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Post by jarahamee on Sept 28, 2023 1:26:24 GMT -6
The cabin Agent Lucidus’ fire-team had been deployed to was in the heart of one of the largest old growth forests. It was so obscured, it had only been picked out as one of a few possibilities when examining satellite images. Images they had only generated once a target area had been created by plotting the many, many victims of their perpetrator.
The fire-team moved through the woods to avoid detection, alongside a long dirt track lined with old-growth pines. Fresh tire tracks could be seen here. The cameras that had been quietly placed here earlier had detected movement within the cabin only an hour beforehand.
Even if their target was not here, they could investigate at their leisure, gather evidence, and wait for his return, prepared.
The log cabin was ancient - an abandoned off-grid place that had been patched up here and there. A new section of the roof. A repaired door. A smashed window that had been boarded up. There was a tanning rack with a deerskin stretched across it out front.
Two of the fire-team, Agents Cazadorscuro, a human firearms specialist, and Agent Caro, vampire mage and sniper, peeled off to either side of the cabin, finding blinds in the woods in case they had any unexpected visitors or escapees from the front or back of the house.
Captain Cassius Lucidus walked through the thick brush to the left of the road, ears pricked and listening. He was surprisingly quiet, considering both the tactical gear, and the thick layer of foliage on the ground. The agent had his rifle raised, sighted on the front door.
It was high power, high velocity. The department had been clear that they weren’t going to play any more games, and he knew well enough that even bullets like these were unlikely to kill his target unless he made a clean head or heart shot. But it would slow it down, perhaps even cripple it.
On the right side, Agent Asher loped through the woods, moving branches aside so that Agent Telmore could make his way more easily. Agent Asher was ridiculously tall but lanky, his short, disheveled hair a mottled gray color. He wore a neck gaiter that covered most of his face, leaving only the top exposed. He had a singular, piercing yellow right eye. The left side of his face seemed… scarred and sunken, though it was difficult to tell in exactly what way.
He moved to provide physical cover to the more fragile Agent Telmore, who had insisted on becoming part of the raid. He knew Kail could not resist a fight.
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Post by MP on Sept 29, 2023 18:54:46 GMT -6
They'd made it this far without incident. All agents were in place. Now that they were this close to the cabin, Aaron shot Agent Asher a silent hand signal: he was ready to move forward, into view of the cabin. He was here to be the bait.
Twigs crunched underfoot as Aaron stepped out onto the trail. He moved at a casual stroll, as if he were investigating the premises rather than acting as the point man of a raid. He wasn't as durable or as powerful as the senior agents here, but he did have the advantage of previous encounters. The wind could shift and warn a predatory nose. Magic or supernatural hearing might warn of their approach. Nut the wendigo's hatred for Aaron was just as plain as Aaron's for him, and they were counting on it to make the killer reckless enough to stay.
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Post by beastly on Sept 30, 2023 11:34:11 GMT -6
Within the old cabin, a monster lounged on a ratty blood stained couch. It was, however, not the one all the fuss was about. She was a large quadruped, nearly three and a half feet at the shoulder with scruffy red fur. If one didn't look at the face or tail, they could be forgiven for thinking she was a lion, the form was unmistakably feline. The face, however, was that of a young teenage girl. Messy red hair framed large blue eyes and far too many teeth. The tail was very long, and at the end sported deadly spikes.
The plots of the people outside were unknown to her as she lay flopped onto her side, limbs spread out as she half dozed. She was hungry, and perhaps later Kail would return and they would hunt, but otherwise, her hunger was beat by her feline laziness.
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Post by jarahamee on Oct 1, 2023 0:24:47 GMT -6
Agent Lucidus felt a twinge of concern as Telmore wandered into the open. In his heart, he knew that Asher should have been the one to present himself in plain sight. The werewolf’s senses were keen, his reflexes fast. He could take a bullet. Many bullets, actually. These were all advantages he had over their very human teammate, who had insisted on being involved. On being bait.
He moved into position, covering him while staying behind cover himself. Asher did much the same, though he could feel the werewolf becoming tense as they approached their goal. He could probably smell the goings on.
As they reached the top of the hill, Cassius noted the empty stretch in front of the cabin. No truck. Their target wasn’t here.
This meant they would have to lay up in the cabin and wait for him. Unless, of course, he had left the truck somewhere else, and made his way back on foot. Entirely possible. He should shift once they reached the cabin itself and search for the most recent scents.
He radioed the rest of the group;
“I don’t see his truck. He may not be here. Be cautious on approach regardless.”
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Post by MP on Oct 5, 2023 13:08:04 GMT -6
"No lookouts the windows," Aaron added in a murmur. "Not picking up cameras either."
He was careful not to betray the communication with anything but that whisper, but maybe he needn't have bothered. The dappled rays passing through the window were as good as peering through the glass himself. His photomancy detected no presence, no movement on the other side. He felt no unnatural levels of infrared to suggest a surveillance system either. Low-tech. Aaron grimaced a little, trying to remember to mind his physical surroundings as well. Multitasking with his magic still didn't come naturally.
He took up position beside the front door, close to the wall and ready for anything that might come through. Conscious of the eyes of the team on him, he nodded, indicating he was ready to breach once the team got into position.
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Post by beastly on Oct 6, 2023 19:28:08 GMT -6
The feline creature stretched, ears flicking. Was there an animal outside, maybe? Or Kail? She had been dozing too deeply to identify what she heard. Lazily, the big cat rolled from her side to her belly. She was unbothered, and did not expect any threats. It was probably a delicious deer out there, and at most, it was Kail come home early. She did not pay it much mind.
The manticore stretched her claws out, ripping the couch just slightly as she pressed her face into the fabric. That was fine. Kail would fix it. Or he wouldn't, and it would be evidence of the powerful predator that occupied the little cabin.
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Post by jarahamee on Oct 7, 2023 2:40:43 GMT -6
Agent Lucidus and Agent Asher moved to either side to flank Telmore, remaining in the cover on either side of the house. Previous covert scouting had indicated that there was no back door to this cabin, making it all the easier to storm.
Agent Lucidus braced himself, raising his rifle to his shoulder and holding it steady at chest height. Should anything besides a human being respond, he would fire, and his very presence would allow him to back up Agent Telmore. If the threat was more physical, he could always shift to Beast form.
If any targets exited the front door, they would be handily dealt with by either himself, or Agent Asher. Or even the two snipers.
Asher paused, and drew his sidearm, slinking noiselessly around the side of the house. His ears were pricked, single yellow eye open and alert for any sign of danger.
Agent Lucidus gave the signal.
Agent Telmore had the door-jack needed to force the door, and of course, the tactical mirror to see under it if he felt it was necessary.
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Post by MP on Oct 14, 2023 19:22:13 GMT -6
Aaron wasn't sure what he expected when they breached the door. A cornered wendigo? The monster deer? He'd fastened his collar as high as he would for any master vampire, and the magical shield at his arm was primed for quick deployment.
He tested the door. Wouldn't even need the door-jack. It was open. A mote of sunlight, no bigger than a pea, formed on Aaron's fingertip and drifted in under the door. The ambient light fell over the features of the room, almost as good as a motion detector. Aaron, already preparing to move, hesitated.
"We've got movement." He muttered into the radio. "About the size of a large dog, but..."
In the room where Hunt lounged, the pinpoint of light dropped a foot or so and flitted to the other side of the room, giving Aaron a better feel of the foreign shape.
"The head shape's off. We may have a super inside. Quadruped. Proceed?"
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Post by beastly on Oct 17, 2023 0:07:36 GMT -6
The manticore cub lifted her head, and by sheer luck spotted the little light. Oh. Oh what was that? Her eyes followed it, and she slowly crept off the couch. What was that? It was pretty, and Hunt wanted to take it and put it in her mouth. It belonged in her mouth. Slowly, slowly the monster crept towards her prey.
Hunt sized up the light, wiggled her rear, and then leapt at the light with her mouth open in a ferocious display of her predatory might. Oh!... It did not taste like anything.
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Post by qhostqrowls on Oct 17, 2023 23:59:54 GMT -6
The radio of Kail’s pick-up truck was always at full volume, and always tuned in to 92.5 FM, Wathais’s classic rock station. Today was no different, and with the windows down and the back-roads empty, Kail was in a good mood.
He pressed the accelerator to the floor, the roar of the engine momentarily drowning out the radio. It was an older model, beat-up and scratched to hell, but it could still go fast and off-road and that was all he needed. That, and the tray had enough space for his hunts.
There was a spray of dirt as he turned onto the long driveway to the cabin, and he slouched back in his seat, cigarette dangling between the fingers of the hand resting on the steering wheel. Hopefully Hunt was awake, because he wanted to go catch dinner.
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Post by jarahamee on Oct 18, 2023 0:45:26 GMT -6
Agent Lucidus’ voice crackled over the radio;
“Take it down. Use your heavy sedation drugs. No need to terminate a non-target. They may be a victim. We can lay in wait in the house for the primary target after it is cleared.”
Cassius reached over his shoulder, almost automatically changing weapons. He could rely on the snipers as efficient lethal back up in case their attempts at nonlethal management failed. The scarred man adjusted the new weapon’s fit in the divot of his shoulder, and trained it on the door. He was ready to back Telmore up.
He made eye contact with Agent Asher, and Agent Telmore, confirming they saw him, then motioned the man forward.
At that moment, Agent Asher’s ears twitched, and he turned his head back towards the road.
“He’s coming….”
This changed everything. They had to get out of sight, and someone had to stay outside and on the ground to manage the wendigo once he left his vehicle. Perhaps they could shoot out his tires and disable it to prevent him from escaping, then take him down with superior firepower.
A disappointing but fitting end.
Agent Lucidus pressed the radio button;
“A change of plans. Telmore. We have to clear the house, and fast. I’ll back you up. Asher will stay outside and out of sight to ambush our main target. We can’t let him escape this time.”
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Post by MP on Oct 21, 2023 1:52:25 GMT -6
Aaron felt the odd movement as one end of the creature - rose? Wiggled? Oh.
He felt a press of new darkness around his light, accompanied by a spike in magical exertion to maintain it. The super was trying to eat it. He at least knew what to do with that.
The light skittered out from between Hunt's teeth, darting in a frantic circle around the cub. Aaron kept it quick enough to draw interest, slow enough to track and chase. Keep active. Keep away from the door.
Cassius' warning came through the radio, and Telmore gave a silent thumbs up. The thing inside was not the wendigo, nor was it particularly large. He'd use the tranquilizers instead.
When he forced the door, it was in a quick, clean motion. It was with the light moving away from the door, luring the creature to put its back to him. It was with the confidence that there were no other entities - physical ones at least - in the house, thanks to his light sense. Aaron's tranquilizer gun was trained on the creature as he entered. He recognized the family - some kind of manticore, young; only one tranq - and he fired with unnerving accuracy despite the dim cabin.
It wouldn't be enough to put the super out - not a manticore. But it would make it easy to wrangle. Aaron shut the door behind him. His gear could handle it until the cub dropped. And he didn't want anything to warn off whoever Cassius had seen outside.
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Post by beastly on Oct 27, 2023 10:33:42 GMT -6
The manticore cub eagerly gave chase to the strange light, following it in the circle it ran in. She couldn't sink her claws into it, and it defied her attempts to eat it, but there was some urge somewhere to CATCH IT. She needed to catch the light, and win. Hunt sprinted after the light as it moved away from the door, pausing when she heard movement at the door. Her head spun to greet Kail, but she was immediately aware that the Human In The Doorway was not him. Before she could do anything, she felt something prick her shoulder, and was able to loosely put together that this Human In The Doorway had shot her! She was stronger than whatever bad bullet he had used, and even though he might not know it yet, he was food. All humans were food. She would have to inform him. The cub shook herself, pawing at whatever bad weak bullet he had hit her with, showing off her far too many teeth at him. A child's face drawn up in a hungry glare.
"In my home! I will eat you, stupid food."
She charged with a musical trumpet sound.
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Post by MP on Oct 28, 2023 15:31:10 GMT -6
"Wait a minute. Before you eat me-" Aaron holstered his weapon and held up a hand, his voice calm and clear. Unafraid, despite the cub's toothy charge.
He moved a hand, and the light zipped back to his palm. He held it up for the young manticore to see, softened the glow to make it easier on the eyes, trusting the light and movement to draw her interest.
"Let me take off my coat for you. It's magic - tastes bad. It'll hurt your teeth if you bite." He kept things simple, his voice soothing, unsure how much she understood.
In the back of his mind, he was counting the seconds, listening for the sound of tires on earth. He didn't have much time, but this still might be quicker than wrangling the super. All he had to do was distract her. Just wait for the tranq to take effect.
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Post by jarahamee on Oct 30, 2023 0:50:54 GMT -6
Cassius moved in behind Aaron, closing the door behind him. He raised his rifle, aiming it at the cub in case Aaron’s efforts failed.
“Take it easy. Shh.”
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