3 February 2009, On the street just outside the Black Squirrel

And here, outside a simple tavern on a night that is simple for just about anyone else, someone steps into the night and cold of the winter that seems unique to the Great State of New Hampshire.

Cat sits and curls his tail languidly about him. It's night now, and what light of the sky there is seems smothered in the shadows of the dark alley. There's a sound of metal sliding against the ground, the echoing sound uncertain...

Sue is relying mostly on her sense of danger at this point, and hearing, moreso then sight, silently drawing her blade from its concealment at the metallic scrape, slightly crouched in preparation.

Cat seems quite calm as of yet... There is a strange sound, much like a voice in the wind. "Be ready.... be wary... be not foolhardy... it is almost time."

Sue salutes the moonless sky with a one-handed gesture, thinking rather then uttering aloud "Ya devi sarva bhuteshu buddhi rupena samsthita namastasyai namastasyai namastasyai namo namaha", reaching for the oneness she needs in that small moment left. Her Goddess/Avatar will hear without need for speech.

The voice speaks, "We will not be alone..." Is it behind you? "The others come soon. And the darkness."

The further speech summons a mass of churning questions to Sue's mind... but now is not time. The danger is close, she can sense that... at least in part the voice speaks true. Banish the turmoil... in absence of thought, there is action.

Sue's fingers dive into her pockets, nimble fingers lacing themselves with small bones, a rattle. A tiny poppet upon a strap finds itself upon her wrist.

From the darkness a long, gaunt and leather hand comes into view. Slowly fingers curl and it seems to pull though there is obviously nothing there. "They come," rasps the silent voice.

A pair of glowing red eyes burn in the distance. Footsteps approach. There's the sound like cracking of knuckles. Though the shapes seem street toughs, there's something ... wrong about them.

Sue's gaze narrows, her grip upon her deadly blade firming as she studies the approaching menace...

Both seem a deep purple hue about them. Though it's obscured occasionally by swirls of many bright colors at once.

Sue grimly reachs into another pocket, pulling out a vial and uncorking it with her teeth, silently pouring the contents over her long, wavered blade.

Sue discards the empty container, her eyes never wavering from the threat.

The second chuckles. "Short work. Easy pay. Good lunch. Like this job." His aura shifts from the same bright and varied colors to a violet that swirls oddly and back again. The two continue to approach menacingly.

Sue remains silent.... there is no point in bantering, merely a waste of breath.

Seeing the woman ready the first readies himself in a stance while the second seems to dive towards Sue with a vicious and animal snarl.

Sue stays poised until the thug has committed himself, letting him near, judging from the thud of his heavy feet how close, before stepping aside from the charge with the grace of a martial artist, swinging her blade out in an arch to her side, right where the thug should be passing through.

Only he isn't quite headed where he feinted. Now the pair grin on either side. The second is almost giggling now as the two begin to charge either flank.

With a combination of melting shadows and the hazy faint flare of rainbow light, a figure appears behind the ruffians. An angry voice barks out "Not tonight, nithlings." The figure takes two steps and begins a quick paced, rapidfire, totally focussed chant in a totally alien language, blades in each hand that glint in the barest light out here.

Sue isn't about to let a feint phase her, looking in turn at each charging thug on either side of her. Her plan is to backpeddle out of their path and let them collide... and it still seems a good one, even with the arrival of the new presence.

Sue moves swiftly to extract herself from between the thugs...

The thugs are quick, quicker than simple street punks. The first and large turns to the new menace. There's a low snarl and a flash of a nasty grin. "At last, a challenge. Get the girl, Chuck. I'm for bigger stakes." The second is quick to return to menacing Sue, though numbers are equal for her now...

The chant continues, melodic and perfect as the figure strides, yes simply strides, toward the fight. Face in shadows, it is impossible to tell who or what it is, save for the blazing star over the right brow. Two quick steps and the figure braces for assualt, finishing the chant with several clear intonations.

The large one hefts an errant brick and hurls it against the wall. There is an odd wind in the air that somehow isn't really there. With his hand and typical male bravado he beckons the far imposing figure on.

Sue faces off with the thug known as Chuck. Any discount of her abilities due to her size or sex is just more to her own advantage as she eyes her opponent. She whispers softly "Is this worth your death?"

Chuck retorts, "So... you white meat or dark meat?"

Sue fixes Chuck with a critical gaze, summoning her control over the forces of Entropy, seeking out his achilles' heel. Murmuring back, she takes careful aim with her blade, preparing for his attack "You wouldn't like me, I'm poison."

The figure stands at the ready, running off the last word as the light on the blades suddenly change. It flows from first glimmers of ambient light and then flares to life, a burning, bright unnatural fire that illuminates the alley eerily. All anyone sees is bright light and the sounds of ringing weapons come from the other end of the alley.

Chuck feints again and strikes with a hefty fist at her side, hoping to wind Sue. He's a fast and despite that psychotic look in his eyes, he seems here enough to strike where it would count.

The first practically roars and with almost blinding speed charges at the light, his fists balled around a pair of brass knuckles. He either has guts or no brains. Possible both.

Sue is no slouch herself, the presence of light enabling her to see the feint and deftly side-steps the punch. Though swift herself, hers is an economy of motion, using her dodge to place herself in a position to stab her dagger down towards the thug's passing leg, intending to pull it across the back of the muscles there.

The light from the blades is strong and the noise loud as one blade takes an arm clean from the shoulder. The angle of the battle changes and the two circle once in passing and the second blade parries with a 'clang' almost as eerie as a midnight bell.

Something stirs on one of the rooftops overlooking the alley. But it's certainly not enough to distract anyone involved in close combat, for example.

Chuck gives an animal snarl and wheels on his strong leg to swipe at Sue's exposed side. Hurt or not, he's still spoiling for this fight. The larger one roars in pain. He ducks down and brings his shoulder up into the chest of his assailant to throw them over. With inhuman speed he sweeps the arm lost and seems all intent on feeding it to his opponent...

A dancing step away evades Chuck's fist once more, and Sue flips her deadly blade to grasp it by its tip, hurling it with an expert flip of her wrist towards the off-balanced psychotic.

The figure is backlit now as it turns with a swirl of coat to face it's opponent, growling "Wyrd is cast...life is over." Then, with agility and blinding speed, the blades are rolled over and drawn upwards in an 'X' as the two engage. The noise of the scuffle is filled with the sounds of death. Bones snap. A strangled growling cry is cut short. Something hits the ground with a crunch. The sound of the blades ringing as they hit the ground and the light fades from them. Someone lands on the pavement with a choked gasp.

The one known as Chuck wheels at the sound, perhaps fatal distraction as he turns to assess the state of his companion.

The wheeling wasn't quite enough to take him from the path of Sue's poisoned dagger. Though he is already doomed, his blood now even firing from the poison, this end is quicker as the deadly missile imbeds itself deeply into his back.

A hulking form briefly obscures a few stars before dropping to the ground near where the clanging of metal had just been heard. It lands with a solid #thump#, but doesn't fall over or even seem to falter. It wastes no time in moving rapidly toward the fallen warrior. It cuts loose with an inhuman roar that hardly sounds like it could come from a human form--yet it does. The form is distinctly, hugely, human. It stamps the ground as it walks toward the remaining goon, which is now paralyzed with fear by the roar....

With a choked cry the thing falls to the ground. Silence. The last turns towards the form. His... no its eyes burn with fire that just can't be run. The face is almost an inhuman skull and the cry simply chills the bone. It advances with menace bleeding from its entire form.

Jacob roars once more, the thudding of his steps seeming to shake the very earth. The goon backs away from the body, step by step.

With one final stamp, the ground *does* physically shake. A large sinkhole appears to open up just behind Chuckie, who could fall in at annny seconnnnd now.

Sue's eyes widen... she is -not- going to loose that blade, and time being precious as it is... she risks the burn of open defiance, holding out her hand and summoning the weapon to her from Chuck's flesh, invoking her control over Forces to reclaim her property.

The fallen Chuck falls in lifelessly, swallowed up by the crack. The remaining one falls like a boar, not realizing it is dead and fighting to the last inch of life it stubbornly holds onto. Finally it falls with a thud.

The fallen figure lays on the ground, still as death.

The sinkhole closes up immediately, with an almost satisfied #smack#. Jacob turns, and lopes in two steps to the fallen figure.

Just as Chuck falls, the blade pulls itself free from his corpse under Sue's will, and sails into her grasp once more.

Jacob lifts up the fallen body, the red hair now cascading down to brush the ground. He turns to face Sue from a distance, the small star over his right eye glinting dully.

Silence fills the alley. Then the whispered voice speaks again, "Mark the moment. The task is done." A figure slowly steps out, gaunt, thin. Wisps of ragged, stringy hair fall in a face shadowed by a tattered and broad-brimmied hat.

Fursa's face becomes visible for the first time in the darkness. The star over her own brow is visible as well. There is something protruding from her chest in a deadly way.

Sue grips her dagger warily, eyeing the collection of unfamiliar people. The chest wound in particular draws her attention, and she finds her voice "Does she live? I can help her, if so..."

Jacob's voice rumbles: "She lives." He does not bother to acknowledge your offer, however.

In the figure's arms rests the scraggly cat. The figure passes by like a whisper on the wind. "Live? Who here is alive? Who is dead? Who keeps track? We exists. She exists. That is enough." With a long, leathery arm he reaches out and draws the weapon from the body. "She is." Slowly the figure turns, cat still in arm. The weapon is held lazily at his side as eyes blacker than the darkness of the alley look to yours. A strange star seems above his brow as his gaze meets Sue's.

Blood drips from the wound and the weapon and from the side of her mouth. The damage was savage.

Jacob holds Fursa's limp body as if it weighed little to nothing. His weathered face looks concerned. Angry. Very, very perturbed.

Sue frowns faintly, fully seeing and noting each star... and the cat. She tries a different tack, suggesting in her most reasonable voice "Then why don't you lay her down, so that I can look at the wound?"

Jacob shakes his head, His voice rumbles again, "That is not your job."

Sue lifts her chin to gaze up at Jacob "My -job- is the help those who need me. She is wounded, she needs help, and I might be able to help her."

Jacob just shakes his head 'no'.

Cat's eyes glint with that same sickly green at Sue, as if its gaze never really left her. The tall, gaunt figure speaks, "She will continue to be." His voice is almost to soft to hear, but carries through the oppressive slilence in the alley. He fixes his gaze, "Your job tonight has been finished. You will have more to do soon enough. You will do them when it is time. Patience. The wheel turns."

Jacob fixes Sue with a look once more, then turns to walk away toward a nearby Jeep.

The look is not menacing, nor warning. Just...significant.

The tall figure reaches out with a long arm, the skin of the fingers cracked. "Come with me. There are questions to discover. Now is the time for questions."

Fursa hangs limply in Jacob's grasp. Unmoving, she looks mostly like she's dead.

Sue catchs Jacob's final glance, narrowing her gaze at Fursa's state. For all she knows, the other woman will soon join the thugs. With a deep frown, she turns her gaze over to the cat-laden 'phantom', "I do not question my commitment to my duty, only your assuredness of what my duty is."

Something moves in the shadows and is soon gone. There's a whispering in the wind.

Jacob simply walks with Fursa, laying her in the back of in his Jeep and driving toward the north.

Sue starts towards the cloaked figure, questioning "Where do you plan to take me?"

Sue turns towards the voice she hears, murmuring back "I am coming..." though more lowly beneath her breath "... but I don't like this."

The voice chuckles in the wind. "I never promised you would..."

The figure leads down into an empty manhole. Whether Sue follows is of course up to her.

Sue follows the figure resolutely, but warily...and climbs down the service ladder, allowing the heavy metal disk to slam close with a loud *clang*.