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Raylene Dunwich     The job posting was recent, but seemed pretty simple. For those that weren't listening in on the radio for details, it states very plainly: Small group of bodyguards and investigators wanted for quick investigation in rural area. Hazard pay bonus provided if needed.

    It might be a surprise that a newly-unified world has someone providing detailed directions to and from a warpgate. This is one of those cases, though. The warpgate is large enough to drive through, but even if they tend to open in important areas, this one leads to a gravel road, with weeds choking some parts, that winds down a hill. Or is it a mountain? It's swiftly-determined that this is an Earthlike world, with poor but occasional cell service, and the gate opened up somewhere deep in the Appalachias. Civilization is hard to come by for the brief trip down the mountain.

    The actual meeting point is at the base, where the gravel intersects with an old and poorly-maintained asphalt road, with a few dirt roads branching off of it in the distance... what can be seen in the distance, that is. Forest is dominating this area, but it intersects with farmlands.

    Raylene is waiting there, a young girl of thirteen or fourteen standing by the battered signpost, wearing a victorian dress of some kind. Next to her is a battered pickup truck with a man in blue jeans and flannel, just to make this even more painfully stereotypical. Looks like this is the 'transportation' she's providing.

    "Hello, everyone," the girl greets. The redhead looks far too clean for this, but her dress at least isn't too out of place for the odd sense that this place gives. "Thank you for coming. This is probably nothing, but one can't be too careful. We're going to be looking at this event in a small town not far from here." She'll pass out a newspaper clipping talking about a mountain lion attack in a nearby town, talking about a mauling of a hunter. The circled paragraph talks about the hunter's companion insisting it was 'some kind of monster I couldn't see clearly.'
Guest Psyber     Normally, Psyber either wouldn't come out or would bill an inordinate amount of money for someone to get him out of the office on Super Bowl Sunday. Fortunately for Raylene, her name is interesting on its own and he literally could not care less about the Panthers playing against the Broncos. These two things are the driving reason that Psyber is here today to meet up on this bodyguard job.

    "Yo," He greets to Raylene with a casual sort of half-wave, "Psyber. Private investigator and paranormal researcher. We talked on the radio the other day and I said I'd come out," He muses, looking at the article handed to him. There's a tilt of his head as he reads over the text and scowls gently, "Could be a Wendigo. It's be sorta weird for the Jersey Devil to be out this far. Mothman, maybe?"

    He reaches under his coat and checks his holster for one of his guns. Content to find it there, he sighs a bit, "Anyway. I'm here."
Sakura Haruno     Sakura is not terribly far behind Psyber, having made the offer to come along as much out of boredom as anything else. She's not really too worried about this job; it seems to be rather on the smaller side, and even Psyber probably won't get horribly mauled. Still, given she wasn't actually hired, she's less here for the bodyguard job and more to guard the guards.

    At least she's managed to dress in a respectable way, because even in a dress the pinkhaired woman with what looks almost like a tattoo on her face is probably going to stand out quite a lot.

    "Did the hunter live?" She'll ask, after glancing at the clipping and working out what it claims had happened.
Mel Brock     So investigation. That's a thing Mel Brock does for a living. She's not so hard-up for cash that she needs to supplement her income, especially now that she's drawing Elite salary besides, but it's not the kind of thing she minds having as long as it's allowed. More importantly, it gives her a chance to flex her investigative muscles in a new world, under new rules of existence.

    The world in particular doesn't seem to have issues with Multiversal exposure, so she's opted to just fly her Chaser in, swinging the smallish red vessel through the warpgate and following the trail from an altitude of about ten meters. The marshal hasn't had much occasion to deal with near-wilderness like this!

    When Mel swings a leg out of her landed Chaser and stands up, however, she's greeted with a sight she /really/ wasn't expecting; that of a young teen in Victorian-style dress who is quite clearly their actual 'contractee' for this job. She's not so dumb as to assume it's the man with the truck. "Afternoon," she greets, a touch... hesitant? Wary? It's hard to say. This is already pretty solidly out of her experience. "Marshal Brock, we talked on the radio. Way I see it, I'd rather investigate and find out it's nothing, than leave it be and it turns out to be a problem." She gives Psyber a slight incline of the head, then puts her hands in her longcoat's pockets.
Duet Fortuna     Duet is naturally coming with Psyber and Mordred, as this is an office thing... sort of. The masked girl doesn't wear her usual dress, but a more practical outfit made for hiking, with jeans and a shirt under a jacket for the chill. The mask is still there, though. Always there. She glances at the clipping, frowning. "It could just be fright and shock making him imagine things, but I guess if we're here, there's a possibility it's something more."

    She doesn't know North American Myths enough to have an opinion on what it is, though. She'll just take a seat while looking over the young girl. "A little young-looking to be doing this. Duet Fortuna, Syndicate and Heaven or Hell. My specialty is supernatural seals and paperwork. Regular paperwork, I mean, not supernatural paperwork."
Mordred     'Bodyguard' is a term you could use to describe Mordred.
    So is 'investigator'. EX-rank, etc.

    Coming along with Duet and Psyber, the blonde Saberface is wearing short shorts and a white tank top under the hunter's coat provided to her by Psyber ages ago. If she can see anything unusual she doesn't say anything because as a Servant she's familiar enough and perhaps desensitized to the idea people just have invisible spiritual familiars of one nature or another hanging around them at all times.

    "Sup. Mordred. So why don't we get a debriefing on that local town while on the way there? I'm hungry, what's their local food?"
Nathan Hall     Nathan had a lengthy talk with Psyber on the way over. It was about sports, or something about Nathan's impression of sports. It was the same talk they've had, unerringly, every superbowl since AU 21 or so. We can leave it unwritten; one can assume the words 'Sportland Sports' and 'sport points' were uttered at some point, as a concise summary.

    What's important is that now he's looking at the clipping. "If this is some form of monster... Mountainous rural environment... Hmmm, too broad so far. I will need to examine local conditions in more detail to narrow possibilities... Ah, right. Salutations, I am Nathan Hall, Union librarian and Heaven or Hell investigator. We should have our medical expertise directed towards the man with the wounds, our social expertise dedicated towards interviewing the witness, our tracking expertise dedicated to examining local environment and ecosystem effects that may be produced by various monster types..." He's already planning! That introduction didn't last long.

    Are they heading to town in this truck? Nathan thinks, uh, maybe it'd be better to stick with Psyber's car, that's looking a little battered. Like the rest of this region, kind of. He's definitely going to board up on whatever the group decides for transport and head to where they're going if it's time, though!
Amalthea     So it's Super Bowl Sunday and yet again, the Dolphins are not playing. How Amalthea wishes she could hearken back to the golden years.
    Those years being 1973, and 1974 respectively.
    Nevertheless, the unicorn is here. Though not a member of the Syndicate, she tagged along with Psyber anyway. Because in a knock down drag out fight between Panthers and Broncos, she'll be screwing off on the side, secretly wishing Dolphins, anyway. "I put it on record, if anything we can watch tanky guys give each other concussions for fun." She notes blandly to the half-angel.
    Down to business though. She's in her lighter armor for this venture, layered chain and light plate under her usual deep blue surcoat. Thusly, the armored unicorn follows, lance and shield strapped on her back, hands stuffed into the pockets of her curcoat, every ounce the perfect and noble night, she is naturally slouching and slacking her way along the old road.
    Her lone blue eye regards the girl meeting them for a long, long, moment, a silent and deep stare at both the girl and her choice of attire for this outing, but no negative comment from the old night. She simply takes the clipping.
    "Huh. Vicious mountain lions." Muttered dryly, giving the hint that she's eyeing the witness report more than the rest of the clipping, before giving her own introduction.
    "Amalthea."
Raylene Dunwich     "Raylene Dunwich, for those who haven't heard," says the girl with a curtsy. Introductions are important!

    Raylene climbs into the truck as well. As soon as everyone mounts up, it'll be on its way. In the meantime she's looking at Mel's Chaser, finding it fascinating in some way, but not asking a ton of questions. She knew that Mel was from a spacefaring world. "I wouldn't fly that around too much yet. We have enough people rambling about UFOs around here, and I don't know how long it will take airspace permission or whatever is needed to get done." She doesn't look too worried about it though. It's a new thing, but this world isn't hiding unification, so it'll be accepted soon enough.

    Psyber's comments get Raylene shaking her head. "Too far north for Mothman to be likely, and they tend to try scaring first. Not to mention being largely nocturnal. Could just be a mountain lion. Could be something strange and new. Or it could be a therianthrope. Probably not a werewolf, I know the only werewolf in the area and he was in class at the time, but there's always a chance of a new one in the area."

    Sakura, Hall, and Amalthea have things to say about the mountain lion attack. Raylene has further info. "The first man didn't survive, but he's still fresh in the morgue I think, if we get there soon enough. I may have to bribe the coroner, unless you have another way. The other had minor injuries, but if it's really a therianthrope we should look at them. I'll have the driver drop off anyone interested in that at the farm on the way."

    As the truck starts up and trundles down the road, "I was forced into the life a little early," Raylene admits to Duet. "My elder sisters died young, there was a bit of a mess to clean up." She doesn't sound too sad about it, though.
Mel Brock     "I don't mind leaving it," Mel replies, headed for the truck and hauling herself up and in fairly easily. "If there's an emergency, I can always hit the call button. Autopilot's not the most reliable for any kind of maneuvering, but it can track a signal in a straight line." She settles herself onto the side of the truck bed, near the cab. And then listens in silence to all the talk of supernatural creatures. It's... it's certainly something, listening to all this. What bothers her the most, though, is probably hearing that Raylene was forced into this life before she was ready. She's heard too many similar stories, almost all of them ending badly.

    Mention of a bribe puts a little frown on her face. That's not something she wants to be party to. "I'll help with interviewing the witness. That's something I can pull off, I think."
Sakura Haruno     "Well, I can take a look at that if you want. I don't think we'll need to bribe him, just let me see..." She'll start to dig through her bag, coming out with her ID for Boston's hospital. It's very official and everything without mentioning the Union; hopefully, the tiny expiration date being far into the future won't give that away because the ninja will use stealth skills to hide it.

    That is, whenever they run into someone she needs to bully her way past she'll hold it up with her thumb covering the date.

    "It's been a long time since I saw anyone who'd actually been attacked by a lion, though. Should still be able to tell if that's what it was." She'll offer, shutting her eyes as the truck moves. She seems nervous about the ride, for some reason, and maybe less nervous than terrified.
Guest Psyber     "I wasn't thinking lycanthrope, but," He frowns a bit, "I dunno. Hard to say for sure. Canada had a really bad Wendigo problem earlier this year, I had to go up there and burn a vacation cabin just to clear them out. Sealed a mine and everything, too," He shakes his head, scratching the side of it as he thinks.

    He looks back towards Haruno, "If it was a lycanthrope, you should check him for bites and vaccinate him," Psyber says seriously to the medic, "But you're way smarter than me, so you've probably already been planning that."

    He yawns a bit and then gives a half-hearted wave to Mel, "Yo. You're a new face. Welcome to the team." He generally hangs out near Duet and Mordred, but that's because he's till fuming over the annual Sportsball debate with Nathan, so if he gets stung by a bee Psyber didn't stop, that might be momentarily acceptable.

    He's content to ride in the truck, generally relaxing and shutting his eyes. He does briefly reach into his wallet and take out twenty-five dollars, handing it to Raylene, "Amal and I have a bet running. Hold onto my half and give it to her if she wins."
Raylene Dunwich     The driver leans out and calls over his shoulder, "If you're looking for food, there's a local cookout coming up. People might be up for having someone taste test their dishes. Hunting season's been pretty good too. The Cavey house I'm taking you to, she has a mean venison stew that she might have some leftovers for if you want."
Duet Fortuna     "It doesn't look like anyone is blaming him," Duet points out. "And Flowers - Haruna here - is a medical doctor. Since it isn't a homicide they might be willing to let us take a look if we're smooth with words. No need to bribe them, I hope." She'll glance at Psyber to make sure she has her laws right.

    Voting on where to go is easy. "I think we should all stop at the witness, so we don't go in blind on what we're dealing with," Duet suggests. "Then we can investigate the trail together, too. Maybe dropping off Flowers and anyone else at the morgue." That's up to Haruno, really.

    Mel's new, so she's getting a once-over by Duet. She isn't asking any questions, but neither is she looking unfriendly. "I'm not from an Earth I'm afraid, so my knowledge of what kind of creatures could do this isn't clear. Maybe it's a Multiversal one?"
Nathan Hall     "We should begin with the interviews. it can provide us some leads that can be followed up on with the other matters." Nathan says, keeping a perfectly flat, unbothered, emotionless posture even while the bumpy truck ride bothers him. "Then, we can spread out based on those clues; this will hopefully give us the idea of what to look for to confirm that it is, in fact, a supernatural being rather than a lion, and what sort. Hopefully, by the end of this, we can track its location and nature, to neutralize the local threat."

    He's not got much to do, himself, right now, aside from warm up a couple bits of essence to get his social things done particularly effectively.
Amalthea     Amalthea exchanges a few whispers with Psyber, silver lips pursing thoughtfully for a moment before she seems to settle on something. "Too far north for the Skunk Ape too, aren't we?" Mused before she lifts her shoulders into a half-assed shrug. Though the mention of a werewolf in class does gain a quirk of her brow. Well at least he as an alibi. But the mention of the girl's sisters- and their untimely demise means her attention is back to Raylene.
    No comment, though. Not her business unless the girl decides to share more. But then the unicorn tugs her cloak around herself a bit tighter. She's eyeing the woods.
    This is about when she tugs a small pouch from her belt. This too is passed to Raylene, clinking with coins. It's about twenty-five dollars worth of gold coins. "Same deal. Pass that to Psyber if he's right."
    So the truck ride is nice, but a little cramped for me." She notes with a pointed look to some others.
    (Nathan).
    Until she just props her boot up on the back wall of the truck, "but I really feel like I need to stretch my legs. I think I'll take a nice walk through the forest."
    And then she kind of just hops off the truck and starts strolling her way along the road into the nearest treeline.
Mordred     "If it's a lion I used to know someone who taught me how to tame one. Or maybe it was how to choke one," Mordred idly says, trying to recall which it was. She never really hung out with Yvain much, though she saw the lion once. Something about wrapping your arm around its neck and... something the head? Maybe it was just choke, not tame.

    The Servant would probably argue sportsball with Psyber JUST for the sake of argument, naturally inclined to take for the opposite team as he does, but maybe another time. To the driver she notes, "Oh man, a cookout, yeah, do want. Guess we gotta do that witness thing first though."

    Rather than help hazard guesses on what's going on, the Servant instead eyes Raylene, curious. "So, anyway, what do YOU do? You've got an angel, a superghost, whatever Nathan claims he isn't these days, a unicorn, what looks like a future cop, a ninja doctor and..." What does Duet even pass as? "... a... secretary? Anyway, what's your contribution?"
Raylene Dunwich     When Amalthea hands her the money and hops off, Raylene tucks that and the twenty-five into her purse's side pocket for now. This... doesn't seem to surprise her at all. But Amalthea leaving does get a small sigh, "Oh, that's probably for the better. I have no idea how I was going to explan a metal talking unicorn to anyone else." The driver doesn't seem bothered, but there's probably a reason for that.

    Mordred asks a pointed question that Raylene needs to answer before she can feel comfortable moving on. "I'm... a witch, I suppose. By inheritance anyway. If it is a curse or werecreature, I can diagnose that. It's hard to explain because so many people have such a different idea of what a witch can do. There's a reason I'm not flying here on a broom." She taps on the glass behind her, where the driver is listening to everything. "A few people know the truth and it doesn't bother them, but as far as most know I'm just an eccentric young girl. I guess I'm that too."

    The town isn't all that far, but the farm where the Cavey household makes its home is even closer. Driving up a dirt driveway to an old farmhouse, the truck parks and shuts off. It's only a few seconds before the screen door opens and a man with his arm in a sling is outside, peering at the newcomers. No gun, but he has the look of someone who wouldn't mind using one if the visitors turn out to be rude or hostile. The article said his name was Bill Cavey, for reference.
Guest Psyber     The first thing Psyber does when he hops out of the truck is throw a small disk at the man. It's about an inch or two wide and gleams as it soars through the air. If he has decent enough reflexes, he'll catch it. Psyber will watch him carefully to see what happens when he does.

    "Bill Cavey. I'm from the..." He checks his wallet, "FBI. Agent Crosby Stills." He holds up his fake badge, "I heard you saw something pretty weird out there in the forest. And that it wasn't a mountain lion. Care to tell me and my team about it?"
Mel Brock     There's just one thing Mel feels the need to correct Mordred on.

    "/Psychic/ future cop."

    But Raylene is a witch. And more significantly, she managed to explain that without saying much about what she's actually capable of, beyond 'diagnosing curses or were-ism'. Interesting.

    When the truck pulls to a stop, Mel turns and hops out, choosing not to keep her hands in her coat pockets this time; keeping them where the man can see them so he's not nervous about the approach of a tall woman wearing some weird thing on her jawline and a coat with metal pauldrons. "Mel Brock," she greets, adopting a fairly businesslike tone - and briefly side-eyeing Psyber and his cover. "I'm with him. None of us exactly buy the 'mountain lion' bit." A bit of 'I'm here to believe you' right from the start, hopefully to ease the suspicion.
Sakura Haruno     Sakura will be awfully quick to hop out of the truck and start heading for the door. She's behind Psyber, though, and so will whisper/hiss at him as she passes for his ears only - and maybe anyone else in the nearby area, namely 'earth' - "Don't throw things at people with their arms in a sling." Flowers is ever the helper.

    "The agent here wanted me to take a look at your arm." She'll offer to the man. "We can do that while you talk to him, if you'd like. Don't worry, I'm a doctor, I can make certain it's healing well."
Raylene Dunwich     Raylene quietly climbs out of the truck, but she just hangs around and looks Bill up and down. Whatever she can do, she doesn't need to get close. "I'm just along for the ride to town," she explains.

    Bill is a lot more worried now though. The FBI show up, wanting to ask questions, and say they don't buy the mountain lion story. This immediately makes him think maybe he's suspected of homicide. So he naturally tenses, but nobody is arresting him, so he's going to cooperate.

    "Huh. Funny name," he mutters as he pulls up a chair. "Chairs by the swing." There is, in fact, a porch swing, with some folding chairs next to it underneath a tarp to keep out the elements. He looks to be preparing his story.
Mordred     "That explains a thing," is all Mordred answers, not being especially familiar on witchcraft in particular. Then again it might just be a catch-all term, and not a specific brand of magic here. Could be worth asking later.

    As they finally arrive at the farm, Mordred follows people off the truck, dusting herself. She acknowledges Mel's correction but doesn't really say anything, because if she has to get detailed about what everyone here is she's going to be here all day. Then again, she also doesn't know Mel! So easy mistake to make.

    As a quick aside, she whispers to Duet: "So, what do YOU think it is?"
Raylene Dunwich     Sakura poking about his arm has him looking wary too. Bill mutters, "Can I see some ID?" The Boston ID should be fine, though, and presuming she produces that, expiration far in the future or not, Bill relaxes and lets Sakura look at his arm. It's broken just above the elbow, a clean snap likely from twisting the wrong way, and is not yet in a cast. It's a splint instead, probably with a cast going on within a day or two. A dressing is along the upper arm and shoulder, and underneath it's easy to see why a mountain lion would be suspect. It'll probably scar, but only mildly, because the stitching job is pretty professional. The cuts seem a little deep for a passing swipe by a mountain lion, though. It'd be an awfully big lion.
Duet Fortuna     Duet climbs off the truck, notepad in hand. She's going to do paperwork, dammit! That means scribbling down anything of interest. The only thing her abilities are going to be used for right now is... a very mild reaching out, to try to ease the probable nightmares that the man is going to have. She can do that now, though it isn't her easiest ability to use. She probably can't eliminate them entirely, nor would she want to.

    "Duet Fortuna," says the woman. "I'll just be taking notes. Nothing that will be published, so speak freely if you wish."

    To Mordred, she murmurs back, "The attacking creature? I don't think it's a lion, having met the man. He seems too... collected for it to have been something to panic him. Not a city folk to get startled by a wild animal so easily."
Nathan Hall     Nathan notices the tensing. He moves in to handle it, seeking to put the man more at ease here. FBI, right? And... Hmmm, talk of UFOs, locally? Maybe Nathan can play on that. He approaches, tilting his head. "Correct. We wanted to hear your story directly. We suspect it may have been reported with some very crucial elements redacted, some which may show some especially unusual risks in this area."

    Nathan is trying to make this seem more like they're here to investigate the strangeness of his story, without making it too clear how much it's being taken seriously, so as to make sure he reports it without embelishment. If it looks like the government is taking his story seriously, it'll look less likely that they'll be pressuring him specifically! He might be trying to evoke just a little tiny bit of Men In Black, only enough to make this less of a high-pressure situation for the man.
Guest Psyber     Psyber gives a nod towards Mel and then rubs the back of his head, "Don't tell the local cops this, or my supervisors at the agency, but I think it was a..." He looks around a bit, "Monster. My partner at the Agency doesn't believe me, so I had to get some private contractors to come help me investigate this."

    He reaches into his coat and takes out a pack of cigarettes, putting one in his mouth in clear defiance of Sakura's repeated anti-smoking warnings and lighting it up with a slow exhale, "Because really, the cops won't ever listen to me about this stuff."
Sakura Haruno     Flowers will indeed produce the ID, taking a careful look at it, and frowning to herself. She can't really tell if he's been infected or anything without using chakra, and she also wants to heal him with every fiber of her being, but that'll make it rather obvious that she's not a normal doctor.

    Giving an irate look at Psyber and his cigarette, she'll attempt stealth to deal with it.

    "Can you look over at him for me for a minute?" She'll point at Nathan, making the request of the man in a completely normal attempt to be stealthy before making with the glowing hands to both investigate and... encourage the healing along. This can't go wrong in any way.
Mel Brock     "I'm not his usual partner," Mel adds, choosing to take a seat for herself as well - resting her arms on her knees. "But let's just say I'm one of the few people who listen when he says something. I've got my reasons to believe. So I promise you, you talk, we'll listen."
Raylene Dunwich     Bill takes a deep breath. "Chuck and I were just up hunting, nothing special. It was our last trip, probably... we'd about hit our quota, y'know?" He jerks his thumb back. "Have some leftover stew if you want some, actually. Anyway..." He frowns, not sure where to go.

    "It was pretty sudden," he finally says. "We'd found a game trail, and were tracking a twelve-point. Last day of hunting season and all... and at first we thought maybe there was a mountain lion around. We got into an argument, but then we heard something. Thought maybe we'd startled the deer. Next thing I knew I was knocked down and my arm hurt like a sonofabitch, but Chuck..."

    He bites his lip, trying to describe it. "He was screaming, he'd dropped his rifle, and blood was everywhere. I thought he'd just been hurt, but he kept screaming to 'get it off' and... that's when I saw his throat torn out. I think I saw a muzzle or something, but I can't be sure. I didn't see much of anything on top of him. I fired my rifle but I don't know if I hit it. Whatever it was got scared off by the shot I guess, but too late for Chuck."

    He'd shrug if not for the injury. "That's really all there is to it."
Raylene Dunwich     The injury IS infected... but it's a standar opportunistic bacterial infection, and it's already dying out due to antibiotics in the system. Bill's glancing at Nathan wondering if he's supposed to be seeing anything, but that makes it easy to investigate the injury and maybe accelerate it.

    "Still hurts a bit," he mutters. Well, the break would be why. It does look to be healing well enough though. Sakura's little boost will just mean he'll feel better even faster, and maybe the scars will go away. Whatever else this place lacks, it seems like he was smart enough to see a decent doctor."
Raylene Dunwich     Poking around the forest as she is, Amalthea is finding little luck, at first. It's pretty boring, honestly. Most animals know to avoid the area near the farms, though sometimes deer will wander by, or the like. At least, that's how it should be.

    It's almost missed, but Amalthea's sense of purity will be able to find it for one simple reason. It looks like a barn cat wandered out exploring, a rough tabby cat trying to find a snack far from the barn itself. It's been mauled pretty badly, and that's why it's unusual. There's no sign that whatever killed it actually tried to eat it. A kill for pleasure, nothing more, and not from a human.

    It's also maybe two hours old.
Mel Brock     From her pocket, Mel produces a simple pen, one which she absently plays with in her hand while she talks. "If it was a mountain lion, you'd have seen it, clear as day. No, I'm pretty sure there's something out of the ordinary going on here. Now, we could sit here asking questions for minutes on end trying to figure out if there's any clue we can discern from this, or-"

    Her hand 'accidentally' twitches, causing the pen to drop to the floor. Rather pointedly, she leans forward in her seat a bit, and holds out her hand- into which the pen floats, right up off the ground.

    She turns to look at Bill again. "If you're willing, you could show me your memories of the event." Her tone gets surprisingly gentle. "I know it's asking a lot, and I know remembering it isn't easy on you. But if I can see what you saw, I might be able to spot something."
Guest Psyber     Psyber taps his cigarette and then snuffs some ash out underfoot, considering the man's story as he tells it. He loops back around to watch the notes Duet keeps and consider his own thoughts on the manner. The creature was either vulnerable to conventional gunfire or sound to be scared off by the gunshot. Predatory or territorial, perhaps?

    He muses it over and thinks, but remains quiet for the moment, electing to let Mel try out something that surprises him to hear her offer. If she can get the memory directly and look at it objectively, it could definitely cut out a lot of work on their part.

    Mordred... gets a Snickers bar offered to her from inside his coat. She did say she was hungry.
Mordred     "Well, monster is pretty obvious," Mordred says, before glancing at Raylene. She vaguely motions for her 'companion' without saying anything of it. "Stuff like that pretty common around here? Could just be one of those if he didn't manage to see it very well."

    Then she is bribed with a candy bar.
    Omnomnom.

    Mouth full, she also tells the farmer: "Stew! Yes." Pause. "Please."
Raylene Dunwich     Bill stares at the pen, then squints his eyes. "Huh. Like an X-Files thing." He leans back and checks with Sakura first. "Are you done there, darlin'? I don't want whatever this psychic girl is doing to mess up your work."

    Before anything further, he'll call out, "MAY! Heat up some stew for the guests? Might be here a while." He settles in. "If it'll help you catch the damned thing, sure." Awful trusting, isn't he? Or maybe he's just that scared of it and trying to tough it out.
Sakura Haruno     Sakura's going to push it until she's fairly certain the scarring will be at least minimal, but she won't try to actually heal him completely, even though she could go a long way - wouldn't want it to be suspicious. As such, she'll stand back up and smile once he looks back to her.

    "Don't worry. It looks like it'll heal well." She's not entirely certain just what the psychic will be doing, but she wants to be reassuring. She also isn't completely certain of what did the attack, but that talk can wait until they aren't in the room with the man.
Mel Brock     Mel nods. "Won't know until we try, but it's worth a shot." She stands up and takes a few steps over, crouching down. "There's basically no way for me to do this that isn't a little awkward, so bear with me here. You're gonna feel something sort of... pressing up against your thoughts. Don't push back against it, I'm not the strongest at mind-reading. A ten-year-old could keep me out if they were particularly stubborn. Just... go through the memories again, nice and easy. I'll only see what you show me."

    She's not lying, either; she has to reach out and settle the fingertips of her right hand on the side his head to make it easier for her. And true to her word, when she reaches out to his mind, he'll feel her presence as a sort of 'mental contact' that's impossible to miss. She's only reading from the surface, true to her word. Largely because scanning any deeper is difficult for her.
Amalthea     Very. Enthusiastic. Walks.
    In truth, were Amalthea so inclined, she could walk a forest for weeks without ever so much as feeling a sense of boredom. They are a unicorn's natural territory; no matter how foriegn, nor their place in the world, a unicorn's place is always in a forest.
    It is the lack of animals that has her attention for the whole journey. That's only usually when there's something exceptionally dangerous about.
    She comes across the cat. What is left of the cat, anyway. Kneeling by the carcass, she does not touch it, but lets her lone eye rove over the mangled body, drinking in the sight of every wound, each broken bone, and terrible rending claw mark. She is wholly still throughout the whole process, as though emblazoning the dead cat upon her very soul. This beast had done no wrong and it was slain anyway for a reason so simple as a blatant sick and twisted pleasure.
    Finally with a soft motor buzz she lifts her head, nose twitching as she sniffs the air, a soft, twinkling, sound murmured in her breast for the span of a few heartbeats. The kill is still somewhat fresh. There is a trail to follow, she simply must find it.
    She rises and moves to leave- deeper into the woods- in search of what she has now deemed her prey. But not without leaving but a single crystalline tear for the cat.
Guest Psyber     Both the story from the man and the radio message from Amalthea cause Psyber to pause and then look up. He makes a faintly annoyed face and then takes a long inhale from his cigarette. When he exhales again, his normally ruby-red eyes are glowing as he focuses on using his usually much more passive supernatural power. Amalthea has escalated his assessment to 'active danger', and Psyber's desire to hunt this creature has been turned on.

    "I'm going to go tracking," He says to the group, "Stay here and finish up, then just follow my signal. I'm sure we can still get some more information here. Watch her," He points to Mel, "Make sure nothing happens."

    And then he's brushing back his coat and drawing his handgun, clicking the safety off, and dashing into the forest. He's trying to pick up a supernatural signal with his eyeline to match what Amalthea described and hunt it down.
Raylene Dunwich     Inside the house, a beeping will be heard. It's... a microwave. Look, they're rural, not primitive. Anyway, while Mel is settling in to read Bill's mind, the scent of venison stew fills the air. It's a little chilly out, though mild right now for a New England winter, and the big pot of stew that the blonde woman sets out is definitely a nice warmup.

    As for Mel's exploration, it does happen much as he said. There's the tail end of the argument - which what he didn't mention, included a disagreement about the Superbowl teams - followed by a flare of pain from the arm and the view spinning dizzily before Bill lands on the ground. It goes just as he said... but reviewing the memory closely, the flash of bloodied claws and fangs can be seen. It looks like the beast is roughly man-sized, which is larger than a mountain lion in these parts, because that makes it much heavier than a man. The brief imprint of a paw can be seen in the blood, but Chuck rolled into it, smudging it from tracking later. It was definitely a kill attempt from the beast... and from the way it flinched, the rifle bullet clipped it. It was a .30-06, so if it'd been a direct hit, and the thing vulnerable to bullets, it would have done a lot more, but it seems to have scared it.

    Bill absently sets the silver dollar next to his chair, while he's trying to relax.
Nathan Hall     Nathan, directed by Haruno in this case, moved to examine. He may not have her medical expertise, but he IS pretty good at being a vague distraction. Loose academic knowledge of wounds like this, collaborating with Haruno's own expertise, sees some of the deeper wounds... "Clawed or toothed, certainly. so if it is a non-standard threat, it is biological in basis. Hmmm."

    "Extreme difficulty of perception may indicate dynamic camouflage. Try narrowing to non-urban cryptids that may possess biologies that allow dynamic camouflage, such as reptiles." He adjusts his glasses contemplatively, and peers to the town. From a distance, he tries to examine its generalized composition. Large or important structures, nearby formations in the mountain, anything that might be connected. So far, he's running his vast records in his head. Are there known monsters that represent an intersection between either mammalian or reptilian biology, rural predation, a non-carnivorous diet or other means of self-sustaining, and tendencies of preying on humans? A quick glance at that silver dollar... On a HUNCH, he adds in an aversion to silver, opening the mental search to fey types too.

    If he can't figure any in his mental search, he's going to need to turn to more spiritual ideas. Does the town appear to have been built in a way that is incongruous with local nature? Are there any ominous, decaying old manors? That sort of examination, as he looks to the town from the much shorter distance of the farm, with its much less dense forestation hopefully making it more visible.
Mel Brock     As Mel views the memories, there's little twitches of reaction on her face; furrows of the brow, a downturn at the corner of her lips. He's experienced these memories once already, they're easier for him, but she's 'living' them for the first time. Thankfully, Bill himself serves as something of a buffer, allowing her to focus well enough. Once he's gotten through it all, she takes her hand off, and stands back up. "Clawed /and/ toothed," she declares partially in response to Nathan, giving her head a little shake-out. "About the size of a person, and heavy. I could see a paw. It was definitely going for a kill, and I'm pretty sure the rifle nicked it. Probably what got rid of it." She's got her radio active while she speaks, so the info goes out to everyone investigating.

    She also gives Bill a thankful nod. "Appreciate that. Something like this, everything we can find out helps. I'm gonna go join Stills." Sigh. That name.
Raylene Dunwich     Mordred is getting her food! And her comment toward Raylene has the girl looking back curiously. "Not common, but not unheard of. There are things in this world that the mortal eye cannot see. Some are wild and uncontrolled, others bound to a person or place. And others? Malignant. I'm hoping this is the first and not the third."

    Nathan's search is coming up with very few even near matches. Nothing that would be a common thing at least. He might find a glimmer depending on how far he reaches back.
Duet Fortuna     Duet taps her pen on her notepad, but when the others start moving, she draws her pistol and lays it on the table. It's a silent nod to Psyber that he can go take care of things... without revealing that Mordred is her real muscle anyway. "So like a beast, probably vulnerable to bullets or at least feels pain from them."

    Raylene saying more about what it could be makes her frown. "If it's hunting for sport, we'll need to take care of it. Is this a capture or kill situation?" Kind of important to know, at this point.
Raylene Dunwich     Amalthea begins tracking the beast! It's... hard, actually. A little blood here and there helps, but the meandering trail is leading in a circular pattern that keeps moving on the edges of the house, as if the creature was reluctant to actually enter the fields without the cover of trees...

    Or maybe for some other reason.

    It's been moving slowly, too. That kill was only a couple hours old, and the trail is fresh enough to follow easily once something is known to be there. Actual pawprints seem rare, but the broken twigs and the like are easy.

    What's very weird is Psyber's supernatural sight doesn't seem to be picking up anything, even though it feels like they should be getting very, very close...
Guest Psyber     For a split second after he started focusing his supernatural sight, switching it from passive to 'active' and more aggressive, Psyber seemed to hesitate about walking off. But that only lasts a fraction of a second before he keeps walking, casting Duet a glance and then heading off into the forest.

    The lack of response to his attempts to track the creature are vexing, though he can at least follow Amalthea's aura to track her own progress. As he continues walking, he lifts his gaze upwards a bit more, scanning the upper limbs and area above him to make sure there isn't an ambush he's going to miss.

    "Keep on your guard. I'm still not sure what we're hunting, but I swear to god if someone illegally smuggled a fucking dropbear."
Raylene Dunwich     MEANWHILE, BACK AT THE FARMHOUSE...

    There are a lot of people here, but there's one in particular who has something different about them, when a certain wild and invisible creature looks at them. Namely, one of them has a gun out in plain sight. That being Duet, actually. And thus it is Duet that the stalking beast nearby is going to pounce at from the nearby fields.

    It's important to note at this time that there's absolutely nothing supernatural about this invisibility. However, there are a few people that are going to see the attack coming.

    MORDRED will instinctively feel the incoming attack on her Master.

    SAKURA can possibly feel the vibrations of the pouncing creature off the earth, and it DOES have chakra.

    MEL is sharp-eyed, and can possibly see the slight blurriness of the natural camouflage the creature possesses when it moves to fast.
Mel Brock     Mel is just heading down off the porch when there's movement out the corner of her eye. Instinct tells her to turn, to draw her weapon; it's something that's not any of the people already present. By the time she's turned around, her futuristic-looking sidearm has leapt from inside her coat to her hand, and she's got it up and level - but she can't SEE the damn thing to take a good shot, not in this much of a split-second attack. So while she's ready in case it comes after her, she can't really fire a shot to protect Duet, for fear of missing the creature or, worse, hitting Duet herself.

    But still, cop instincts are cop instincts.

    "Freeze-!"
Mordred     "Huh. Well, hopefully not," Mordred answers Raylene, as she moves on from the Snickers bar to a healthy helping of reheated stew. The Servant is obviously not a picky one, given how quickly she devours anything laid before her. She seems to have taken her mind off the investigation for now, subdued by food.

    At least, until her master's life is threatened.

    In a flash, Mordred is no longer eating, but interposing herself between the invisible creature and Duet. Her hands are clenched around an invisible sword, which definitely rings like steel as the creature impacts it. It takes a few moments for appearances to catch up with the summoning of her gear, as flames starting at Mordred's feet suddenly rush up her body to form the silver and red plate mail she usually wears (minus helmet), and the large two-handed sword being used to block.

    And then the bowl of stew hits the ground.
    What a horrible waste.

    "Guess it heard everything you said, but now we can ask it to answer our questions for us instead of guessing." She can't really see it very well, though. Blocking is one thing but trying to hit it might be a bit harder. That's definitely more up Sakura's alley.
Sakura Haruno     Sakura will jolt up, tensing as she feels something wrong. It's mostly just enough that she wouldn't be caught flatfooted if it were going for her; since it isn't, she'll only be on the virge of calling out a warning when the attack comes.

    Once the pouncing happens, the ninja is at least moving, her hands going for knives she didn't bring at first but then starting in towards earth jutsu. It'll take her a moment to get anything with that going, so hopefully Duet won't die in the meantime.

    A few moments later, she'll be trying to raise spikes up wherever she can feel it moving. This probably blows any attempt to pretend she's being normal, but better that then doing nothing.
Duet Fortuna     Duet is... largely caught by surprise. Fortunately she has a Servant to protect her, and thus there's no chance of blowing her cover. Instead, she tumbles out of her seet, falling to the floor with a sprawl and scrambling for her pistol... before realizing that the thing they're fighting is still invisible, for some reason. Not supernatural then.

    "GET INSIDE!" She calls to anyone in particular who can't fight it, rolling away and trying to uh... get out of the way of anyone who can actually fight this thing. She's spared actual injury by Mordred, this time, but it's certainly got her panicking... and she can't shoot it.
Raylene Dunwich     In the forest...

    Amalthea and Psyber might hear what's going on back at the farmlands, but there's also a rustling in the brush there. It should rapidly become apparent that the real problem isn't that there's an invisible beast slinking around. No, that isn't it at all.

    There's TWO invisible beasts slinking around.

    Amalthea is weird and not made of flesh, so the choice of who to attack is pretty easy. Psyber also has a painful noisemaker, which doubly makes it no contest. A faint snarl gives it away, the creature pouncing swiftly, a lunge that is attempting to bear down on Psyber and hits like... well, something not as heavy as a bear at least.
Nathan Hall     Nathan's plan, initially, is to head on over to Psyber. Having run into an absolute wall, there's little left to do! Of course, when one finds a gap in their knowledge... "The abject lack of documentation on this particular entity -- I strongly suspect it is no mountain lion -- indicates that it is a creature that is alien to documentation and to other ways of drawing legends, and--"

    Oh, and now Duet's under attack. Nathan takes a while for his brain to work through the fact that they're under attack. His utter inability to see the creature similarly causes a lot of issue figuring out the situation. But, he eventually does! And of course, he takes several calm steps back, looking as nonthreatening as he can look... Which is, you know, pretty nonthreatening! He's a guy who doesn't look at all like a risk.

    He adjusts his glasses lightly, and they fill with the bright glare of the house's lights. He's activated his [SCAN]! Now, this may not bypass... Whatever camouflage this creature has -- in fact, it very likely won't give him any idea where it is at any given time -- but hopefully if he can point that supernatural ability at the creature's approximate position, the book he's opening and its magical power will give him some idea of the weaknesses in its defenses... And possibly in its camouflage!
Guest Psyber     Psyber brings an arm up to try to intercept the creature pouncing at him. It's his usual style of evading by not evading, or to be more specific, he'd rather see his arm damaged than his torso. He'll let the left arm absorb most of the pounce's energy, bracing his feet against the ground to try to absorb the shock, "Got it. Stab it now, Amal!"

    Even as he tells Amalthea to stab it, Psyber is bringing up his right hand and trying to drill an entire clip of .45 ACP rounds right into the 'body' of whatever invisible creature is currently trying to assault him in the forest. He CAN hear the commotion at the barn, and he really wants to get back to that, so he's pressing to wrap this up cleanly if possible and he's not that concerned about being loud about it.
Amalthea     The trail is not easy for Amalthea. Not in the least. Her sense of smell is not powerful enough to track by scent, and with how little the creature leaves her to work with, she can only estimate a direction, occasionally fuck up, curse herself for a fool, and backtrack until she gets it right. The blood makes for easy signs to follow, but it is not so plentiful. The broken twigs a little less easy to spot but more plentiful, especially knowing the forest is clear of all other animals and that her own step is too light when she walks among trees.
    She follows the rough circular path, growling and cussing more irritably to herself the more time goes on, her incredible knack for Being In A Bad Mood only flaring up the longer she goes. But she can tell it's taking its time. There has to be a reason for that, especially with how it seems to circle the house.
    She unslings her shield, lest she be caught by the surprise that she, or the rest of the group, are being hunted, rather than playing the role of hunters.
    "Come the fuck on, I'm being led in goddamn circles here, this is a snipe hun--"
    She halts, suddenly silent and motionless; lone eye staring through the murk and gloom of the woods as both loppy ears flick upwards. Psyber, too, is in the woods and not far off. Of course it wouldn't attack her, it would go for something that bleeds.
    Now, Psyber is a big boy, and she knows he can handle himself in a fight, but that sure as hell doesn't mean she's going to leave him to one-man the thing when she's right there. She wheels around, breaking into a full tilt sprint in an instant of completely ignoring silly laws of physics such as inertia and momentum, and craters the ground in her first stride.
    This is when a rainbow trailing, steam, snorting mithril mythic comes charging back through the forest, her lance in hand. Psyber doesn't need to tell her twice to stab it as she leaps, twirling the Wishblade once over her head before bearing down on the cloaked creature while Psyber holds it and pumps it full of lead.
Raylene Dunwich     AT THE FARMHOUSE

    Raylene has decided to... take her little spirit familiar and hide under the truck. Because she's not going to be helpful in combat. She'll actually shriek and roll under it, hands on her head, though those who can see the Horror with her will see that it's actually ITCHING to manifest. She doesn't let it, is all.

    Mordred's sword clashes with claws, and even draws a little blood because it's still just flesh and blood. It lands hard, quickly starting to circle around... and paying no apparent heed to Mel's 'freeze' beyond the fact that the woman just drew a gun. It's going to pounce at her next!

    Fortunately Sakura summons up earth spikes, which manage to tear through one side of it and cause a spattering of blood to appear. This makes the subtle ripples of its camo much more easy to see, though it's still blurry and indistinct along most of its body. It slows it for an instant, allowing more of a chance before it pounces at Mel with teeth gaping.

    "JESUS H CHRIST!" Bill is going to scramble toward the door, because fuck fighting these things again.
Mel Brock     Okay, so now it's free of everyone else. This makes Mel's job a lot easier.

    She lowers her pistol, and instead holds out her left hand.

    A force strong enough to buckle the earth descends on an area roughly ten feet wide, centered so as to pin whatever-it-is to the ground, hard. "I said SIT your ass down, sparky, or next I'm gonna set the truck on top of you."
Raylene Dunwich     Psyber's arm takes the teeth, and the jaws bite down HARD. Very hard. however... still just mortal hard. It's a powerful beast, but other than the invisibility it doesn't seem particularly strong in ther supernatural sense. It's snarling, whatever it is, and it's pretty unprepared for dealing with actual supernatural threats.

    So Wishblade manages to pierce it right above the right shoulder and exit out the back, spewing blood and also slamming it to the side. The creature flails and claws randomly, but...

    A clip full of bullets slamming into its chest does an awful lot for keeping it still. Blood starts pooling in the grass next to the tree, and there's some light rustling, then stillness as the pool spreads. The 'camo' is still going when it dies... but not nearly as well, giving a vague, powerfully-built shape to it without really showing details.
Guest Psyber     "Well. It's not a Wendigo and it ain't hill people. Guess no one wins," Psyber comments as he shakes the pain out of his arm and then slides a new magazine into his handgun. He seems more annoyed with the attack than injured, and he didn't even get impaled that time so Haruno's job is all the easier. He may need to get some rabies shots, though.

    He reaches down to grab the dead monster by the 'ankle' and start dragging it behind him as he heads back to camp, "Whatever it is, I can use it for research notes, at least, but we better get back to the others. They SHOULD have handled it pretty easily, though, if we got this one just you and me."
Duet Fortuna     There are a few ways Duet could restrain the beast... but none of them without blowing cover. She'll instead slide to cover Nathan, gun in hand, and keep it raised as she gets her footing. Since Mel is keeping the thing pinned, she can only hope that others can restrain it. Fortunately, she knows a few ways.

    "Flowers, can you ground it somehow? Mordred, look for some way to truss it up."
Sakura Haruno     "I'll see what I can do." Sakura will state, even though she's not entirely certain what she can do - she'll move over next to the creature, trying to stay just on the edge of where she feels the pressure from Mel on the ground, trying to dig a pit out under the creature to keep it pinned down in a specific area. "It can probably get out of there if it's not held down soon, though." She'll add, glancing to Mel.

    She'll run an arm across her forehead, wiping sweat off
Mordred     Mordred heads indoor, upon being requested to tie the thing up. She will ask the farmer for a chain, which she assumes any good farmer would have on hand for assorted reasons somewhere in their belongings. Failing that, his strongest rope will do.

    With that presumably provided she'll help tie the thing up once Sakura and Mel have managed to make it eat enough dirt it doesn't want to get up anymore. Or she might just head in to wrestle the thing into submission using her expert knowledge of how to tame a lion. Or maybe it was how to choke a lion.

    We'll get back to you on that.
Raylene Dunwich     While the others subdue it, Nathan's mystical scan will reveal... no particular weaknesses. What can be obtained about a 'normal' animal is minimal, after all. It has no special defenses other than 'Perfect Camouflage' the likes of which has already been demonstrated.

    The other thing of interest is that it's a cunning predator. It learns, though it is not intelligent. That probably can be demonstrated by how it learned guns were dangerous and immediately went for those with firearms.
Raylene Dunwich     Raylene peeks out as Mordred chains the half-buried, struggling beast. "Oh... not supernatural at all." She sighs, brushing off her dress and watching the others tie it up. "Oh well. Still, hazard pay applies... I'll forward a bonus to all of you."

    Bill comes back out with a shotgun, then relaxes. "That it then? It's caught for good?" He wipes his brow. "Well uh... thank ya. Heh. 'Agent Stills,' huh? I don't know who y'all really are, but I'll just say it was the FBI, okay?"
Mel Brock     "Marshal Mel Brock," the PsiMarshal replies to Bill, giving him a more proper nod of greeting and introduction. "Psychic and an officer of the law. You take care of yourself, alright? There's any more problems, we'll be back out here." She takes the time to absently flex her left hand, meanwhile sliding her sidearm back into her coat with her right.
Nathan Hall     Nathan, for now, lets Duet cover him. Boy is that a weird situation! He does his best not to let this moment create some sort of profound lesson to learn from, and focuses on the situation. "Thank you, Mr. Cavey." He says, immediately attempting to assuage him. "You have done a great service to your town by reporting this creature."

    Nathan, for his own part -- still having Duet cover him, of course -- approaches a bit. A pendant at his neck shines, and he traces yellow lines in the air, gradually constructing a Hastur-magic cage construct. Ground is fine, but they need something to load up onto the truck! Or something. He'll spend several minutes on heavy, translucent yellow bars. This creature doesn't have any major advantages that could make it easy for it to escape, probably...

    He considers the situation. "The creature knew of firearms. However, it did not know of them initially, when attacking the hunters." He makes a worried noise... "A theory. These creatures cannot be immortal, as if they were, they would have understood firearms long before, as they do now. Therefore, if there are two here, there may be more. Either artificially brought in, created, or potentially naturally migrating into this area. There may be a broader population. This is something that bears continued study. Does anyone have proposed approaches of investigation?"
Raylene Dunwich     Raylene speaks up, "As I hired you, I think I will take this creature..." She squints at the yellow cage. "Interesting..." Then she continues, "I would be willing to work with some of you to understand how best to track this creature, if you like. My specialty is herbs, not cryptozoology, but I could use this creature in some of my brews... if you're willing to help me research it, I'd see if I could provide a way to track it and you can clear out any dens that may remain." It's said like a business arrangement, basically.
Nathan Hall     Nathan continues his work, drawing his lines. "Understood. We can work out the full extent of the arrangements on the way back to the gate, once the creature is contained, but I believe this is an appropriate foundation. The one incapacitated by my allies will also ideally be useful; one living and one non-living specimen will hopefully provide all necessary materials. It is clear that adjusting the local supernatural ecosystem is certainly something we need to do quite quickly, if these creatures are so hostile to all other life."