Alfred Fay's Story

"No weapons, the defender chooses form. Shifting mid-fight is prohibited," Carlisle explained somewhat darkly at Alfred's flippant attitude regarding the whole matter. "Once one of you is down, or yields, the fight is over."

Julienne snorted her disdain at Alfred as she stripped her leather jacket off and threw it aside.

"Human," she informed her opponent.

"Yes, I suppose it is..." he mused in response to Carlisle.

He remained quiet after, giving Alfred a nod as he caught the flask. He stared down at it for a while before turning his gaze up to Desmond and holding it up, shaking it a bit.

"I'm going to go fill this with whatever I can find for her," he told him, nodding in the direction of Chloe.

He was very much aware that there was no source of water in that building, it was abandoned after all. Besides, if he got on the captive's good side now, he might be able to weasel her onto the good side of his bed later.

He backed out of the circle then, turning his back on the other members and hurrying to the rear exit. He was sure he'd be able to find a source of water nearby, but he wanted something further away, so that everything was settled by the time he got back.

Blaze spotted the pistol, and rolled her eyes, she had no clue what had just happened other than Baron being arrested, she sighed and looked at her nails, using her other finger, she dug the dirt out of her nail and flicked it off.

"Fuck well, that might be the best luck I'll have all night." Alfred sighed, removing his own suit jacket. He folded it in his hands and tossed it gently a ways away. He undid the cuffs of his shirt, rolling the sleeves up to his shoulders.

When he was done he crossed his left arm over his body, resting the elbow of his right on his wrist. It was far from a proper fighting stance, instead, he seemed to be casually smoking his cigarette.

"Whenever you're ready."

Julienne bounced nimbly in place, loosening up as she rolled her shoulders and gave Alfred an eyeing up.

"You mind putting the fucking cigarette out?" she asked.

The place was so old, it was liable to go up like a matchstick if the cigarette rolled off anywhere too dry during the fight.

"Yes I do mind actually." Alfred responded in kind. "Even soldiers sentenced to firing squad get a cigarette at the post. I'm not going to give up that luxury."

"We don't have all night," Carlisle interjected. "You're the challenger. So either withdraw your challenge, or get on with it," he warned Alfred.

Alfred sighed heavily. "Ruthless aren't you all?" He gave one last drag on the cigarette before dropping it to the ground and grinding it under his foot.

The moment his shoe crunched down on the cigarette, Julienne was on him. She swung a bit wide, for his shoulder to force his arm back across his body to block the blow so she could follow it up with a jab to his face.

She was fast, with all litheness of a cat behind her movements, while the strength of the wolf rippling through her muscles as the amber hue of her eyes betrayed its presence.

A flash of white.

Alfred's head recoiled wickedly when her fist collided with his face. His body leaned back with the force, but he was able to keep his legs under him considering it was only a jab.

He snapped his head back, forcing his eyes open and his arms up. He must've really pissed her off....

She went low this time, driving her fist under his raised arms towards his gut. As the blow connected, she twisted to step to his side and shoved him forcefully from behind towards the pile of crates.

Alfred smashed through several of the crates that were thankfully empty, before his back slammed into one that unfortunately was not.

A groan escaped him as he pushed himself up off the floor using his arms. "Not a slow starter are we?"

"Are you just going to stand around and take it like a bitch?" Julienne spat.

She held her arms wide, encouraging him to have a go at her.

"Actually, if we were to speak literally, the true bitch here would be....well..."

Taking her up on her offer, Alfred kicked one of the crates he was among hard, sending it rolling across the ground at her. As soon as it had shot out he was scrambling to his feet, his leg muscles tensing.

She bent forward, catching the edge of the crate with her palms to stop it skidding into her legs and her wolfish eyes locked on his. A low growl rumbled up from her throat.

Her bending over to block the crate was unexpected, but not unappreciated. Only a second after It hit her hands Alfred was on her. He planted his left foot, and whipped his right leg up with all the strength he had in his legs to carry his forward momentum into a punt aimed right at Julienne's snarling mug.

She shoved the crate back at Alfred, hoping to trip him up as he rushed her.

Splinters flew as Alfred's foot smashed through the wooden crate, It ate up a bit of force that he had intended to waste on Julienne though, weakening the blow.

Julienne threw her arms up to protect her face as wood splintered past her, and her instinctive recoil from the broken crate left Alfred's foot landing only a glancing hit that threw her off balance as she took a step back to regain it.

Alfred brought his leg down quickly and pushed forward, hoping that he might have enough time to do something. But he honestly hadn't expected her to be able to react as quick as she did.

This was certainly going to suck.

Aiming to keep her from gaining her footing, Alfred twisted his hips, and tried to deliver a swift kick to her calf.

Julienne raised her leg up enough to intercept the kick with her shin, before retaliating with a swift kick for his now exposed side.

His body curled at the impact, and without even realizing what he was doing, Alfred had caught hold of her leg between his arm and his side. Not one to waste the opportunity, Alfred ignored the pain in his side and tried to bring his other arm crashing down on her knee.

If he could take her leg, he might stand a chance.

Julienne was the faster of the two though. She used his own hold on her leg to give her the leverage needed to bring her other foot up and around, colliding with the side of his head as she took both of them to the floor.

She rolled free and was on him instantly as she grabbed a fist full of his shirt and slammed her knuckles into his face, again and again.

It was Carlisle who pulled her off him, his arms entangling her from behind as he dragged her back.

"It's over," he growled into her ear.

The wolf in her didn't think so though. It wanted to finish what it started. It was several moments before she was calm enough that Carlisle released her from his hold, and she turned on the rest of the pack, her amber eyes a swirl of barely contained aggression.

"Anyone else?" she growled, her eyes shifting from one to the other, as if daring someone to have a go at her next.

Chloe was not doing well with this. She could feel the need to join the fight, to pose her challenge to the woman. Her fists clenched and she struggled against the chains, wincing as her ribs screamed. The pain became so unbearable at one point however, that if something had been in her stomach she would had lost it on the floor. She had at least reopened two of the barely closed wounds, and blood now oozed onto her shirt, staining it crimson.

Stars danced across her vision as she glared up to Julienne, anger mixed in with the grimace she made. A thin sheen of sweat glistened on her skin, the color draining from her face. She had deemed that she did not like this woman and how ruthless she seemed to be. Chloe now hoped for the day that she wasn't chained like a dog and injured to face Julienne alone to give her a taste of her own medicine.

That would not be this day. Her head rolled, and she looked on the verge of passing out again. "I-I really need.. T-that water.." She muttered to Desmond, panting heavily.

"Aw 'ell, she's gonna shift again if we don't get 'er out of 'ere. Someone 'elp me get 'er up," Desmond said.

He didn't much care to be on the receiving end of her jaws again, but keeping her here with all of this going on was nothing short of torture at this point.

With no apparent takers, Julienne moved over to grab up her jacket from the floor before throwing a glare towards Chloe.

"That bitch is going to bring us nothing but trouble," she warned, before she turned and stalked from the room.

She may have defeated Alfred and maintained her position in the pack, but she knew that the pack as a whole wouldn't back killing Chloe. Sometimes pack politics where such that brawn alone couldn't get it done. Not if you didn't have the pack behind you.

As Julienne left, she moved past a figure that had entered the room as the fight was underway, but as of yet had drawn no attention to herself. Nieve took the opportunity to step forwards into the light, arms folded. "I must say," the older werewolf began, "This is not what I expected to return to. Baron in jail, pack members missing, and a string of werewolf attacks uncomfortably close to our territory..."

Snow looked up at her arrival with a surprised blink, "You're back, then." he stated, "Since when?"

Nieve had been out of the city for the last month dealing with what she had called "personal business". As a werewolf born in the tundra to the far south of Issunar, she'd never been totally at home in the city despite having lived there for twenty five years. Her trips out into the wilderness were regular enough to not warrant questioning the details.

"Since a few hours ago. I've been piecing together what I can of the situation since I found the Den closed." Nieve replied, "I'm glad I find you all together. Division will do us no favours in the days to come." She looked to where Alfred lay on the ground, and cast a glance to the exit where Julienne had disappeared, but refrained from commenting on the fight. Alfred had been foolish to lay a physical challenge to her, but at least he wasn't a coward.

Nodding, Snow returned his attention to the others. "We still need to reach a decision on what to do with her. But Desmond is right, someone help him get her out of here for the time being."

Raquette watched the battle, biting her lip and closing her eyes as Alfred was beaten down quickly. He never stood a chance. She sighed and avoided eye contact with everyone until she heard the familiar voice at the doorway. She gave a respectful nod to Nieve and moved to help Desmond lift Chloe, at Snow's urging.

A small, useful task that would get her out of the charged room was a blessing. Besides, her small size betrayed the strength she possessed.

At Desmond's suggestion, Chloe groaned. The thought of even moving was excruciating. Being forced to get up and leave this place? She was pretty sure it was going to kill her at trying.

Her breath caught as soon as both Raquette and Desmond lifted her up. "Y-you're just doing this to pay me back for the arm, aren't you..?" Chloe grumbled to Desmond.

Ulrich had watched the beating with a wince here and there as Alfred was given little mercy. However, attentions switched quickly. He was about to move forward to help with transporting Chloe, but they wouldn't need much more strength. Before he even offered to help, he abolished the thought.

He looked ahead at everyone else. He had things he wanted to say, but for now, he would hold off saying them. But he listened and waited.

The stench of blood and musk of sweat followed Ivan as he slid into the meeting, his face bruised and lopsided, blood dotting his neck, chest, and coating one of his hands. He gave a few members of the pack a nod in greeting, ignored those he hadn't spoken to yet, and leaned against the nearest horizontal surface.

Absently, he ran his fingers along the collar of his waistcoat.

With Chloe gone, the remaining members of the pack could move onto other matters. Snow glanced around the room, and seeing nobody else taking the initiative to speak up, decided to bite the bullet. "Right, then." he began, "We need to talk about our current situation. Baron's in jail, and Jesse and Sophia are missing. The werewolf attacks in the Phantom Quarter are worrying, but if we keep going like we have been, they won't be all we have to worry about."

He grimaced. "With Baron out of the picture, we've been all over the place, pursuing different things. We need to come together and make decisions as a pack, not as a bunch of lone wolves, or the Scions and other packs are going to take advantage of it."

Nieve crossed the room to take a seat on one of the chairs near the front while Snow was speaking. "Yes. It must be made clear that even with Baron locked up, the Bloodstone Pack are still more than capable of protecting our territory and our own." she replied, "Those who threaten either must be made an example of."

Ulrich eyed Ivan as he came in, taking in his bloody appearance fully. He frowned- there were questions to be asked there.

"Shouldn't we search for Sophia first, then?" he asked. "The police may be looking for her, but they're not making any leeway. I doubt we'll be able to identify the wolf that's been doing these attacks right off the bat. Not much we can do about that but keep an eye open."

"And just forget about Jesse in the meanwhile, who the police aren't looking for?" Jacques asked suddenly.

Jacques wasn't a particularly outspoken individual. Not anymore anyways. Not since he had challenged Baron for pack leader several years ago, and lost. Baron hadn't forced him out of the pack, as many pack leaders where apt to doing, but Jacques had largely withdrawn from the political and hierarchical aspect of the pack after that night. Where in the past he had been at the forefront to speak his mind and to challenge Baron's decisions every step of the way, he now tended the bar, he watched, he listened, and he kept quiet.

Tonight though... tonight he spoke. Perhaps it was the lack of Baron that had prompted it.

"The longer we don't have people out there in those woods trying to pick up Jesse's trail, the colder it's going to get. The Scions of Aodhan haven't given us trouble in years. They're still licking their wounds from last time. We can spare the people."

Meanwhile Carlisle knelt down next to Alfred and turned the man's head to the side to get a look at the split skin where Julienne's boot had caught him upside the head. He was breathing, and his pulse was strong enough. The wound was already showing signs of clotting, and it didn't seem like medical intervention would be required.

"Jacques has a point," he said while he checked on Alfred. "I don't trust the police anymore than the rest of you, but at least Sophia has people looking for her. Jesse's got heart, but he's a city boy through and through. There's worse than wolves out in those woods if we pull our people off the search."

"Agreed." Snow said, "VINDEX is helping us find Sophia as well, and as much as I'm loathe to place too much trust in Bowen, he has a lot of resources and seems committed to the cause. If just me and Bastien follow up on any leads they bring in, we can call in extra help if and when we need it." Ivan's entrance drew his eyes briefly, but he recognised him as one of them and refrained from interrupting the discussion to comment on his appearance.

Nieve frowned thoughtfully, "You are right about Jesse. The wilds are dangerous even for one who knows them. We need to find him quickly. Now that I'm back, I can lend my aid there. If there's a trail to be found, I will find it."

"Good." Snow nodded, "As for the wolves in the Phantom Quarter... we still need people there. That situation is only going to get worse the longer we leave it. Whoever's making the attacks, they're growing bolder by the day. We should prioritise Jesse, but we can't abandon the search there."

Ulrich nodded. There was a good reason he wasn't the leader. This was just it.

"Got it," he said, folding his arms. "I'm not as good in the woods. I can help in the Phantom Quarter."