{Forsaken: Jack} 11/4/1998 - Initiations
It was a full moon and the Gunners were taking their newest packmates across the city for their initiation into the Blood Talon Tribe. It was a toss up on whether to do it on a full moon or a half moon as there was one of both; Fish won the fight and so full moon it was. The initiation was simple and in keeping with tradition; a run through several different packs territories and other dangerous places. The whole pack was catching a train out to Morden, the opposite side of the city from their territory, to drop Ashley and Fish off for their run.
It was late at night and the few people catching the train decided quickly that other carriages were preferable to the Uratha’s so the pack was able to talk, not that either of the potential Blood Talons had much to say. Run-Blind Jen told them the basics of their initiation, as the rite-master she was running it, and the two pups listened as though their lives depended on it, which of course they did. They knew the territories they’d be running through; Urdaga places for the most part but a couple of Anshega digs, either way they wouldn’t be welcomed. There wasn’t going to be much sneaking in this initiation; sneaking, as Run-Blind said, is for Hunters or Irraka and the pups were neither. Wear you pack colours, don’t try to hide them, if you come back without your jerseys you fail and if you can tag some places you pass that would be good.
The train lurched to a stop at the Morden station and the pups hopped out, the tags of another pack were clear on the benches and scratched into a few walls and the announcement came over the speakers that the train they came in on would be terminating after the next stop. Grinning at each other Fish and Ashley started running for the stairs up before the train pulled away, they knew the next train didn’t come for an hour and it was likely their pack would be alerting the others as they rode back, better to try to run to the next station than try to train-hop.
Jogging down the street Fish and Ashley looked around excitedly; it was late so their weren’t many people on the streets and the few that were about were drunk but the smell of other Uratha marked every corner, the scratched tags leapt out at them from among the other graffiti. It was easy to keep in line with the tube, simpler to keep direction and it was the most direct way back to their territory. They had no weapons, just a small first aid kit they’d let Ashley take and some water.
They got through three territories before catching the first hint of trouble in Stockwell; a couple of shadows following behind them and the scent of other Uratha. Glancing over their shoulders Ashley and Fish kept jogging, turning down alleys and dark streets trying to lose the trackers, whispering to each other about what to do and who it might be. Heading down an alley they found themselves surrounded by overflowing bins, boarded-up windows and, most importantly, a dead end. Breath still ragged in their throats from the running they waited for the shadows to round the corner, side by side and with their back to the wall they waited.
Slowly the followers rounded the corner, no longer running at all but strolling idly, they were big lads easily in their late twenties. Their hair hung long and greasy around their clean shaven faces, their eyes seemed to catch the moonlight and feral glints, and they showed their teeth in wide snarls. They both wore short sleeve shirts displaying heavily muscled arms and nasty red scars, Pure markings the pups had been taught, foul mockeries of proper brands. They could have been brothers, perhaps they were, they moved together so perfectly there was no mistaking that they were packmates.
The two pups met the eyes of the Pure, not looking away for an instant, they beared their teeth and shifted slowly up into Dalu as a warning. The Pure moved closer; cracking knuckles and shifting to match the pups. They stood face to face; the Forsaken could smell the breath of the Pure and see the myriad of small scars lacing across their bodies, the tiny bones weaved into their hair, the pieces of tanned skin laced into their belts. One sported a tattoo across his throat, some block-letter that were too hard to read in the dark, the other had a nose that had been broken at least a dozen times from the way it sat on his square head.
These Pure had the smell of Predator Kings about them, the warrior’s edge that any Blood Talon, even initiates, recognizes. There weren’t many city-dwelling Predator Kings, they favoured the wilderness and tended to shun cities, but it certainly wasn’t unheard of in these nights to find hunting bands taking up territory in more urban places, if only to support their city kin in the Brethren War. What was strange was to find only two, even the pups know that Pure work in large packs, two wasn’t right but there’d be time to wonder about that later.
It happened in an instant; broken-nose pulled a switchblade and Ashley leapt at his throat, Fish took the tattooed one by surprise with a sucker punch to the chin. The scene erupted into chaos; Ashley coped a few good stabs to the belly while she beat the guys head into the wall, Fish was all over his bit of the fight kicking the guy in the stomach with his steel-caps. Just when they thought they’d won tattoo guy starts growing big and hairy and the next thing they know there’s a hulking grey beast in the middle of the fight throwing Fish head first into a brick wall. He grabs Fish by the left leg and swings him around and around him head; the crackling sound of bones popping and breaking is heard loud and clear as Fish is thrown to the ground again.
The guy with the knife is freaking out, clearly wanting to get away from his packmate in Kuruth, and as Ashley leaps at the new danger that’s just what he does; he runs like his life depends on it. Meanwhile Fish is lying on the ground, the look on his face says he’s trying to heal but his leg’s just not popping back into place, the white bone pokes through the skin as he tries to drag himself away from the Pure. As the grey beast bites into Fish’s side, preparing to shake the life out of him, Ashley barrels into his side shoving him roughly into the wall. As she charges into him she grows bigger; white fur bristling out of her skin, claws contorting her hands and a tooth filled muzzle stretching her face.
She bites into the grey flank of the Pure, blood staining her fur, the Pure twists under her and claws at her already wounded stomach. It struggles to twist out of the hold; she bears her weight down on it and hears a rewarding snap as its arm breaks. And in that moment the anger turns to fear, the rage and killing fury is replaced by the simple need to escape and run. Ignoring its wounded arm it throws Ashley aside and runs down the alley, a thick trail of blood in its wake and the threat of more to come soon.
Shifting down to human Ashley staggers under the pain of the injuries; her stomach sliced to ribbons by knife and claw and more than one rib broken. She turns to Fish who’s still laying on the ground and motions to get up before seeing the leg still broken and not healing, it zips through her mind in an instant how many breaks there must be in that leg, how long it would take to set each one so it could heal and how long they must have before more Pure come looking for them. The numbers aren’t good. Take time here and try to fix him and hope like crazy the Pure take their time, take him with her and be slowed down but maybe get enough distance to buy some time or…
“Hurry up and fucking go,” said Fish, making shooing motions, “I can hold them off.”
Seeing Fish say that while wincing at his leg brought a smile to her face and made her decision easy; grabbing him by the arm she started helping him down the alley, Fish limping along on one leg and swearing at her for not leaving him, Ashley laughing at his arguments. The hurried down the street, checking behind them with every step and listening for their pursuers. A howl was heard in the background but was it a dog or the Pure? It was hard to tell but they sped up anyway.
The finally stopped in a small park, laying Fish down on the ground Ashley started the painful work of popping bones back into place for her packmate. He gritted his teeth and to Fish’s credit he only shouted out when his knee was popped back into place. It took a stressful half hour for the leg to be put back into place and for Fish to heal it enough to walk and all this time they listened, waiting for the footsteps of their hunters. The full moon shone down on them and Ashley watched it, shifting her eyes to see the Other in hopes of seeing a Lune, and there was one dancing around the edge of the moon.
Different from the silver dancers she was used to seeing, this one lacked something of the balance and harmony of those ones but made up for that in the sheer beauty and warriors countenance. Nudging Fish she pointed at it, saying how it looked different to normal Lunes, Fish shook his head; apparently they usually look like this to him. It drifted about the sky and came down to sit next to Fish as he healed, watching how the bones fitted back together and mended, it looked at Ashley and nodded its head. She knew she had to tell a shaman that a Lune had approved, that it was gifting her with its respect, but right now they had to move again. Nodding in thanks to the Lune for watching over them the two pups started running again, the sounds of howls getting closer plane to hear.
Running through the streets they almost made it to Waterloo station before running into anyone else. At the entrance to the station sat four Uratha; decked out in gang colours and looking nasty you could see they’d been waiting for the pups. The only glimmer of hope was the Bone Shadow symbol one of them wore on their sleeve; not Pure which was a plus but just because these guys were Forsaken by no means made them friends, they’d been waiting for them so word was obviously far ahead that they were coming and this didn’t bode well for the rest of the run.
Fish moved up ahead and waved, showing he wasn’t carrying anything and making the usual friendly motions, the pack stood their ground.
“Just passing through, not looking for trouble,” said Fish
The pack leader stepped forward, “you seem a bit of a ways outside your territory, looks like you’re trying for our trains.”
“Well I gotta say you’re right, we we’re hoping to grab a train, get us out of your territory all the quicker.”
“You’re dragging Pure along behind you,” the alpha said simply, Fish and Ashley started.
“How’d you know that?” the alpha shrugged, “Well, you can understand why we want to be getting along hasty-like, we’d be in your debt if you’d let us catch a train. We’re not gonna mess with your turf.”
The two wolves stared at each other, taking the measure of each others words, the alpha nodded and moved aside.
“We’ll be remembering this,” he cautioned.
Smiling the two ran down into the station just as the train started to pull out, leaping through closing doors they found themselves in an empty carriage with a good fifteen minutes to rest before their stop in Charing Cross. They’d made it across the river, half way home and only a few hours until dawn. Running through Leicester Square and Covent Garden took a good hour as they had to fight off some nasty spirits but they made it to Holborn before the real trouble came. As they’d ran they’d noticed the signs they were being followed, the signs that whoever was following them was stirring trouble for them up ahead; too many spirits knew when they were coming, too many Uratha knew to be on the look out, hell even too many humans seemed to be getting in their way.
In Holborn their tracker made their move. He came lurching out of the shadows; a heavily scarred man wearing the same skin-belt as the two younger Predator Kings from earlier. His laughter echoed harshly down the street, his eyes bloodshot and his teeth a bit too white for comfort, he looked almost forty and his arms were covered in renown; he wasn’t an elder Predator King but he was certainly a nasty one. He came unarmed from the looks of it but then as the pups watched in terror and exhilaration he drew two bastard swords, they’d been somehow coiled around his body in their sheaths but now shown in the moon light. He was alone and that was what terrified them, a lone Predator King can be worse than a whole pack and a lone Predator King with a grudge is worse still.
Fish leapt forward first, barrelling into the Predator King and forcing him back, Ashley grabbed one of his arms and knocked the sword out of his hand. The Anshega laughed and bit into Fish’s neck; he bit down with human teeth but tore away flesh and drew blood as a wolf’s jaw might. Pushing Fish off him he lunged at Ashley with his sword, stabbing her through the leg and pinning her to the ground, leaving the sword embedded in her leg as he turned back to Fish.
Fish had grabbed the sword that Ashley had knocked away and while the Predator King had his back turn he swung wildly, the Predator King leant out of the way and brought a fist up into Fish’s mouth, more blood coated Fish’s face. Gritting her teeth Ashley started to pull the sword out of the ground, it had buried itself into the concrete with the force of the blow and try as she might she couldn’t move it, Fish grey into Gauru as his moon leant him strength and leapt at the Predator King again. The Pure laughed and didn’t even change forms, he backhanded Fish and sent the huge beast flying into the wall, and walked over calmly and kicked Fish in the ribs, more broken bones for the night.
Finally managing to pull the sword out of the ground Ashley grimaced as she drew it out of her leg. Fish was up and biting into the face of the Predator King, he’d stopped laughing now; savagely ripping into the man’s face Fish looked near to Kuruth from his injuries. But with one last bite Fish leapt away, shifting down into Dalu as the man staggered around blinded by his blood. Fish grabbed Ashley up off the ground, yelling for her to grab the sword and run, and they ran again. The laughing followed behind them; they hadn’t beaten the Predator King, they hadn’t even gotten away really, he’d let them go so he could continue the hunt.
Hardly able to run it was Ashley’s turn to be dragged along until they could find safety, her leg bleeding horribly and Fish gritting his teeth against the pain of his own wounds. But find a place they did, an abandoned shed in the middle of an un-kept lot. And there they stopped. Looking at each other and looking at the two stolen bastard swords they both knew they were going to die; Predator Kings use these swords to kill Forsaken and there was one for each of them. But they wouldn’t go down without a fight, as they healed they spoke; fight him on their terms, not be caught by surprise again, how to use their new weapons, where to meet him.
Into the streets again, they knew where they were going now; into the old building near the University, if they were to fight they wanted somewhere where they didn’t need to worry about humans seeing. They moved into the old building; hardwood floors, boarded windows, brick walls, doors locked tight enough to discourage squatters but not a forceful Uratha. They waited facing the door, swords gripped in sweaty palms, side by side waiting for the laughing Predator King.
And he did not disappoint. He stormed into the building; blood drenched face from the earlier fight and white teeth gleaming. He stopped when he saw the two Forsaken and he grinned; the pups were already smiling, if this put him off he did show it. The two pups leapt forward, swinging the swords wildly at the Predator King who easily evaded their blows, he moved around them laughing at their efforts. He let them get close and his fingers twisted into claws, he racked these down Ashley’s back and across Fish’s face and laughed as the pups yelped in pain. And as he laughed Ashley and Fish rammed the swords down into his feet and into the wood below him.
Suddenly it was not so funny to the Pure. He struggled to move his feet and defend himself as Fish punched him in the stomach and Ashley kicked at his shins, he growled deep and grew into a great black furred monster, he howled and his claws shone a dangerous light as he called on some Gift to help him. He pulled his feet free with a groan and ripped his claws down Fish’s side; Ashley leapt onto the Pure’s back, growing into Gauru herself and racked her claws into his throat. The Predator King reached back and dug his claws into Ashley’s shoulder, pulling her off him as Fish changed into Gauru and bit into his leg.
They tried as hard as they could to heal the wounds done by his claws but they were too bad, the flesh was torn and wrecked almost as though silver had touched it. Fish bit down on the Pure’s leg and heard a crunch of bones breaking, Ashley clawed again and again at the Pure’s flank watching his fur become laced with lines of blood. The Pure struggled to stay on his shredded feet and broken leg, struggled to heal his clawed sides, he kept attacking the two pups.
He dug his claws into Fish’s stomach and Fish cried out in anger, almost losing himself to Kuruth, Fish twisted away and bit down into the Pure’s arm. The Pure shoved him to the ground just as Fish shifted out of Gauru, his rage exhausted; he laid there human and defenceless. Terrified Ashley leapt at the Pure’s throat, hoping to distract him from her weakened packmate; she closed her jaws around his throat and ripped her claws down his stomach again and again as through trying to burrow into him. The Pure dug its claws into her sides again but she ignored the pain and continued to rip into his flesh, she ripped his stomach open, ripped the flesh of his face to cover his eyes in blood and ripped into the wounds that were already there.
With one last gut wrenching tear the Pure stopped attacking; the terror in his eyes showed he was lost to the fear of death and he ran from the building and the two pups who had made a stand against him. And with that Ashley fell from Gauru down to Hishu with a grunt of pain as she held her lacerated sides together. Laying down on the floor next to Fish they took only a few seconds before they struggled back to their feet, they had to move but both were bleeding and Fish’s insides were a little too close to the surface for comfort. Ashley pulled out the first aid kit, her stitching equipment stored away carefully, the thread dedicated by Run-Blind to withstand changing.
“Guess you won’t mind if I practice my sewing?” said Ashley with a smile, “I promise I’ll go next.”
“They already teach you that at college?”
“Not technically, but I swear I’m a quick learner and I read ahead in the lessons,”
Laughing the two sat as Ashley stitched them up and off they ran again, albeit much slower this time as their wounds stung. As the sun rose they made it back to the pack’s house, blood soaked and tired but happy. They told their tale to Run-Blind and James, Ashley told of Fish biting the Pure’s face and dragging her away and Fish told them about Ashley ripping the Pure apart and stitching them back up after, Run-Blind gave Ashley the name Ripstitch to commemorate the occasion and then they had their initiation.
The swore the oath of blood in Gauru side by side; fighting to just talk and not attack, still drenched in blood, some theirs and some the Pure’s. Both earned a brand of Glory for their deeds and Ashley got her first Purity mark. They got their scar-names and saw the spirit wolf, as the feeling of Fenris-nu set their blood on fire they howled with their pack and felt the pride of being Blood Talon.
It was late at night and the few people catching the train decided quickly that other carriages were preferable to the Uratha’s so the pack was able to talk, not that either of the potential Blood Talons had much to say. Run-Blind Jen told them the basics of their initiation, as the rite-master she was running it, and the two pups listened as though their lives depended on it, which of course they did. They knew the territories they’d be running through; Urdaga places for the most part but a couple of Anshega digs, either way they wouldn’t be welcomed. There wasn’t going to be much sneaking in this initiation; sneaking, as Run-Blind said, is for Hunters or Irraka and the pups were neither. Wear you pack colours, don’t try to hide them, if you come back without your jerseys you fail and if you can tag some places you pass that would be good.
The train lurched to a stop at the Morden station and the pups hopped out, the tags of another pack were clear on the benches and scratched into a few walls and the announcement came over the speakers that the train they came in on would be terminating after the next stop. Grinning at each other Fish and Ashley started running for the stairs up before the train pulled away, they knew the next train didn’t come for an hour and it was likely their pack would be alerting the others as they rode back, better to try to run to the next station than try to train-hop.
Jogging down the street Fish and Ashley looked around excitedly; it was late so their weren’t many people on the streets and the few that were about were drunk but the smell of other Uratha marked every corner, the scratched tags leapt out at them from among the other graffiti. It was easy to keep in line with the tube, simpler to keep direction and it was the most direct way back to their territory. They had no weapons, just a small first aid kit they’d let Ashley take and some water.
They got through three territories before catching the first hint of trouble in Stockwell; a couple of shadows following behind them and the scent of other Uratha. Glancing over their shoulders Ashley and Fish kept jogging, turning down alleys and dark streets trying to lose the trackers, whispering to each other about what to do and who it might be. Heading down an alley they found themselves surrounded by overflowing bins, boarded-up windows and, most importantly, a dead end. Breath still ragged in their throats from the running they waited for the shadows to round the corner, side by side and with their back to the wall they waited.
Slowly the followers rounded the corner, no longer running at all but strolling idly, they were big lads easily in their late twenties. Their hair hung long and greasy around their clean shaven faces, their eyes seemed to catch the moonlight and feral glints, and they showed their teeth in wide snarls. They both wore short sleeve shirts displaying heavily muscled arms and nasty red scars, Pure markings the pups had been taught, foul mockeries of proper brands. They could have been brothers, perhaps they were, they moved together so perfectly there was no mistaking that they were packmates.
The two pups met the eyes of the Pure, not looking away for an instant, they beared their teeth and shifted slowly up into Dalu as a warning. The Pure moved closer; cracking knuckles and shifting to match the pups. They stood face to face; the Forsaken could smell the breath of the Pure and see the myriad of small scars lacing across their bodies, the tiny bones weaved into their hair, the pieces of tanned skin laced into their belts. One sported a tattoo across his throat, some block-letter that were too hard to read in the dark, the other had a nose that had been broken at least a dozen times from the way it sat on his square head.
These Pure had the smell of Predator Kings about them, the warrior’s edge that any Blood Talon, even initiates, recognizes. There weren’t many city-dwelling Predator Kings, they favoured the wilderness and tended to shun cities, but it certainly wasn’t unheard of in these nights to find hunting bands taking up territory in more urban places, if only to support their city kin in the Brethren War. What was strange was to find only two, even the pups know that Pure work in large packs, two wasn’t right but there’d be time to wonder about that later.
It happened in an instant; broken-nose pulled a switchblade and Ashley leapt at his throat, Fish took the tattooed one by surprise with a sucker punch to the chin. The scene erupted into chaos; Ashley coped a few good stabs to the belly while she beat the guys head into the wall, Fish was all over his bit of the fight kicking the guy in the stomach with his steel-caps. Just when they thought they’d won tattoo guy starts growing big and hairy and the next thing they know there’s a hulking grey beast in the middle of the fight throwing Fish head first into a brick wall. He grabs Fish by the left leg and swings him around and around him head; the crackling sound of bones popping and breaking is heard loud and clear as Fish is thrown to the ground again.
The guy with the knife is freaking out, clearly wanting to get away from his packmate in Kuruth, and as Ashley leaps at the new danger that’s just what he does; he runs like his life depends on it. Meanwhile Fish is lying on the ground, the look on his face says he’s trying to heal but his leg’s just not popping back into place, the white bone pokes through the skin as he tries to drag himself away from the Pure. As the grey beast bites into Fish’s side, preparing to shake the life out of him, Ashley barrels into his side shoving him roughly into the wall. As she charges into him she grows bigger; white fur bristling out of her skin, claws contorting her hands and a tooth filled muzzle stretching her face.
She bites into the grey flank of the Pure, blood staining her fur, the Pure twists under her and claws at her already wounded stomach. It struggles to twist out of the hold; she bears her weight down on it and hears a rewarding snap as its arm breaks. And in that moment the anger turns to fear, the rage and killing fury is replaced by the simple need to escape and run. Ignoring its wounded arm it throws Ashley aside and runs down the alley, a thick trail of blood in its wake and the threat of more to come soon.
Shifting down to human Ashley staggers under the pain of the injuries; her stomach sliced to ribbons by knife and claw and more than one rib broken. She turns to Fish who’s still laying on the ground and motions to get up before seeing the leg still broken and not healing, it zips through her mind in an instant how many breaks there must be in that leg, how long it would take to set each one so it could heal and how long they must have before more Pure come looking for them. The numbers aren’t good. Take time here and try to fix him and hope like crazy the Pure take their time, take him with her and be slowed down but maybe get enough distance to buy some time or…
“Hurry up and fucking go,” said Fish, making shooing motions, “I can hold them off.”
Seeing Fish say that while wincing at his leg brought a smile to her face and made her decision easy; grabbing him by the arm she started helping him down the alley, Fish limping along on one leg and swearing at her for not leaving him, Ashley laughing at his arguments. The hurried down the street, checking behind them with every step and listening for their pursuers. A howl was heard in the background but was it a dog or the Pure? It was hard to tell but they sped up anyway.
The finally stopped in a small park, laying Fish down on the ground Ashley started the painful work of popping bones back into place for her packmate. He gritted his teeth and to Fish’s credit he only shouted out when his knee was popped back into place. It took a stressful half hour for the leg to be put back into place and for Fish to heal it enough to walk and all this time they listened, waiting for the footsteps of their hunters. The full moon shone down on them and Ashley watched it, shifting her eyes to see the Other in hopes of seeing a Lune, and there was one dancing around the edge of the moon.
Different from the silver dancers she was used to seeing, this one lacked something of the balance and harmony of those ones but made up for that in the sheer beauty and warriors countenance. Nudging Fish she pointed at it, saying how it looked different to normal Lunes, Fish shook his head; apparently they usually look like this to him. It drifted about the sky and came down to sit next to Fish as he healed, watching how the bones fitted back together and mended, it looked at Ashley and nodded its head. She knew she had to tell a shaman that a Lune had approved, that it was gifting her with its respect, but right now they had to move again. Nodding in thanks to the Lune for watching over them the two pups started running again, the sounds of howls getting closer plane to hear.
Running through the streets they almost made it to Waterloo station before running into anyone else. At the entrance to the station sat four Uratha; decked out in gang colours and looking nasty you could see they’d been waiting for the pups. The only glimmer of hope was the Bone Shadow symbol one of them wore on their sleeve; not Pure which was a plus but just because these guys were Forsaken by no means made them friends, they’d been waiting for them so word was obviously far ahead that they were coming and this didn’t bode well for the rest of the run.
Fish moved up ahead and waved, showing he wasn’t carrying anything and making the usual friendly motions, the pack stood their ground.
“Just passing through, not looking for trouble,” said Fish
The pack leader stepped forward, “you seem a bit of a ways outside your territory, looks like you’re trying for our trains.”
“Well I gotta say you’re right, we we’re hoping to grab a train, get us out of your territory all the quicker.”
“You’re dragging Pure along behind you,” the alpha said simply, Fish and Ashley started.
“How’d you know that?” the alpha shrugged, “Well, you can understand why we want to be getting along hasty-like, we’d be in your debt if you’d let us catch a train. We’re not gonna mess with your turf.”
The two wolves stared at each other, taking the measure of each others words, the alpha nodded and moved aside.
“We’ll be remembering this,” he cautioned.
Smiling the two ran down into the station just as the train started to pull out, leaping through closing doors they found themselves in an empty carriage with a good fifteen minutes to rest before their stop in Charing Cross. They’d made it across the river, half way home and only a few hours until dawn. Running through Leicester Square and Covent Garden took a good hour as they had to fight off some nasty spirits but they made it to Holborn before the real trouble came. As they’d ran they’d noticed the signs they were being followed, the signs that whoever was following them was stirring trouble for them up ahead; too many spirits knew when they were coming, too many Uratha knew to be on the look out, hell even too many humans seemed to be getting in their way.
In Holborn their tracker made their move. He came lurching out of the shadows; a heavily scarred man wearing the same skin-belt as the two younger Predator Kings from earlier. His laughter echoed harshly down the street, his eyes bloodshot and his teeth a bit too white for comfort, he looked almost forty and his arms were covered in renown; he wasn’t an elder Predator King but he was certainly a nasty one. He came unarmed from the looks of it but then as the pups watched in terror and exhilaration he drew two bastard swords, they’d been somehow coiled around his body in their sheaths but now shown in the moon light. He was alone and that was what terrified them, a lone Predator King can be worse than a whole pack and a lone Predator King with a grudge is worse still.
Fish leapt forward first, barrelling into the Predator King and forcing him back, Ashley grabbed one of his arms and knocked the sword out of his hand. The Anshega laughed and bit into Fish’s neck; he bit down with human teeth but tore away flesh and drew blood as a wolf’s jaw might. Pushing Fish off him he lunged at Ashley with his sword, stabbing her through the leg and pinning her to the ground, leaving the sword embedded in her leg as he turned back to Fish.
Fish had grabbed the sword that Ashley had knocked away and while the Predator King had his back turn he swung wildly, the Predator King leant out of the way and brought a fist up into Fish’s mouth, more blood coated Fish’s face. Gritting her teeth Ashley started to pull the sword out of the ground, it had buried itself into the concrete with the force of the blow and try as she might she couldn’t move it, Fish grey into Gauru as his moon leant him strength and leapt at the Predator King again. The Pure laughed and didn’t even change forms, he backhanded Fish and sent the huge beast flying into the wall, and walked over calmly and kicked Fish in the ribs, more broken bones for the night.
Finally managing to pull the sword out of the ground Ashley grimaced as she drew it out of her leg. Fish was up and biting into the face of the Predator King, he’d stopped laughing now; savagely ripping into the man’s face Fish looked near to Kuruth from his injuries. But with one last bite Fish leapt away, shifting down into Dalu as the man staggered around blinded by his blood. Fish grabbed Ashley up off the ground, yelling for her to grab the sword and run, and they ran again. The laughing followed behind them; they hadn’t beaten the Predator King, they hadn’t even gotten away really, he’d let them go so he could continue the hunt.
Hardly able to run it was Ashley’s turn to be dragged along until they could find safety, her leg bleeding horribly and Fish gritting his teeth against the pain of his own wounds. But find a place they did, an abandoned shed in the middle of an un-kept lot. And there they stopped. Looking at each other and looking at the two stolen bastard swords they both knew they were going to die; Predator Kings use these swords to kill Forsaken and there was one for each of them. But they wouldn’t go down without a fight, as they healed they spoke; fight him on their terms, not be caught by surprise again, how to use their new weapons, where to meet him.
Into the streets again, they knew where they were going now; into the old building near the University, if they were to fight they wanted somewhere where they didn’t need to worry about humans seeing. They moved into the old building; hardwood floors, boarded windows, brick walls, doors locked tight enough to discourage squatters but not a forceful Uratha. They waited facing the door, swords gripped in sweaty palms, side by side waiting for the laughing Predator King.
And he did not disappoint. He stormed into the building; blood drenched face from the earlier fight and white teeth gleaming. He stopped when he saw the two Forsaken and he grinned; the pups were already smiling, if this put him off he did show it. The two pups leapt forward, swinging the swords wildly at the Predator King who easily evaded their blows, he moved around them laughing at their efforts. He let them get close and his fingers twisted into claws, he racked these down Ashley’s back and across Fish’s face and laughed as the pups yelped in pain. And as he laughed Ashley and Fish rammed the swords down into his feet and into the wood below him.
Suddenly it was not so funny to the Pure. He struggled to move his feet and defend himself as Fish punched him in the stomach and Ashley kicked at his shins, he growled deep and grew into a great black furred monster, he howled and his claws shone a dangerous light as he called on some Gift to help him. He pulled his feet free with a groan and ripped his claws down Fish’s side; Ashley leapt onto the Pure’s back, growing into Gauru herself and racked her claws into his throat. The Predator King reached back and dug his claws into Ashley’s shoulder, pulling her off him as Fish changed into Gauru and bit into his leg.
They tried as hard as they could to heal the wounds done by his claws but they were too bad, the flesh was torn and wrecked almost as though silver had touched it. Fish bit down on the Pure’s leg and heard a crunch of bones breaking, Ashley clawed again and again at the Pure’s flank watching his fur become laced with lines of blood. The Pure struggled to stay on his shredded feet and broken leg, struggled to heal his clawed sides, he kept attacking the two pups.
He dug his claws into Fish’s stomach and Fish cried out in anger, almost losing himself to Kuruth, Fish twisted away and bit down into the Pure’s arm. The Pure shoved him to the ground just as Fish shifted out of Gauru, his rage exhausted; he laid there human and defenceless. Terrified Ashley leapt at the Pure’s throat, hoping to distract him from her weakened packmate; she closed her jaws around his throat and ripped her claws down his stomach again and again as through trying to burrow into him. The Pure dug its claws into her sides again but she ignored the pain and continued to rip into his flesh, she ripped his stomach open, ripped the flesh of his face to cover his eyes in blood and ripped into the wounds that were already there.
With one last gut wrenching tear the Pure stopped attacking; the terror in his eyes showed he was lost to the fear of death and he ran from the building and the two pups who had made a stand against him. And with that Ashley fell from Gauru down to Hishu with a grunt of pain as she held her lacerated sides together. Laying down on the floor next to Fish they took only a few seconds before they struggled back to their feet, they had to move but both were bleeding and Fish’s insides were a little too close to the surface for comfort. Ashley pulled out the first aid kit, her stitching equipment stored away carefully, the thread dedicated by Run-Blind to withstand changing.
“Guess you won’t mind if I practice my sewing?” said Ashley with a smile, “I promise I’ll go next.”
“They already teach you that at college?”
“Not technically, but I swear I’m a quick learner and I read ahead in the lessons,”
Laughing the two sat as Ashley stitched them up and off they ran again, albeit much slower this time as their wounds stung. As the sun rose they made it back to the pack’s house, blood soaked and tired but happy. They told their tale to Run-Blind and James, Ashley told of Fish biting the Pure’s face and dragging her away and Fish told them about Ashley ripping the Pure apart and stitching them back up after, Run-Blind gave Ashley the name Ripstitch to commemorate the occasion and then they had their initiation.
The swore the oath of blood in Gauru side by side; fighting to just talk and not attack, still drenched in blood, some theirs and some the Pure’s. Both earned a brand of Glory for their deeds and Ashley got her first Purity mark. They got their scar-names and saw the spirit wolf, as the feeling of Fenris-nu set their blood on fire they howled with their pack and felt the pride of being Blood Talon.