Tale as Old As Time [Finished]

[yamikuronue]

Siegfried chuckles. "Then I must know a lot about taking care of one's self."

[accalia]

Echo smiles and with a grunt of pain stands.

"that is one of the best skills one can have. are not the guests up and about? they must be wondering where we've gotten off to by now."

[yamikuronue]

Siegfried gets up. "Oh, right, sorry. I should go help clean up breakfast."

[accalia]

"Then we should be off, no? This one will help."

[yamikuronue]

It's a long, hard battle to convince Lance to sell off some of the properties; however, shortly before dinnertime, he finally agrees to consider selling some of the newer acquisitions, the ones his parents couldn't have cared much for or grown attached to. Maybe. There's one that's a struggling shopping center that they could sell to be developed into some different kind of thing, maybe a hospital or some such.... begrudgingly, he agrees to see what they could get for it, and maybe one of the Paris apartment complexes. Maybe. If the price is right.

Siegfried heads to market that afternoon, and does up a ham for supper, with a fresh vegetable soup, fluffy biscuits, and candied yams. There's wine and brandy after supper, though Lance excuses himself early, and everyone heads to bed happy.

At five AM, there's a loud howling, mournful and eerily close.

[accalia]

Julie rolls out of bed and groans.

Julie: that damn whelp... the master really needs to get him under control.

With a wince Julie shifts form, and pads softly out to the back yard to raise an answering call

Echo is also awaken bu the howling,

".... that can't be good...."

[CalamityJade]

Obsidian blinked and yawned. "Goddamnit....what the hell now?" Obsidian tossed off the covers and went to find something somewhat appropriate. If there was going to be mournful howling, he was going to make sure whatever happened after wouldn't haunt him.

[yamikuronue]

Something's wrong, that's obvious at once. It's five, Siegfried ought to be up and considering breakfast by now -- but the house is cold, dark, empty. There's no sign of life about the kitchen.

Out the back, Julie would have no trouble tracking Lance's scent... and Siegfried's. Both scents are humanish, heading toward town, one after the other as though they walked single-file. Her cry isn't answered, but if she trots toward town, she'd start to pick up Lance's wolf-scent on the wind.

[accalia]

Julie trots faster, her pace the easy run that a wolf can keep up for hours, eating up the miles, but still slow enough to track prey. something is very very wrong and she makes sure to howl the danger signal before she goes too far.

Echo hears the wolf call the danger alert and swears, the words he uses are ancient, in a tongue unknown even to scholars and turn the air around him literally blue for a moment.

"'ware the wolf signals danger.... what a way to wake."

Echo is already dressed for the day, his only suit once again clean and presentable. He leaves for the kitchen, noting the cold and emptiness of it. once outside he pauses to locate the source of the call, before running after it.

"not again... this one will not be late again. Sylphia.... This one will not let it happen again.

[CalamityJade]

Obsidian made his way downstairs and...shit, how the hell WAS he going to catch up with him. He wasn't going to be able to keep up. He needed a faster....Obsidian ran for the garages, hoping that Seigfried actually remembered to keep things going.

A few minutes later, Obsidian found himself heading off the grounds on a fairly well-maintained motorcycle. All he had to do was follow the howling, after all.

[yamikuronue]

The trail leads to a gas station in a rough part of town, but it's rapidly eclipsed by the scent of fresh blood. There's a number of fresh corpses on the ground -- though, only one of them seems to have been ripped into by wild animals. Lance's scent is everywhere, but so is Siegfried's. Judging by the bandannas three of the corpses wear, and the shirts and gold chains two of them wear, this was part of the ongoing gang war the newspapers have been covering; Obsidian might recognize the symbols from some of the inmates he knew.

[accalia]

Julie slows as she approaches the gas station letting out a hooting bark to warn of what's a head. She begins to examine the bodies, staying over each one only long enough to determine if it is Siegfried. She stops last at the clawed and shredded corpse.

[CalamityJade]

Obsidian slowed down at the gas station. "...shit." This was a problem...and that guy was definitely dead. What the hell even happened out here? He did notice the gang signs and frowned. So...only one of these guys were killed by a 'wild animal' and this place stunk of blood. He just needed to see how the other's died and maybe some of this would make sense.

[yamikuronue]

There's a track of blood leading down the road, smelling of both the wolf and Siegfried. On the side of the road, a lupine footprint can be seen, beside the blood streaks.

Another interesting note: beside the mutilated corpse is a pistol.

[accalia]

Julie follows the trail of blood hooting calls of inquiry, both hoping to get an answer out of Lance and to let the others know where she is.

Echo rounds the corner and reaches the gas station. After a moment and another muttered word that makes the air flash blue, and smell faintly of brimstone around him he's off again following the hooted calls of Julie

"Nothing can be done for those souls now. must get there in time to help. must get there."