[May 20th-30th] Another Cause for Me to Fight (Richmond Territory Claim)

[dirtyredneck]

He'd been sucking it up for months. Holding back waiting to see if Daybreak would get off their ass and do something about the shit that had gone down in their territory since Raymond's rise (which ended promptly with his fall, a thing Daybreak had no hand in). But all they'd done in Richmond was decide to build that eye sore of an insult to all non-witches. 'Center for Magical Innovation'. Bullshit. Center for slavery of non-witches was more accurate. Starting with the fae.

When Faolan had spoken against it, Daryl had hopes that maybe what little loose leadership the clan had might be ready to get up off their ass and do something. But that didn't happen and a month passed while the Center sat there, getting used. It's visitors abusing folks in ways it was hard to get any proof of. Just rumor and small confessions of a few fae who'd been able to slip away. Some of the stray cats in the area talked about it, too. Didn't like how it 'felt'.

Another month had almost passed and Daryl was done with waiting. He'd set up small patrols with others he'd trusted among Hillingdon months ago. Stuff to help protect the residents in the ways that Daybreak had been neglecting to. It wouldn't take much to turn those patrols toward doing something more.

Richmond was basically his territory already. It was time to make it Hillingdon's too.

(Specific prompts in the comments)

Comments

20 May - Some Harassment of the not-so-locals

[dirtyredneck]

The first of the patrols break from their normal routes to stop and watch a group of Daybreak Witches handing out election flyers about a block from the Center. They're smiling and happy and excited about the Night Council election. Very motivated.

When people clear out and there's a lull in foot traffic, the two Hillingdon women head on over and put on fake smiles. They take the flyers handed to them, then take the whole stack and dump them all in the nearest public trash can. While the witches protest the treatment, one of the pair pulls out some matches and sets the whole thing alight.

Around the territory, other similar incidents happen. More noticeable at night only because the trash fires are easier to see.

21-27 May - Delinquents and defacement

[dirtyredneck]

While some of the patrols harass the people trying to campaign for the Night Council President, others take it upon themselves to do more obvious disruptive acts. Daryl himself encourages a lot of this, particularly among the feline population of the territory.

By the 25th there have been at least two incidents of graffiti blackening the windows of the Center and defacing the doors have occurred with little recourse on the side of the witches. Whoever's doing it seems to know how to get past any minor magical alarms or protections. Or maybe they're just lucky. And from the looks of things through the eyes of cats, Daryl's pretty sure it's more than just one person doing it.

30 May - Shutting the joint down - before

[dirtyredneck]

Daryl's on the steps of the Center before dawn. He was always more awake around the start and end of the day as it was. So getting there long before anyone was there to open it wasn't difficult. Sitting there, with a good two dozen of the local strays keeping him company, was actually a little relaxing. He wasn't exactly scared about what he was going to do, but he was nervous. Things could easily go wrong after all.

When he was joined by a few of the patrols that wandered by, he felt better. And when a couple of the people he specifically asked to join him actually showed up, the nerves started to fade.

They could still lose this. Witches did have magic. But at least they were doing something.

Daryl nodded at the latest newcomer, "Hey. Thanks for this."

30 May - Shutting the joint down - during

[dirtyredneck]

Daryl paced at the top of the steps, keeping his body in front of the door while those who'd shown up to support him kept themselves off to either side. The small, stray cat army he'd gathered took up the space in front of him.

On the sidewalk stood the first of the witches trying to get in for the day.

"Uh uh," Daryl shook his head, waving her off, "You ain't getting no where near goin' inside. This all is Hillingdon property now. And you ain't got permission to pull any of the shit that goes on in there. Center's closed."

30 May - Shutting the joint down - after

[dirtyredneck]

Daryl leaned back against the wall next to the doors of the Center. The witches had left, unable to break the line and were probably gonna regroup. But with more of the Hillingdon patrols heading out to make sure larger groups of witches weren't gonna pull anything, he felt safe enough for the next day or two.

"Want this place guarded, 24-7," he said in a voice raised just high enough to be heard by his people. His feline friends would do some of the watching and raising of any alarms if someone tried to pull shit. "Figure out what to do with it later."

If anyone who'd helped him tried to go inside, well, he wasn't gonna stop them.

Center For Magical Innovation Investigation

[dirtyredneck]

(If you're taking a look around after the fighting's done, post in here with what you're doing and I'll talk to our lovely mod about what might be found so it's all nice and organized. o7)

Re: 21-27 May - Delinquents and defacement

[roddy_reinigen]

Roddy was among the delinquents spraying the walls and windows and, judging from the looks of it, he was having a bit of fun doing it, too. Although, it looked like he had a few friends helping him out, as rats swarmed and began chewing on anything they could get their teeth on, from the velvet rope outside, to tearing up the plants and gnawing on the trees, digging holes and dragging things out of the trash and generally making the place look like a filthy mess.

Re: 30 May - Shutting the joint down - before

[roddy_reinigen]

As Roddy approached, most of his rats, seeing the number of cats hanging around, decided to scurry off and go hang out in the sewer or nearby trash bins instead. A couple of the braver ones simply scurried up Roddy's leg, perching on his shoulder and pressing up close to his neck for protection. Roddy barely seemed to notice their presence as he greeted Daryl.

"Yeah, no problem. It's actually been kind of fun."

Daryl might notice that aside from graffiti, it looked like a chunk of the property damage in the area had been done by rats.

[freelife]

Day is breaking, and unlike many of the vampires in their fair city, Evie Frye is not heading for ground. With her ring on her finger, she's invincible to the sun, and that's the way she likes it. She also likes watching the sun rise, regardless of if she were with friends, or waiting for the battle the next day.

Today was a bit of both.

"Of course," Evie says, giving Daryl a small smile. "I can't stand by and let such injustice be done, be celebrated in my city."

[freelife]

Evie had been here the night this place opened, attempting to look around. Iron doors made things incredibly hard, along with the tight security they'd had. Idly, she wishes Kieran were here, or that she'd gotten some of his information, so that he could be here to investigate. He'd seemed an interesting person and a good ally.

But, here she was herself, preparing to pick locks that needed picking, breaking things that needed breaking, and seeing exactly what sort of horrors Samantha had cooked up.

Oh, and you can bet she's got her iphone fully charged so she can document this. This way, there will be no denial of the truth.

To start, she's found her way to the very door she and Kieran had managed to open last time, before they were stopped by a busybody witch.

[cabins]

Laura had heard all about this from some of the younger members of her pack. The ones who were apt to be more politically active in this time and place. She'd been learning so much about the politics here in the last month, and one thing that really upset her was finding out that the Mother of Witches was advocating for what amounted to magic slavery.

And, well, as an American and a former witch, she was super against this. Not. Cool.

The problem was that Katherine supported her, and it was a bad decision to go against her Alpha. But Laura couldn't stand by and watch this. She had a seat on both sides of the aisle. Sure, siding with Daybreak would perhaps win them a seat at the Council table. But all of those around them had made their declarations of loyalty clear. To stand with Daybreak would be stupid.

So here she was. Disobeying her Alpha in order to stick to her guns. Which, in this case, meant she was going to take some of the gorgeous flowers on the property, and use them to decorate her kitchen. Petty, but pretty.

[falsify]

Eames doesn't wait for things to be secured; for a perimeter guard, for teams to form. The second the witches have been expelled he makes a move to go downstairs. Back to the basement where he and Finnick had found Lillian, seen just a hint of what it was Samantha was up to down here.

His first priority is making sure there are no more fae left caged or stuck in circles down there. There's more he wants to see, but that can all wait.

[threadspun]

Well… Lillian was planning to light the flowers and other shrubs on fire but this is good. And less destructive.

Tucking the lighter away in her coat, she approaches Laura and politely clears her throat to make herself known. Then raises her arms, letting it be known that she's a friendly face- Honest! She has no love for this centre. Not by a long shot.

"Need help in that? I can recommend you a lovely flower arrangement with what they have here."

[dirtyredneck]

He more than noticed. Quite a few of his friendly strays had watched the action from the shadows and informed him of it. Many of them had wanted to hunt the rats, too. But he'd asked them very nicely not to because in this, the rats were their allies.

So it was that while many of Roddy's friends chose not to accompany him, the cats Daryl had gathered were pointedly ignoring the lot of them. The rats were not their prey this day and would not be for many to come. At least, not at the Center.

"So I've been told," he replied with a tired smile. "Lotsa diggin' been happenin'"

[falsify]

After seeing Daryl's cat army Eames has, at this point, started coming with treats. Because that's the kind of man he is. Cats generally like him anyway, being a physically warm person, but these cats deserve a reward for their hard work.

He's petting one, watching Daryl turf another witch, and he stands to pass her on the stairs as she leaves and he moves up to speak to the man of the hour. Smiles cordially as she stares daggers at him; obviously she knows who he is. Probably blames him for this instead of Hillingdon.

"So how prepared are you for the heap of shit that's going to come your way after this?" Eames asks quietly, no emotion in his tone. Mostly just curious about how Daryl plans to hold on to this.

[dirtyredneck]

Having vampires around was more than a little awkward. Having them help - having gone to their leader and asked for help - was one of the few points of contention he'd had with others in Hillingdon. Most of the Hunters - who made up at least half the clan - weren't very happy with the idea of vampires helping out. But Daryl had enough pull to convince them to hold back on their instincts until after Richmond was secure. With the Center being so important to Daybreak, they could use all the help they could get.

After the dust settled the vampires would have a day to leave the territory before the 'no vampires' rule was enforced once more.

"Much as I didn't like her, at least Syliva thought the same way," he muttered with a sigh. "Don't know how this new asshole got in. Maybe she's ex-midnight."

[dirtyredneck]

Daryl shot the man a glare. He was being allowed past because he was Fae and known not to be tied to the witches by magic. Questioning him, even softly, while he was in the middle of making sure no one from Daybreak got inside, was not a welcome interruption. His ass couldn't have found it's way here 'fore things got heated to do that shit?

"Enough," he growled back, voice equally low before he jerked his head to one side, "You here ta help or just be an asshole?"

Daryl really wasn't in the mood for further talk. But as long as no members of Daybreak or their allies were trying to make it past, he could put up with it.

[falsify]

It'd be remiss of him not to be here when this happens, he'd've prepared to be behind it himself but Eames'll take what he gets.

His magic isn't offensive, but people regularly underestimate the strength of illusions. After all, it's amazing how fast witches will evacuate when they think they're being firebombed. When they think there's monsters at the windows.

Eames himself is around, seemingly just watching. Drinking a coffee, talking to someone, whatever. Just the occasional twitch of his hand to give away what he's doing.

[freelife]

That's a sentiment Evie can get behind, and she gives him a curt nod in response. Yes, Sylvia was terrible. But this is a completely different animal, as far as Evie is concerned.

She presses her lips together. "Weren't most of Midnight banished? Besides, she's from a coven up North." She hadn't hated Midnight, not in the least. They had been incredibly useful from time to time. She just didn't like misinformation.

"But I wouldn't rule some sort of dream spell out."

[cabins]

Less destructive, and a bit prettier, maybe? At least for a longer period of time? And who knew if there were people in there, after all.

Laura looks up from the bunches of flowers she has admittedly yanked from the ground. Fae. She can smell it.

"Oh, I'd love some," she says brightly. "As far as I'm concerned, these flowers are free to everyone, if you're interested."

[roddy_reinigen]

"Yeah. Digging's what they do best," he agreed, idly reaching up to pet one of the rats on his shoulder. "Well, that and chewing."

And they had certainly done a fair share of that as well. His gaze swept over all the cats as he took his place with the others who were waiting to keep the witches out.

"That's quite the swarm you've got there."

Cats always made Roddy feel a little on edge, even in human form, but he was able to ignore it well enough. After all, he was used to dealing with Daryl as well as other cat shifters around the Hillingdon House. He was just glad he wasn't going to be one of the ones the cats would want to go after.

[roddy_reinigen]

Roddy, meanwhile, had been encouraging the rats to dig and chew and generally cause destruction and mayhem when he recognized Laura as 'that teacher lady he talked to while waiting for his train'. And she was picking a flower, which might mean she was a part of their efforts?

Heading over, he greeted her, "Hey, if you'd like to grow some of those, too, I saw a quite a few of those same flowers dug up roots and all. Crazy what the local wildlife will do around here, right?"

[roddy_reinigen]

Roddy was too curious to not look and hey, everything that could potentially be dangerous was gone now, right? He took a few of his rats with him and started sniffing around, searching any random halls and rooms he came across. He, of course, couldn't pick locks or anything, and would mostly gravitate towards any interesting smells he might pick up on, but part of him was wondering if he'd learn a bit about the fae from what he saw here. Maybe find something that would help Mako understand them better so she could get them to help her in a far more consensual way than what the witches had intended.

[cabins]

The smell of rats is back. She'd previously only smelt it in the tube, but it causes her to look up even before Roddy speaks.

"Hello!" She can smell him so much better now, but she's happy to see a friendly face. "Really? That's fascinating. I'd love to have a few, start a garden." She stands, brushing off her skirt.

"How are you?'

[ghoulaid]

Maybe Ghoul has been assisting in the local destructive efforts. Perhaps he's sprayed a couple walls, or broken the windows of a few nearby witch-owned businesses, or pulled black bags from dumpsters and strewn trash across some vehicles. But no one can say for sure that's what he's done. He just so happens to be coincidentally in areas where things have been wrong a few times, and his fingers being perpetually stained with paints possibly has nothing to do with the graffiti going on lately.

As far as anyone else is concerned, he's been on his best behavior. And being on his best behavior, he's of course very interested in the state of things in Richmond. When he makes another round past the Center, the last thing he expects to see is an army of rats tearing the place apart.

He should probably, like, do something about it since he's still technically allied with Daybreak, but all he can do is laugh. Because this is pretty great.