Rocky loved life. He was a criminal all his days and even after his death and he absolutely loved it. Even more-so now. Why? Because it was just plain fun. Unlike before, when he was alive, now he didn’t have to worry about little things like the law or dying, not anymore. He was already dead, no fear there. He was a nightmare embodied, the kind of nightmare that everyone living in suburbs fears when they go into the city. A crazed killer who enjoys killing and stealing and raping and every other crime he can possibly do. Unfortunately for his victims, he has the permission of the only real ‘authority’ that can stop him. He doesn’t break the masquerade and doesn’t leave witnesses, so the Camarilla has no problems with his doings and hell, even if they did, Rocky wouldn’t care.

Rocky had not been dead long though, not long at all. He had only been dead for a few weeks, if that. He was quick to break all the laws he had in life, a dozen times over since his death. And why not? Why not have all the fun he wanted and enjoy his new nightlife to the fullest. Of course, he didn’t look dead, not to anyone that saw him and that was the issue. His victims never saw it coming. While he looked like the sort of person most sensible types would cross the street to avoid, it was the risk takers he loved. Those who dared to stay on the same side of the street as him and not even blink about him. Those who thought they were tough.

And right now, he was having his fun. Rocky currently had a sawed-off shotgun pointed at the clerk of this 7-11. He fully intended to kill him, but first he wanted the money…and his blood. Unfortunately the Clerk wasn’t interested in coming around the counter to actually hand the money to Rocky and in his jumpy state was looking like he was about to reach for the gun behind the counter. Two girls shivered in fear on the ground, crying as quietly as they possibly could. They were going to be Rocky’s fun for later on, after the Clerk was dealt with and the money was in his hand.

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Ty didn’t much like the new neighborehood he was living in with his brother. It was too dirty for his tastes, literally dirty. Not morally or figuratively. The dirt and grime and scum was everywhere and he just didn’t like it at all. It didn’t suit him or his preferences in the slightest. But it was what he had to deal with, to live with his brother and see him again. That didn’t make it any more pleasant for him though and every day he was looking through the classifieds for a new apartment in a nicer neighborhood to live on. The issue, of course, was money.

These were the thoughts going through his mind as he headed to the nearest store to get some milk. Why milk? Because he liked it in his Coffee in the morning and Frank hadn’t told him, so now at ten at night, Ty was out on his way down to the store to pick some up. And some candy, he decided. Just what, he didn’t know yet, but it would be something so he would feel rewarded for his effort on this grand quest for Milk. He was in the mood for something…chocolaty. M&M’s maybe or a Hershey Bar, he could decide exactly what once he was inside.

Thoughts of sweet candy on his mind, he wasn’t paying much attention as he entered the convenience store known as the 7-11. He went about his business, not paying much mind to those around him as he did, because frankly he just wasn’t interested in them. Going straight in and around the apparent line he glimpsed very briefly as he entered, he walked the long way around the Isles, the quest for Milk was almost concluded, he wasn’t going to be deterred now. Not with the holy 1% gallon so close to his grasp.

Fate evidently had another plan for young Tyler though as this quest wasn’t to be completed without many trials and tribulations. Just before he could reach the glass door of the refrigeration unit used to house the goal of this quest, something strange caught in his eye. It was a reflection. A particularly dark reflection. Gaia wouldn’t allow him his milk, not until he had proven worthy and this was the test. A far too difficult test, in his eyes.

A bald man, bald by choice given the shaven head, was pointing a Sawed-Off Shotgun in his direction and screaming at him to get on the floor. It seemed so foreign and alien for the young Philodox that he didn’t immediately even hear the words. “ON THE FLOOR NOW, CRACKA!” When he finally did hear them, he of course reacted. The loud command got the response it desired when Ty dropped to the floor. A box of cereal exploded overhead where he had just been standing, the chemically altered whole grains and cardboard showered down on his prone form. He was too slow in his reaction. The part of a wholesome breakfast that rained down on him in weak protest to his slow reaction proved that much. It demanded he move faster next time. Another shot crashed…into the milk this time. Glass shattered and rained down far more painfully on his prone form.

The white liquid of the milk drenched him as it exploded out of it’s plastic container and onto the floor. The shooter laughed as he turned, reloading as he went back towards the counter and the terrified clerk and children on the floor. He would have to kill the newest witness as he escaped with the money and trophies. Ty was well aware of that fact. Witnesses did no good at all, when it came to trials. He had personally questioned witnesses in the past and though unreliable were very persuasive when recounting events. Cop drama’s on TV proved that much.

The Rage inside of all Garou swelled at the thought that he might die here, a Warrior of Gaia, dying over a few dollars at a 7-11. It just didn’t seem right in the slightest and damnit it pissed him off! As a Philodox though, it wasn’t overpowering. With difficultly, he calmed himself down. It would be even worse to break the veil here, than it would be to die here. Backwards logic but that was what he used to calm himself back down and keep himself from shifting into a form he wasn’t a particular fan of…on camera, these places always had one camera…never a good one, but they had one.

With milk dripping off of him as well as blood from the broken glass that rained down before, leaving small cuts all over his arms from their covering his head, Ty stood back up. The shooter was out of sight now. Being as quiet as he could, he got to his feet and crept the long way around the Isles until he could see the Shooter. He didn’t see any signs of this being a gang member. But he did see a large gun in his hands and that was enough.

Standing up fully, he drew the 9mm that he always carried. Pointing it squarely at the Shooters back, he spoke in as clear of a voice as he possibly could. Loud and Clear to not only get attention but make it clear that he was steady enough to shoot a whole in the back of this man, if he had to. “Drop the gun and turn around, Scumbag.” Sounding like an off duty cop, he figured would help convince this man to listen…if his gun wouldn’t.
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For his part, Rocky was surprised to suddenly hear someone behind him, apparently giving him orders. When he turned around and saw who it was, he just laughed even more. Pointing his gun at the man who had the balls to point a gun at him…while dripping milk and cereal and blood onto the floor. He would give him credit, he had balls, but no brains apparently. As the earlier message wasn’t learned. Rocky was in charge here. And he wasn’t about to listen to some pussy that dropped to the floor like a bitch as quickly as he did. Logic wasn’t Rocky’s strong suit, but hell he was dead, he could take a bullet or ten if this little man had the courage to pull the trigger. But he was also fairly sure that he wouldn’t and more importantly, fairly sure that his own gun would turn this bitch into chop meat before he would pull the trigger. The shotgun was raised, and this time he would line up the shot carefully to blow his head off, “You just pissed off the wrong man, bitch. You’ll make a good lesson for the rest of these little bitches.”
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Ty really…really….really…really didn’t want to be shot. He was really…really…really hoping that he would have been listened to and this shooter would have dropped his gun. Fate wouldn’t let that be the case though. As soon as he saw this Shooter that killed his precious milk raise his gun, he called on a Gift…one that he didn’t use often, but when he had cause to, was more than pleased to have it. [b]Trick Shot[/I] was called upon, a gift that pleasant Air-Spirit had taught him. He pulled the trigger and with his aim apparently very well placed, actually shot the gun out of the bald man’s hand. The bang was followed by a scream of both pain and shock to have the gun ripped from his cold, dead hands with the force of a bullet doing the ripping.

“You haven’t met me, I am the chosen son.” The words spilled out before he even realized it, song lyrics from a song that had been stuck in his head all day. But hell, it sounded good, so he went with it. This quest would have a heroic end after he had completed his challenge. The rage he saw fill the man face was impressive. What wasn’t however, was the fangs that were lowered and the sudden way the bald man charged at Ty with murderous intent plastered all over his face in BIG red lettering. The young Philodox was already stepping back, readying himself to shoot again…this time at an apparent Leech.

It's been... an interesting evening. Leyna has been in a mood since she left the hotel. One hell of a mood. Her hands trembled in her pocket from her nearl boiling over temper and before she took it out on her dear friend Sashenka, she just needed to leave and walk it off. Giving her time to clear her head and sooth the relentless rage that weighed heavily on her shoulders. She loved Sashenka, there was no doubt about it. She would kill and die for the other Kin without question and never falter to be at her side when called, but sometimes Sashenka would say things and Leyna would find herself outside taking a walk so she didn't bash the kin's skull in.

Her boots fell on the cement heavily in a desperate hope she could stomp out her anger. Sweat beaded down her face, the heat wasn't helping anything and even though at night it was much cooler, it was still warmer than what Leyna was used too. Her shoulders were scrunched up, her forehead pulled taunt as her teeth ground together, causing tension pain in her jaw as the muscles flexed and pulled.

She didn't know how long she walked until she came across a 7-11. A Big Gulp sounded like a good idea, large sugar intake solves everything right? As she walked up to the 7-11 she took note of the scene that was taking place. She stopped and raised a brow, lowering her shoulders down with a slight cant of her head. Was she witnessing a robbery? She was. Gun fire went off and she took a step back, was it worth going in? What the hell was she thinking? Of course it was worth going in! She could beat the living crap out of this guy and feel slightly better... Right? He deserved getting his face beat in, didn't he? These places always had camera's though, she could be caught on tape and then deal with the police and find herself in a world of trouble.

Trouble, right she wanted to avoid that.

Her foot lifted to turn the other way, until she saw the other man through the glass. He was holding up a gun to the robber. Both eyebrows perked when she realized what she was seeing. He was Garou. He shot the gun out of the robbers hand and Leyna caught herself smirking. That's what the robber got! Ha! Wait.. why was a Garou using a gun?...oh wait. Glasswalker probably. Either that or American Garou were accostomed to that style of combat. She stood up straight and decided why the hell not? The Garou could more than handle himself but as Leyna figured, it was better for her to get into trouble with the law then a Garou, they had more pressing concerns.

With a firm grunt she walked up to the door and opened it. She didn't give much of a chance for the robber to react as she reached a hand behind her and as her hand moved forward a knife flew from her palm and landing squarely into the robbers neck. Her aim was impeccable and it should have dropped the robber... when it didn't Leyna blinked. Oh shit.

This wasn't how things were supposed to pan out.

Unarmed and suddenly overcome with retaliation Rocky took an unintentional step back, wondering at the sudden pulse of blood at his neck. The recently turned vampire didn't know what to make of it at first... the dead had no pulse but there was a painful throb at his throat just the same. Reaching up through that blood red haze that overcame what little sense he had acquired in life, the neonate pulled the knife from his jugular, sending bright red spurts of that precious, all-consuming, exquisite claret to spatter the convenience store's tiled floor. As always, the smell was intoxicating.

It was going downhill too fast, too sudden, too hard. Lashing out to his side, the vampire kicked one of the terrified kids who lay curled on the floor as he dove forward and hauled the other one up against him with his mutilated gun arm.

Fucking wussy asshole with his pussy fucking gun. He'd get his.

The motion itself was messy, clumsy, but it got the job done. The first child went sprawling, landing on a candy display closer to the door. A cascade of chocolate bars went flying, followed by a multitude of tiny candy covered treats that hit the floor, exploding out of their flimsy packages in a rainbow of sugar and color. The second girl gasped for breath as Rocky pinned her to his chest, gripping her up under one arm with already healing fingers. Her sneakers slid and slipped in his blood that pooled by both of their feet while he clutched her like a snot and tear covered teddy bear.

Stumbling backward toward the employee's only area, Rocky darted his eyes from assailant to assailant. A snarl lit his features as he grunted at the garou and kin. “Both of you cunts fuck off, or I'm gonna turn this little bitch inside out.” He almost barked, brandishing the knife close to the young woman's face in case anyone doubted his resolve.

In an instant the world changed, it was like the sun coming out in the morning to beat back the night. Like the clouds parting on a gloomy day to reveal the light. No-no those analogies weren’t fitting…not here, not now. A better one would be to say that the world had changed with a bang! Like a mortar shell exploding just in front of you and finding out that you were passed over but the fragmentation had torn through your buddies body. Yes, Ty decided that was the best way to think of how things had changed so suddenly. The mortar shell landed with a big BANG and the fragments missed his small frame, only to land in the smaller frame of a child.

Ty’s focus on what the best analogy was for what had happened, kept him from doing what he should have done. He had frozen, thinking about how best to describe everything. Instead of pulling the trigger a dozen more times until his gun stopped going BANG! And started going CLICK! Of course the odds that every round fired hit his target…being the Leech that was at present threatening a child, were less than high. But the way he figured it, if even a two or three hit his target, it would have been worth it. Unfortunately that didn’t happen and he had frozen instead.

The events that so distracted him were just odd to say the least. One second he was preparing himself to be attacked with fists from an angry looking Leech and the next a knife was flying through the air…and impaling itself in said Leech’s throat. As if that wasn’t distracting enough, to have the Leech suddenly stop and then turn and…kick one child an amazingly far distance, luckily for Ty that distance didn’t happen to be in his direction. But the sight of it all was just…shocking, surprising and darkly humorous.

…When he snapped out of his frozen state and started thinking and acting again, his first reaction was to holster his pistol. He wasn’t going to have a child’s blood on his conscious. “Okay…okay, gun’s away see...” He held up both hands to show he was unarmed as he continued on, keeping a close eye on the knife that was brandished towards the child, “Just let her go. We can work this out without any more violence, right?” He directed the question at the Leech, but it was meant for the girl who threw the knife as well. Ty’s didn’t even blink, much less take his eyes off the child though, not to see if the other woman agreed or not. Not now, now all that mattered was getting that child away from the Wyrm’s pawn that held her.

Slow steps were taken towards the armed Leech, small steps…each taken with deliberate care. Milk and blood alike dripping to the floor off of him still. “Why don’t you just let her go and then we can see about getting you out of here without any more fighting, okay? Sounds good, right? Yea, of course it does. Everyone likes the easiest route, it’s always the best and hurting a kid is far from that. See if you hurt her, the police will never stop hunting you and you don’t want that. You don’t want your secret coming out and the light being shined on your entire life.” He knew exactly what he was implying. His tone was calm as he said it. He wanted the Leech to clearly know that he knew what it was. Of course there was a risk in that…but it was a less than completely subtle threat which accompanied that risk.

Right now, Ty’s entire purpose for coming here was completely shifted into the far…far…far back burner. Milk for coffee was nothing compared to saving a child from the Wyrm Minion’s grasp. More than that, milk was far from important by comparison to saving a child. Even if this wasn’t a Leech, he would still be more concerned with saving the child than he was with milk and coffee right now. The EPIC MILK QUEST would have to wait until the child was safe…only after that could it be resumed. Although with the fact that the milk was shot would make that considerably more difficult. But that would have to wait to be dealt with. “Police don’t like those who hurt kids. They tend to shoot first and ask questions later where their concerned. So you should just let her go now.”

Leave it to a leech to throw a tempertantrum, kicking a kid and taking another one hostage. This was ridiculous. Leyna reached behind her pulling out another knife. It would have been easy to dispose of the leech and maybe save the life of the girl. A risk Leyna was willing to make to kill the unnatural creature that was there.

However the Garou present gave her a signal to stand down. WHAT? She looked at him like he had just lost his damn mind. Stand down? He even lowered his weapon! You never lower your weapon! She winced slightly in her confusion. Now she had a choice, do what she thought she should do or do as she was told. It was a tough choice. She could take out the leech, she was sure of it.... All she needed was a chance to prove it.

But nooo. The assumed Glasswork had to talk. Talk his way out of a fight with a wyrm tainted creature? What was he thinking?! He could kill this leech without blinking and he was disarming himself to talk out of it? She gripped the knife in her hands until her knuckles turned white, her eyes shooting back and forth between the Leech and the Garou.

She let out a small growl as her hand shook with the knife held tightly in her grasp. Come on! They could tag team this bitch and in three minutes be across the street having coffee. What is the reasoning for stalling? She couldn't wrap her mind why the Garou was being so.. so... concerned. Kill the Wyrm at all costs, damn the conscequences. Then again that is the majority of the reason Leyna finds herself in trouble. She doesn't think things through. She should, but lets face it... where is the real fun in that?

"How about an exchange." She blurted out as her eyes narrowed towards the Leech. It was easy to victimize the weak and afraid. "That girl didn't stick you, but I did." She said with a large smirk to Rocky in her thick German accent. "Or are you just scared?" This way she wasn't going against the orders of the Garou and she was still able to do something besides stand there like a moron. "Probably just scared." She said with such indiginity. She was insulting him, "I mean you have to be a pretty big pathetic jackass to hold a little girl hostage." She shrugged her shoulders a bit with a taunting chuckle.

She looked over to the male Garou, the police? Really? Was that kind of threat really going to work? She didn't know, but hell if it did that would honestly be something to see. She turned her attention back over to the leech and grinned widely, waggling her brows at him. Do it fagot!

If she could have she would have been Embraced into any of the other clans instead of Brujah. Not just because she despised her bastard of a Sire with every fiber of her being, but because it seemed that every time some newly fanged jackass went on a killing spree they were also a Brujah. It never failed. She had been Undead nearly three years so far and living in LA for just as long and while she was slowly coming to love the city as she did Paris, she was still no closer to embracing her clan or the Camarilla (nor the Sabbat for that matter) despite their attempts to recruit her. The Cammies were too uptight and the Sabbat were fucking insane; it was no wonder that she mostly operated alone then.

These nights to alleviate the monotony she’d taken up a pet cause; doing the world a favor by ridding it of newborn fangs hellbent on breaking the masquerade. Not that she cared a damn about the masquerade or Cammy laws, having broken a fair share of them herself, but class or no class, the Brujah in her loved the opportunity for a good brawl and despite her petite stature so far she was the undefeated champ. It wasn’t something she particularly liked bragging about, though, since most newly Embraced were about as dumb as rocks and high on the borrowed blood fueling their corpse which made taking them down somewhat easy. That… and she was fast. Oh so fast.

She had known he was trouble from the moment he sat down beside her, his breath fresh with blood, his nails caked with it. Someone had put up a fight and had lost, apparently. He sought to impress her with tales of his conquests, the fact that she was disgusted by him was merely another challenge he thought he could overcome. Truth be told, she had considered luring him into a bathroom stall and twisting his head off his shoulder right then and there but she hadn’t known how much of a nuisance he’d become so she left him alone at the bar. Word of his debauchery and his personal description spread quickly. Now there was a brujah her sire would have loved.

She made up her mind to kill him. For good this time.

She was hot on his trail, taking her sweet time stalking him from the rooftops. As she dropped from a three story building to the alley below she wondered how much trouble he could possibly get into before she caught him. And then the gunshot rang out… “Fuck.” She hissed. Uttering a series of very unladylike curses in French under her breath she hurried towards the convenience store, black knee high lace up stilettos beating the concrete as if it had somehow wronged her. If guns were drawn things were already bad but in this neighborhood the police still wouldn’t show their faces until much later. Shefelt genuinely sorry for the minorities. Between the biased police and supernatural assholes like Rocky they really were fucked.

She was surprised that there weren’t more people around, though the gunshot could have sent them scattering, she supposed. She entered the door and the scene quietly enough, all eyes were either on Rocky and his hostage or the two who were apparently opposing him. Only the clerk (everyone seemed to have forgotten all about him) noticed her; an otherwordly beauty with opalescent skin and entrancing violet eyes with a bountiful mane of crimson curls that disappeared at her slender waist. She wore a simple black sarong dress that breathed and flowed but still flattered her figure. Her lips were a scarlet stain and smirking, even as she raised her finger to them and signaled for him to be silent and drop low to the floor.

There was little time for fuck ups and a wrong move would result in the death of an innocent. She moved quickly, a red and black blur even to the eyes of the Garou, as she snatched up the young girl on the floor nearest the door and left. In a heartbeat she was back, empty handed, standing between the male and female and Rocky. “You’ve got five seconds to hand over the girl and possibly make it out of here alive… well, relatively speaking. “ she smirked. “Two, if you try anything funny. I mean, if you so much as twitch in the wrong direction I’m going to rip your head from your fucking shoulders, do you understand? Give me the girl. Now.”

How had things spiraled so quickly out of control? A quick snatch and grab, a little extra pocket money, a simple task. Nothing for the Camarilla to get all bent out of shape over, nothing specifically against the rules. Rocky stared momentarily at the scene in front of him, his mouth hanging open dully.

Really?

First the chosen hero with the girly little gun, then the crazy bitch-in-boots with the knife... and now? Now the better-than-thou redhead from the bar? The broken doll on the ground had been removed, offers made, orders thrown. This was just like the fuck-show days ago with Tweekin' Larry. Only without the back-up, or the benefit of a privately owned store with less than awesome security...

The girl in Rocky's arms twitched and cried, disrupting his train of thought. The heart that no longer beat was thumping like a drum, hitting him right between the eyes. His lungs no longer required the air that he sucked in and out of his flared nostrils, but with so little time between the neonate and humanity he couldn't help the psychosomatic reaction. Was the smell of his own blood supposed to be so distracting?

Drink her.

Feeling the red wash over him, the vampire tried to focus on the immediate threats in front of him, trying to decide what or who to deal with first, and coming up with next to nothing that would help him. If he allied with the redhead, he had no way of knowing if she would leave him to the other two assailants. If he accepted the exchange from the smirking bitch with the knife, her asshole friend with the gun might try and pry him away from her throbbing, succulent neck before he could drain away that jack-ass smile...

Drain her.

The hostage kicked feebly, half in shock, half plea for breath, Rocky had her pressed so close to his chest that it was surely suffocating her, but he hardly cared. Caring was a thing in the past now... far, far away.

Eyes rolling back into his head the neonate exposed fangs just in time for the store clerk, emboldened by the 9mm now nestled in his hand (rescued from it's hiding place under the counter during the skirmishing), to see the teeth come out, prying a squeal of terror from the entirely mortal convenience store worker. He fired off a shot at the monster, an act of utter terror and desperation which did nothing to help the situation.

The slug flew low, hit the girl in the upper thigh, the force of the shot enough to rock the neonate back a few inches on the slippery floor. The scent of fresh mortal blood broke the newly made vampire's resolve to not get himself killed. The knife arm flailed wildly, sending up more destroyed merchandise. Snacks, a container of windshield wiper fluid, and some containers of 10w30 were caught in the blade's rueful path. He snarled, biting down hard into the girl's exposed throat, sucking back vitae with a satisfied gurgle. He'd spent a lifetime hungry, scraping for every advantage and getting nowhere.

There was no reason that he should die starving.

((Notes: Rocky has entered frenzy. His grip on the girl is fueled by Potence, and will take multiple actions\what-have-you to pry open. Expect that the clerk will continue to blindly pull the trigger until his clip is spent, that's 15 in the clip, one in the chamber (minus the round he just shot), which will of course take far more than one post to run through. I would estimate 2-3 rounds per post. PM me (any of my accounts will do) or poke the cbox if there are any questions. ))

Presence could only go so far, especially when confronted with the supernatural. After coaxing the clerk into a submissive position she had unwisely counted him out of the equation… or rather had unwisely doubted the stupidly of the newly embraced Brujah. If she was the type to go off into extravagant lectures she would have berated the shit out of him for using a weapon to hold up a convenience store with ample witnesses still inside. And he was young, so young that he seemed to not even have a decent grasp of what he was capable of otherwise he would have spent blood to get the hell out of there. No, a meathead like him, she was guessing Potence was about all he knew. He reminded her loathingly of her Sire, except even he had not been that dumb.

Brujah speed could not keep her from being torn for an instant; the moment when Rocky bared his fangs and she heard and felt the clerk break out of the trance she’d put him in. She was not faster than a speeding bullet… yet. But she was pretty damn close, literally and non. She could not, however, be in two places at once, and she knew that whatever decision she made would greatly affect whoever made it out alive.

Her decision was made for her as the clerk fired the gun and the young girl was hit. The scent of the fresh blood affected her perhaps even more than the idiot Brujah, but when the Beast reared its ugly head she forced it in another direction.

The second bullet went directly between her legs and hit the vampire in almost the exact same spot. Fueled by celerity Gia rushed them both, putting herself in direct line of the clerk’s spray even if only for a few moments. It was more than enough.

The third bullet hit the Brujah in the lower back close enough to her spine to make operation risky… if she was still a mortal. She roared. A sound full of anger, laced with pain and mortal fear that she still hadn’t completely shed.

A shaved head meant little to her. With nails as sharp as diamonds she clawed the back of Rocky’s head, gathering a fistful of scalp to pry him away from the girl’s neck. It was difficult, being so close. Being wounded, being hurt. She channeled all her energy into her anger and tried to ignore her hunger, reaching back with her left hand and driving it fist forward into his mouth the moment he detached from the girl. Teeth and fangs embedded themselves into her small fist as they tore from his gums. He loosened his hold on the girl who was bleeding copiously from two serious wounds. Torn between finishing off the bastard and saving the girl, she chose the latter, grabbing the girl as she shoved Rocky into the back wall, hopefully to enjoy the rest of the bullets.

The fifth bullet flew right past her face as she dove into an aisle, on top of the girl.

And they continued flying even as she crouched on the floor and tore apart the girl’s jeans, ripping one pantleg all the way up to her crotch to expose the gushing wound. There was so much blood, there was nothing else she could do. She bent and placed her head between the young girl’s legs, almost like a lesbian lover, and drank.

Things were crazy before. They were at an otherworldly level of crazy. Having to negotiate with a Leech for the life of a little girl, camera’s filming the entire absurd scene. It was far from something in the Garou Hand-Book of fucked up situations with a nice easy to understand solution written up. But that was nothing for how strange it would all become very quickly. Before his eyes…something moved. Something fast enough to only be a blur. He had no idea what it was. Just that it looked, well…redish. He couldn’t describe it beyond that. But whatever it was that had moved, one of the children vanished, the only reason he was aware of that even was because suddenly there was only one child crying.

…And then a woman was standing in front of him. Between him and the Leech, between him and the child. Between him and any shot he may have had, if his gun was still out and if he was willing to use it to directly shoot another human on camera. To make matters worse, she was attractive, which made her distracting. An unnecessary distraction that was the last thing Ty really needed right now. Fortunately, Ty also wasn’t the type to just stare openly at someone and ogle them for hours on end…he just didn’t have the necessary courage for that. As a result, it was relatively easy to pry his eyes off of her rear and focus back on the issue at hand…that being the Leech who he couldn’t really see that well anymore. Not as much as he would have liked.

The young Philodox did the best thing he could possibly do in this situation, that he could think of at any rate. With the woman in front of him, blocking him from being able to help the situation with the child at present, he took a few steps back…he might have been considering rushing the Leech when this new woman put herself between him and Rocky. He didn’t draw his gun again though, instead he looked at the immediate surroundings around him, specifically the shelves of items. One stand that was closest to the door held magazines, the shelves opposite them held office supplies and little snacks. Nothing particularly large or heavy, unfortunately. There went the idea of throwing something to distract the Leech…nothing that was in easy reach, would do much to distract.

His mind went to work of what to do…he couldn’t very well pull out his gun and shoot at the Leech with camera’s and witnesses. That was what the other woman apparently didn’t care about with her knives…but acting recklessly with so much around to record it, was one big no-no that was drilled into his head repeatedly after those ever-important 48hrs had passed so long ago. That meant the best weapon he had right now was out. Safety Scissors wouldn’t be much use…a stapler, maybe that could work if he was lucky with the throw and managed to hit the Leech in the eye or something. A roll of tape…well unless the child started bleeding from a cut, that wouldn’t be much good. Even if she did start bleeding, it probably still wouldn’t be much good.

So caught up was Ty, in his own thoughts, that he didn’t realize what was going on with the Leech and the child…or the other woman who stood between him and them. That was the case, until a loud gun shot rang out. His attention snapped over the source, the clerk. Ty crouched low almost immediately upon hearing the shot ring out. He would have just hit the floor entirely, but he didn’t hear any tell-tale hisses that might have suggested it was at him. Of course that meant nothing, but his instinct had told him to crouch not go prone, so that was exactly what he did.

With his attention back where it should have been to begin with, he witnessed the newest woman to arrive acting in a far more direct way than he would have ever done. She ran at the Leech and with amazing speed, reached him not long after a second shot rang out. And then a third following quickly. She wasn’t human…that much was crystal clear. He had no idea what she was, but from what he had just seen, well it wouldn’t be a huge stretch for her to be another minion of the Wyrm…just what the translated to, he couldn’t guess at right now. More shots rang out as he watched this newest woman get the child away from Rocky. His line of sight wasn’t blocked now. But what was going on, didn’t make him feel particularly confident in his ability to charge into the fray and not end up with a bullet in the head or heart or some other vital organ.

So he did the next best thing, stayed low and moved quickly back behind the Aisle away from the gunshots, just incase any came in his direction. Milk was not worth being shot over and the child was safe. His gun was taken out again though. While being in cover as best he could, he leaned around the edge of the Aisle, pointed and pulled the trigger. Trick Shot ensured the bullet flew into the Clerk’s hand and took the gun out of it. Standing back up, he came around the corner completely and pointed his weapon straight at Rocky. This time no gift was called upon. This time, he took the time to aim carefully. This time he pulled the trigger more than once. This time there was no hesitation or delay in his pulling the trigger. A cluster of bullets flew from the barrel in a well-aimed, small grouping. Six rounds aimed at the largest target on the Leech, his chest. Six rounds exiting the barrel in rapid succession, proving that it was a semi-automatic that fired as quickly as the trigger was pulled.

With the new arrival, the chaos that emerged... Leyna realized her grave mistake. She brought a damn knife to a gun fight and not just any gun fight but one with supernaturals far more powerful than her. If she had the time to react, she would have face palmed herself and then promptly kicked her own ass. However much to her dismay she didn't have a whole lot of time to react, despite the more powerful leech getting in the way of the bullets, Leyna was without her Kevlar. Stray bullets still could get after her and that would end poorly for the kinfolk.

Yet she couldn't just stand there and do nothing, it wouldn't be right. It wouldn't have been the honorable thing to do, she got into this fight so she had to see it through. Damned if she does and damned if she doesn't. She hated situations like these, why didn't she just... mind her own business and kept on walking?

She lunged into the aisle and hide from the sounds of gun shots. Damn fucking leeches always making things difficult, why couldn't they just die? After hitting the deck, she started crawling along the floor, hearing more gun shots going off as the Garou shot the gun out of the clerks hand and then going after Rocky... shooting at him.. but didn't the Garou notice the other leech feeding on the girl? Holy hell!

Her teeth clenched together, obviously Rocky wasn't the biggest threat. That female leech managed to take Rocky down, this meant she was the bigger threat, this meant she was more powerful and this also meant that the Garou wasn't looking at the whole picture. Any Ahroun would have known to take her out first then go for the small fry. Rocky was just an idiot, this woman was dangerous. Though she can't blame the stupid mutt if he wasn't an Ahroun.

There would be no way though she could take on the female leech herself, she knew this. It would be completely idiotic for her to attack. So the only thing she could do, at least in her line of thought was take the attention away from the girl. Vampires could smell blood right? They were like... blood crazed, right? She sure the fuck hoped so.

With her knife she slit her palm open, letting the blood pool in her hand before slinging it over to the female leech, hoping to catch her attention with the scent. Her blood had to be more appealing right? Right? She really needed to study these things more. God damn.

It was still pure frenzy, untainted by pain or reason. Rocky could feel in an absent, detached sort of way that nails peeled at his scalp, felt the dull impact of the blow that cracked so many of his teeth. Crazed with the pressing need for vitae, he yowled with displeasure as the child was torn from his grasp and hauled into another aisle. The scent of his own blood, mixed with his clan-sister's and that of the bleeding girl was overwhelming.

Stunned, the minimum wage earning clerk looked down at his hand. It was a miracle, he observed through what was assuredly some sort of blessed second-stage of shock. The gun had been blown from his hand, but asides from a glancing blow from the bullet (which he realized with some difficulty burnt a little when it was touched) he was almost entirely unscathed. The second round of gunfire from Tyler's gun woke him from the examination of his own well-being to observe the uncommonly quick escalation taking place in front of him. It just wasn't worth the pay. In what might have passed for a moment of clarity “Andy” tore off his name-tag, and threw it to the ground. Pushing a succession of numbers on the register by memory alone, he popped the cash-box open and emptied it contents into his shorts before his will finally snapped. He jumped the counter and streaked out the side door, screaming nonsense about monsters as he ran down the street.

Four out of six shots hit their target, three in the chest blew the Brujah back against an array of nachos and potato chips, the fourth cutting straight through the meat of the vampire's left bicep. He slid sideways across the snack display, stumbling in the refuse that surrounded him as the last two shots buried themselves into a pack of Cool Ranch Doritos to his side. Something in the reptilian brain function that drove him realized that he would die soon if he didn't feed.

There was a new scent on the air now, fresh, strong, the smell of Leyna's blood drew Rocky's attention as he raised himself back upright. Eyes like a raging bulls sought hers as he ascertained that it was she who offered sweet succor with her life's blood. Snarling in his desperate hunger the neonate used some of the last reserves of vitae to clamber his way over the rack of merchandise that separated the kin and leech with supernatural speed. If he hadn't fed on the child, surely he would be dead by now. He hurled himself bodily at the kinfolk, sending them both careening to the hard tiled floor. With reckless abandon Rocky searched for purchase on Leyna with his jagged broken teeth, his only clear thought the need to drink.

The injured girl was fading fast, the terrified shaking from before had faded into the weak scrabble of her lacquered blue nails scraping against the floor. She moaned dully as she was fed on, the effects of the Kiss sufficient to take her away from herself but not enough to change the fact that she was bleeding to death. The bullet wound was beginning to show signs of healing from the red-headed vampire's ministrations, but the craggy wound at her neck posed an additional threat to her life now. As the gouts of blood ebb from below, they did not abate in the least from above. Watching events unfold through a veil of ecstasy mixed with numbness she thought she heard her little cousin crying out to her. Confused, but unable to feel pain she began to close her eyes.

“Manny! Manny get out of there! I want to go home!” The previously rescued child screamed at the top of her lungs, crying out in big choking sobs as she banged her fist helplessly against the thick glass doors of the 7-11. Clutching her other arm against her body to ease the ache that was growing from when she had landed on it, she spied the growing pool of blood at Emmanuelle's feet. The dark haired girl trapped inside was her favorite cousin, her own parents having dropped her off for a full week to visit the older girl and her family. They were supposed to go to the beach in the morning. She might have been only seven years old, but Sofia's abject terror for her relative's life held her in place. That same fear held her back from re-entering the store, so she had to settle for screaming until someone came to help. The police in South Central might not have had the best interests of it's denizens in mind, but the locals wouldn't turn the other cheek to a wailing little girl for long. The beating sound of sneakered feet was already not far away.

She wasn't expecting Rocky to come after her, no she was expecting the female to attack. So when Rocky lunged at her, it took her by surprise. "Eeeeeeeee!!!" Her body made an audible thud as she hit the floor, with a crazed vampire trying to suck her dry.

His fangs and gnarled face made her cringe, holding him barely at bay with an arm. "You want a taste of me suck face?!" She snarled back at him. "Taste this!" With the knife clenched into her spare hand she moved quickly to jab it into Rocky's left eye, twisting the blade with a squish.

Now she knew that would only just piss it off. She needed to kill this damn thing but she didn't have a stake or holy water.. or whatever it was it took to kill these damn things. All she had was her handy dandy knife of doom.

Maybe if she pierced the brain? It wasn't a Zombie Leyna. Didn't work like that... or did it? She couldn't overpower the frenzied beast, but she could stick it again, pulling the knife out and with a swift fluid move, jammed the knife into the soft tissue of Rocky's jaw, pushing it upwards hoping to at least hit the hard pallet. She pulled her forward, "FUCK YOU!" She roared, using that moment of opportunity to buck her hip to turn him over on his back so she could finish the job.

Seeing the Leech get knocked back by his shots was a good sign. He had it square in the chest with four shots. Not perfect accuracy but good enough since the thing looked dead from what he could tell at a distance…of course it was dead to begin with, so that didn’t help much. But Ty saw it drop, that was enough for him. So he lowered his weapon. Didn’t holster it yet, but lowered it. His vision shifted towards the Clerk just in time to see him flee through the door screaming about monsters…great, that just made this all the more difficult. Now they were sure to have company soon, of course with gun shots coming in rapid succession as had just happened…the police were probably well on their way here already.

Police would be an issue. Police would have to be dealt with. He was new in town, didn’t have any clear contacts to get out of jail if he got arrested here. He had opened fire…in a store with witnesses. His gun was legal but that wouldn’t really help his case much, even if he was acting in defense of a child. He couldn’t very well tell the Police that he was shooting at a vampire and trying to kill it to save the child from the Wyrm minion’s grasp. Hell, if he was going to say all that, he may as well shift in front of the Police to show the truth of his story, that the horrors from movies existed. No, no, he couldn’t be here when the Police arrived. That thought made him look back towards the Leech he had shot…

…And he was gone. It didn’t take him long to spot the Leech, but that just made matters worse. Rocky was fighting with Leyna and while Ty expected Leyna could take the Leech given that she seemed to be holding her own, he felt that instinct calling to him to help her. But how? He didn’t have perfect accuracy and they were too close together for him to fire without risking shooting Leyna accidentally. Of course he didn’t know her and given her reaction the Leech was probably something he didn’t want to know what, but she was also apparently an ally in this fight with the Leech, that was reason enough to try and help her. Reason enough to not open fire at the Leech again now.

Looking around, he saw the other woman doing something entirely wrong looking to the child. Should he shoot her? Was she helping or hurting that child? He couldn’t tell and didn’t particularly want to piss off whatever that woman was, considering how fast she could move, by shooting her and not killing her. No, no, best to just wait and see. Bigger issues needed to be worried about. Like the distant sound of running he could hear.

He was shaken from his thoughts at that realization. He couldn’t just stand around watching anymore. Not now. Not with bigger issues and more witnesses on the way. His weapon was holstered as he moved with a sudden rush. Getting behind the counter, he quickly spotted the CCTV with it’s four mini-screens, each showing a different angle of everything from the security camera’s constant feed. Without delay he pressed the EJECT button and grabbed the tape that popped out. Pocketting the tape, he looked back towards the scene of everyone else in the store.

There still wasn’t a clear shot at Rocky, not without risking shooting Leyna. The other woman was still on the child from what he could see. Pushing the indecision from his mind, he focused on what he had to do next. This particular gun would have be to ditched, he would have to get rid of it, stop the trail from reaching him. Call back to his Sept in Anaheim and ask them to go with his story that it was stolen…they would have to file a report with the Police and use their contacts to back-date it to a few weeks ago. Only then could he ditch it safely. In the more immediate though…that other woman who moved so quickly was still on top of the child. Leyna was still fighting with the Leech.

The indecision hit him like a ton of bricks. Who should he help? The ally who had thrown a knife into the Leech’s neck? The…female thing that had gotten the child away from the Leech? Or should he just leave and save his own ass and abandon these people he doesn’t even know to whatever fate wants to do with them?

No more delays, damnit! Pick and live with the decision! Life was a thousand times easier with a clear-cut plan that told him exactly what he was supposed to be doing. With someone in charge that could tell him what to do. He was no leader. He knew that. And right now there was no one else telling him to do.

She was beginning to regret ever putting herself into this cursed situation, even if it had all been for a good cause. Annoyingly, she found that since her embrace she had also developed a penchant for heroics, her main source of sustenance coming from Thug types, quite a few who had tried to victimize herself just to find themselves being overpowered by a tiny redhead with suspiciously sharp teeth. Before she had learned not to drain them to death there had been a lot of dead bad guys for the LAPD to clean up after. It was the type of thing most viewed as a blessing if it ever made it onto the news.

Now, however, things were a little different. She was trying her damnedest to save the little girl’s life but this was a unique situation and she wasn’t sure she had what it took. It didn’t help that her blood was… magnificent. She had never fed on one so young, and she was beginning to see why it was so tempting. Her own wounds began healing at an even more accelerated rate and she felt more invigorated than ever, though her fear of losing the girl began to grow. Then, to make matters… even more interesting, she looked up to see the other woman in the aisle beckoning to her with a cut palm. On purpose. “Idiot. Stupid American.” She hissed in French, just as Rocky leapt over the rack and tackled the woman.

Gia merely blinked before returning her focus to the little girl. The wound in her thigh was nearly staunched but she was bleeding from the neck profusely as well, she was very nearly gone. Desperate times called for desperate measures. She used her fangs to cut open her right wrist and forced it to the girl’s mouth, holding her tightly as she began to first choke and cough up the vitae before succumbing. Her own small hand reached up to grip the Brujah’s wrist as she fed. The taste could be argued but the effects were undeniable, even better than the Kiss the supernatural blood provided a high unlike any other, both seductive and addictive. She was just lucky enough that she hadn’t been close enough to death for the Brujah’s blood to finish the job and embrace her; Gia was certainly not ready for a childe. It occurred to her that in saving her life she had forged a bond, nevertheless, and might need to watch over the girl at least until it dissipated.

She snatched her wrist away as the girl began to get greedy and sap some of her newly restored energy. “Cela suffit.” She said, licking the wound to close it as she checked to make sure that the girl’s were healing as well. When she was certain that they were she got up and very calmly walked over to where Rocky was still trying to stick his fangs into the young woman. Given the stupidity of said woman she was almost tempted to let him, but then she remembered that he had gotten her shot and was the cause of this whole mess.

She grabbed the woman by the back of her shirt just as she straddled the male Brujah and very casually yanked her off of him, the result sending the woman sliding across the floor to where the young girl still lay, healing and in ecstasy. “Rest in pieces, Rocky.” She smirked as she loomed over him briefly, before bending over to claw at and rip out his throat. She tossed it aside in disgust as what remained of his vitae flooded the floor. Unfortunately, she knew that would only send him into torpor not actual death. She had never actually decapitated a person with her bare hands before, but it was surprisingly easy given she was no longer a person and Rocky was halfway there anyway. She dropped his head on the floor when it was all said and done, her supernatural hearing picking up the sound of sirens not too far off. “Shit.”

“Well, that’s my cue to go.. prison garb doesn’t really work for me.” she said to no one in particular as she removed the knife from Rocky’s head and tossed it back toward the woman. As much as she hated to do so, there was no way she was going to leave a Kindred’s body for the police to find and contrary to popular belief only the ancient ones turned to ash instantly. Given his age it would take his body at least a day or two to decompose. She tossed his headless corpse over her shoulder easily despite the absurdity of appearances, and gripped his head under one arm as she quickly made her exit.

<Exit Gia>

This night was just a whole series of fucked up beyond repair. With rocky on her like a fat kid on cake, she wasn't sure how she was going to get out of this alive. She cut and cut, hoping to reach the point where there would be nothing left of him. Bucking her hips to knock him over and gain the dominate position to make this go a little faster.

Then she was surprisingly ripped and tossed away from the leech by the other aggressive female. By the time she got her bearings together, Rocky had been finished off and the woman gone faster than she could blink. Fucking leeches! She snarled and licked her bottom lip.

The exposure risk was just increasing, the sirens were off in the distance and coming closer. She had to get the Garou out of there before anything worse could happen. Stupid people and their running and screaming, they can't think beyond their own trembling piss filled fear.

She looked over at the Garou, rushing towards him and taking his hand. "Come on!" She tired pulling him along. "Introductions and explanations will come Rhya." She said to him in her thick German accent, she knew that the Garou wouldn't be to pleased with her actions but she didn't care. She did what she thought she had too. Kill the Wyrm at all costs, even then she failed as the Leech Bitch beat her to the punch.

No one fucking steals her kill! Her eyes would forever be on the hunt for that cunt parasite and when the time came, Leyna would rip her spine from her body. She growled as she tried to drag along the Garou, hoping he wouldn't fight her too much. She didn't want to bash in his face and lug him over her shoulder.