a shoulder carelessly. Her attention is one what Laura's doing. She'd watched plenty of people get patched up back from her old pack, but that was years ago. Girl had been too young to learn from it then and it's clear she cares a lot more now.

Girl digs in her bag for a moment, handing over the tape. She glances at their patient, flashing them a thin smile. "Gonna be okay, then?"

[cabins]

Laura nods. "Yes. Nothing too bad. You'll want to try not to agitate the wound further if you can avoid it." She uses the tape to adhere the bandage to the young man's skin.

She pulls her gloves off. "You can go," she says to the man, then turns back to Girl. "But you should probably stay."

26th

[thelastjoy]

Coming here was stupid, all things considered. After what Johanna did, or rather what Girl had let Johanna do, going anywhere near vampires was the very definition of idiocy. But here she was, yet again proving her promises to stay out of trouble were hollow at best.

She's not a fighter, not without being able to change. What teenager under five foot ever inspired fear on the battleground? But she tries to make herself useful. She's got a backpack full of first aide supplies and she's small enough to be weave around the skirmish. And if worst comes to worst, Girl didn't get this far without learning how to fight dirty.

[ghoulaid]

Small and quick as she may be, Ghoul still spots her and immediately sets off after her. When he catches up, he drops his hands on to her shoulders from behind, steering her away from an area that's smothered by the smell of what he recognizes as a particularly overzealous vampire. That jackoff would probably be thrilled to pull the stuffing out of a puppy.

This is for sure not a place for kids. Hell, it's not even a place for adults anymore. "You better fuckin' tell me you got lost on your way to a girl scout meeting, 'cause I know you didn't come in here on purpose."

[thelastjoy]

His touch catches her by surprise, enough so that she blindly flails out behind her in an attempt to push her 'attacker' away. Her heart had already taken residence in her throats thanks to the stress of just being here, but the few moments of panic before he speaks has it bearing like a hummingbird. It takes a second for her to speak, partially just to keep from hitting him again.

"The hell?" Girl starts, indignant. "Of course I came! You thought I was gonna sit at home while the rest of you were out here fightin' like this? I came to help."

[ghoulaid]

All right, point in her favor. Bony elbows hurt. Catching one causes Ghoul to grunt, but he doesn't let go just yet. He won't, not until he feels like they're in the clear. "You're by yourself!" is all he says on the matter, as if that highlights everything wrong with this situation.

It sort of does. She shouldn't be here in the first place, yet here she is and with no one to even watch her back. Once he's hidden them both away some place calm and quiet, he lets Girl go and plants his hands on his hips while sternly staring her down, waiting for her to defend herself.

[thelastjoy]

She would feel a little worse about hitting him if he wasn't dragging her away from the fighting. As it is, Girl's only disappointed it doesn't make him stop. She didn't come here to be railroaded by her own kind.

"I'm not by myself! Half the pack's out here." Not that she's been speaking to most of them. She didn't want to give them the chance to do exactly what Ghoul's doing. Girl crosses her arms, glaring up at him defiantly. "I've got just as much right to be here as you!"

[ghoulaid]

"It doesn't matter if the whole fuckin' pack is out there if none of 'em are watchin' your back." If he sounds angry, it's only because he kind of is. He gets the whole independent teenager thing, really, he does, but this is a step too far over the line. He doesn't expect her to do the smart thing all the time, as long as she's safe about the decisions she does make.

There's nothing safe about this. "What are you gonna do to defend yourself? If you wanna run around out here then it ain't a matter of if, it's when. So what's gonna happen when you got somebody on your ass?"

[thelastjoy]

"I don't need 'em to watch my back if I'm here to watch their's!" The angrier he sounds, the more riled up she gets. She didn't expect anyone to be excited to see her, but she hadn't expected this level of anger either. It's knocked her off balance, made her temper flare hot and quick.

Girl wrenches a pocket knife from her jeans, waving it in Ghoul's face. "I can handle myself. How the hell do you think I activated the curse? I know what I'm doing!" Her arms cross back over her chest, closed knife hanging loosely from her fingertips. "If one of 'em comes after me, let me worry about it."

[ghoulaid]

What's the best way to resolve an issue? Put two people with hair-trigger tempers together and let them yell it out, apparently.

Instead of comforting him, Girl's pocket knife only makes it worse, and, okay, first off- "I know you didn't activate it killin' a vampire, 'cause that's not how it works!" Maybe she mercilessly chased someone down and slaughtered them to activate her curse (though he doubts it), maybe she didn't. Regardless of how it happened, vampires are a whole new ball game.

And she wants to get within stabbing range of one. Ghoul drags his hands down his face, because this is the worst idea he's probably ever heard of in his entire life and he has no idea how to properly express the levels of no involved in this. "No knives. Fucking seriously, you can't get that close to one. You'll be dead for sure."