CoR Late-day robbery

Status
Not open for further replies.
Hollow glade

Hollow glade

Muted
Benefactor
Pronouns
They/them
Thorje's shop. Known by the locals for it's good product, some premium imported Aanaran goods and absolute shit customer service. On top of it was a small second floor where the owner lived with his new employee. Whose salary was the ceiling over their head, when Thorje didn't kick them out for pissing him off.

The ground floor had automatic double glass doors, as many similar shops did. There was a single cash register close by, with promotional material and various ads. The place was always very clean. There was a snack aisle close to the door and a pre-packaged meals refrigerated area as well. Then fruits and vegetables were in the center as well, and some low rectangular refrigerated spaces held meat and fish. At the back there were frozen goods, and in the middle cleaning products, pet stuff, small every-day needs. In one aisle, Thorje had the imported products from Aanar he was the most proud of. Not the most sold, but when they sell they were at the top!.

There were a few circular mirror-like cameras in the corners and near the entrance-exit doors. There was one employee at the register, Thorje was in a back office getting paperwork done. Or so he said. And Kóri was refilling the beer and a couple other things in the middle of the shop. There were between 3 and 12 people in, browsing or loitering mainly.
 
Babysitting duty wasn't Xandre's favorite, but it was a necessity, especially in today's Vargeras. It would probably go faster if Xandre took over for him, but Lark had been doing a great job so far. His style couldn't be farther from Xandre's, who tended to let fear and presence do the job for him, but without a doubt it was working for the kid.

The next stop for the day was Thorje's shop. Xandre hadn't been here since before Arteghia, but he remembered the ornery old shopkeep. This would be a true test of Lark's mettle. The dwarf pulled up across the street on his bike and cut the engine, relit the cigar that had gone out due to road wind, and leaned against the vehicle as he waited on Lark to show up. It shouldn't be but a minute.
 
Sure enough, no more than a minute later the hum of Lark's own set of wheels announced his arrival. The younger wolf pulled over across the road from Xandre and gave him a quick nod, but didn't waste time making idle chatter -- this was just one in a chain of stops they'd made so far today, and even if it was one he was anticipating a bit of pushback on after his brief brush with Thorje earlier in the week, there wasn't any reason to draw things out.

The door chimed cheerfully as he made his way inside, strolling up to the counter. "Hey there!" He greeted the girl at the register with a friendly smile. "Here to chat with your boss. Could you let him know Lark's here? Pretty sure he should be expecting me."
 
Jimmy was incredibly bored and very high, especially since his friends had gotten thrown into a rehab center thanks to their probation officer. He wasn't stupid enough to get caught doing anything and they managed to get busted on the day he hadn't been with them. They blamed him of course, but it wasn't his fault his father had bitten him and he ended up turning. The only good thing was that he hadn't turned out like him. Sighing, the dark-haired male ran his fingers through his locks to flick it out of his golden eyes. So fucking annoying. Stepping across the ground with his long legs, he glanced up briefly at the sound of a bike stopping at his destination. He had also noticed another biker nearby and after deciding to ignore 'em both, made his way into the shop. The ding of the bell was too cheerful for him, but it wasn't the most terrible thing he had heard.

Taking stock of where everyone inside was currently located, Jimmy made his way down one of the aisles to the back of the store. Digging a can of red paint out of his specially made secret pocket within his black leather jacket, he shook it and started spraying the walls and frozen food. He didn't spend too much time on that and was soon unzipping his pants before he adjusted himself enough to start peeing on the items closest to him. Humming as he urinated, the delinquent nodded at his task and rezipped his pants. He didn't really have a plan of action, other than to get some cash and ruin some products. So, with that in mind and still graffitiing the aisles as he walked up them, he came to a stop beside the male at the register while giving the female a lop-sided grin. Assuming the guy was a customer and no one important, he dug into his pocket and pulled out a knife with his left hand, the right still holding the spray paint can. He loved being ambidextrous.

"Give me all of your money, babe... NOW."
 
Last edited:
Clink clink clink.

Kóri kept stacking boxes of beer bottles with little effort, but it was boring work. Their days had extended from ten to twelve hours lately. But Thorje was allowing them some midday breaks, so they could eat and explore some of the city. Maybe it was stupid to think they'd have more than five days of chill before something interrupted their life. But they had dared hope, and now as they heard a weird... Spray can noise, and smelled piss, they were very much regretting that.

What the hell? Kóri had been happy to catch Lark's scent moments before. But then... What?. They'd seen drunks before, but this guy. He just plainly ignored them when they tried to as what the fuck he thought he was doing. Muttering in Aanar, the fox stalked after him and didn't give him a chance. They reached to grab him by the hair and pull him back HARD. Stepped close behind him, grabbed for the wrist holding the knife and kicked to get his legs at least unstable. No way was this disgusting shit getting away with pissing and staining the shop. Because Kóri knew EXACTLY who was going to have to clean that.
 
Xandre noticed some punk kid stroll down the street to Thorje's shop. Takes all kinds, I guess, he mused, and took a long drag off his smoke. He leaned against his bike blowing smoke rings.

Thorje could be a bit much. He'd give Lark a few minutes to do his thing. The kid knew to call for backup if he needed it, but if things got heated, Xandre didn't wanna wait til things got too bad to act. It was a lot easier to stop shit from happening than to undo it once it already happened.

The dwarf took out his phone and responded to a couple text messages as he waited. If things got really heated inside he would hear it.
 
If it wasn't for just how absurd the situation had been, Lark might have responded it sooner. As it was, by the time he even processed the sound and smell of spray paint, he was immediately having to process the smell of piss. He and the girl behind the counter - who had gotten halfway to turning to head into the back - exchanged a look of shared confusion.

What the fuck was happening behind him right now?

The sheer bizarre audacity of whoever had wandered into the store to start brazenly (and disgustingly) vandalising it while the place was not only full of patrons, but while there was a bike out front that anyone with half a brain could've guessed belonged to a Bloodstone, was enough to completely throw him for a loop. And so, by the time he'd registered exactly what was going on and turned to respond, the culprit was already swaggering up to the register with...

... a knife?

This kid was holding up the store with a knife?

He almost - almost - had to respect the balls on him. But going by the stink clinging to his clothes and the distant look in his eye, Lark came to the swift conclusion that he was just high out of his goddamned mind, and balls had nothing to do with it. He'd just about opened his mouth to say something when a familiar face appeared behind him, and suddenly the kid was being yanked backwards by his hair.

Yeah, he could've seen that one coming.

"... you probably want to just drop the knife, kid," Lark managed after a beat, raising his voice over the scuffle. "What the actual fuck do you think you're doing? If you're capable of speaking through whatever high you've got going on there, I'm genuinely asking, 'cause I'm fucking confused."
 
Had there been someone in front of him moments ago? Jimmy vaguely recalled stepping around someone who was amazingly taller than him, but whatever words the individual had been spouting was lost on the drug-addled mind. Had he been in his normal state of mind, the orphan definitely wouldn't have gone to this particular store. Especially with two individuals from the Bloodstones hanging in the same vicinity. Yep, he had completely lost his shit. He felt something grabbing hold of his luxurious hair and as his entire was jerked backward, the teenager snarled in irritation. What was even worse was he felt feet kicking at his knees but he somehow managed to keep from dropping down. However, the wrist that had been grasping the knife was also grabbed thanks to his unsteady nature and he growled out. He wasn't skinny by any means, but all the muscle in the world did no good with how out of it he was. This was so stupid.

"Let me go, you fuckhead! I am robbing this place!" He brought up his free arm and sprayed the spray can behind him, trying to nail whoever it was that was holding him. His gaze sort of took in the other one that had been standing at the register and he jerked on his captured wrist.

"I'm doing what I'm doing. It's obvious with the knife, eh? If I had a gun, I would just kill you all. Fucking annoying bats." He struggled to move forward despite the hand in his hair and on his wrist.

"Fuck off out of my business anyway! No one asked you!" Throwing the now empty spray can at the biker who was trying to distract him, Jimmy fought harder to get free. He snarled and threw himself backward, intending to knock the individual behind him off their feet. He was starting to lose his shit, the beast within threatening to come out as he started to pant harder, his body starting to pop and crack as came close to shifting.
 
Last edited:
How the heck hadn't this man gone down with a kick to the back of their knees made no sense to Kóri, but there were more pressing issues at hand anyway. They listened to Lark, keeping their hold on the man's wrist especially. Yeah no, the knife-hand was something they weren't going to let go of.

The girl behind the register took her chance to run to the back and the rest of the people in the shop looked their way. Some of them with fear. But the scuffle was too close to the door.

Somehow, even though Kóri was pretty much right behind him, the guy missed them completely with the spray. His aim wasn't very good, maybe it was because of the high? But he was moving and he was strong. A different person wouldn't have been able to hold him. A human, certainly not, but Kóri had s supernatural strength and until they started hearing the cracks and pops of transformation, they stayed firm and let the idiot struggle against their hold with little more consequence than a disgusted snarl. Especially when he threatened them all. Now Kóri hadn't ever had the urge to shift when conflict was intense. Their animal form didn't bring strength, it brought a means to escape. So they growled at the idiot they were holding and shoved him forward towards the door as hard as they could, which was VERY hard, before taking a few steps back and giving Lark a worried look.

This man couldn't shift at the shop! He stank, because he didn't smell any good, like WOLF. There were more people inside, Thorje was at the back hopefully not calling the police. Didn't their Uncle keep a gun upstairs? Maybe they could go get it... Shit. It'd probably take too long wouldn't it?.
 
Movement near the door of the building drew Xandre's eye. He looked back down at his phone screen and checked his notifications; none yet from Lark. But he was certain there were other people in that store and he was damned sure they didn't need that much negative press right now.

He pushed away from his bike and looked at his saddlebags, where a pair of folded P90s resided. He shook his head. "Nah, don' need the spectacle." Instead, the dwarf started toward the building. As he moved, he reached into his jacket and took hold of the grip of his sidearm, resting inside his custom-made ('Least that work skills program was good for somethin') shoulder holster. A friendly tone rang out as he opened the door, just as a large kid he wasn't familiar with thrust a man he was grappling toward him.

In one fluid movement he placed his left hand in the center of the would-be robber's chest and with the other drew his weapon, the barrel pointing directly at the guy's gut. If Jimmy's point of view had allowed for it, he'd have been able to see "WESLEY SMITH" engraved on the barrel, and "WS500" engraved behind the cylinder in a stylized logo, identifying this as a .50 caliber revolver.

Xandre's short stature didn't allow him line-of-sight of the inside of the store from this perspective, but his considerable strength meant that between the dark-skinned giant behind and the dwarf before, the grappled guy was pinned in place.

"Oi, Lark! Friends o' yours?" he called out, and even as he did suppressing a gutteral growl as the pheremones Jimmy was releasing started to trigger Xandre's shift. He pushed it down; certainly a wolf the size of a Clydesdale was not what was needed in this particular situation.
 
Lark caught the can of spray paint mid-air, grimacing as the situation continued to escalate. He'd taken a step forwards to wade into the fray himself, when the door swung in and Xandre made one of his classic entrances -- gun first. "Not that one," Lark replied with a snarl. The kid was about to shift, which would only make things ten times messier, and that was the last thing they needed.

"Oh no you don't," he growled, grabbing the first thing on hand -- which happened to be a can of beans in a shopping basket of one of the nearby customers -- and stepping forwards, swinging it edge-first down towards the back of the boy's head with the intent of laying him out in one solid (and somewhat embarrassing) blow.
 
His skin itched as he continued to struggle against the hand holding onto him. He snarled even as he was thrust forward toward the door. At least now his wrist was freed. It didn't particularly matter though because very soon he wouldn't be able to hold onto it. Somehow managing to stay on his feet, Jimmy felt far too hot. Blinking slowly at the gun pressed into his gut and the short male in his way, he wasn't even sure what he was looking at. Did he somehow get transported into Snow White?

"Fucking dwarf... fuck off...!" He was becoming more angry and that just made the heat and itching worse.

"Hhnn..." Jimmy's body was still snapping and cracking as he ripped at his clothing, the jacket landing on the ground as he fought to get naked. Though, only his shirt was ripped off as he felt fur starting to replace his skin. Before he got too far though, he felt something slamming into the back of his head. He yelped as he force was enough to knock him out, his partly shifted body dropping forward.
 
Xandre felt the full weight of the kid slump forward into his outstretched left arm. "Ey, well managed, bud. This is exactly the sort of Bloodstone p'tection the old man's payin' fer." He pulled the gun out of the kid's gut; it served no purpose anymore. He lowered the hammer and re-holstered it, then lifted the half-shifted boy onto his broad shoulder effortlessly.

He looked over at Kori. "Name's Xandre; I work wi' Lark. Looked like y'know how to handle yerself there. Never seen yeh around; if yeh're ever lookin' fer a pack to run wi', let me know n' I'll give yeh a rec'mendation." He sniffed at the air. "N' sorry fer the mess this pissant left. Looks like yeh got some stuff to clean up; smells like the fuckin' Rusty Nail in here. I'll leave yeh to it."

He thought a moment, then looked back at Lark. "Yeh did get the payment, right?"
 
The young fox sighed with relief, thank fuck the wolves had been there. If they hadn't... Well, they had no idea if they could take on a turned high wolf. They might, but it'd end with an unsavoury trip to the nearest hospital. Xandre's (as he introduced himself) words made them look at him with interest, small dwarfish man with herculean strength apparently. Jimmy didn't look very light.

"If you pay in money and don't call me mutt... I have interest, yes." They said in a quiet tone since they could hear Thorje approaching. Then they looked at Lark, who had out this guy out with a can of beans. "Good to see you!"

"Making furry friends already?." Came Thorje's voice from behind Kóri. He and the girl who was at the register had just come out of the back. And he had the money he owed in hand, in the usual way that he delivered it in. A few people left the shop, and others just... Continued shopping like this was a regular Tuesday. Maybe it was. Kóri was actually kind of sure that there was an older woman that had never stopped browsing the clean aisles.

Thorje handed Lark the money and turned to look at his, inaccurately denominated nephew.

"Stay away from the wolves Kóri, I don't want to call your mother to tell her you got shot or mangled. Just be good, and keep your head down." Hissed the store-owner to his nephew in Aanar. Kóri growled back, feeling braver than usual in the presence of other shifters.

"Why Uncle? Afraid one day it could be me coming to collect your money?" They answered, also in Aanar. Thorje's eyes narrowed and he ground his teeth. But he didn't dare do anything with the Bloodstones there.
 
"Ah, Thorje, perfect timing," Lark greeted the old man with a smile that didn't quite reach his eyes, but was convincing enough to at least not come across as sarcastic, and took the offered cash gracefully. "On both our parts, turns out," he added, nodding to the unconscious, half-shifted wolf. "Sorry about the mess. Would've stopped him sooner, but the kid whipped his dick out faster than Xandre on a first date."

The apology was genuine, but clearly more meant for Kóri by the way his eyes flicked over to them, since they were no doubt the one who was going to have to clean it up.

"He's right though, you had some nice moves there," he continued with a grin, opting to ignore the brief exchange in Aanaran -- he doubted it was anything good. He recognised the word 'wolves', having picked that one up from being around Snow and Nieve for long enough, so he could only assume the rest of whatever Thorje said wasn't exactly sugary sweet. "It's not exactly a steady salary, but you chip in on things, you get a fair share of payout. If you like, I can mention you to the bossman when we drop Pissboy here off with him," he added, nudging Jimmy with his foot.
 
Xandre grinned at the jab. "Play to yer strengths, boy. When you look like me yeh've gotta show the best parts up front." He chuckled; obviously it wasn't true, but banter was fun.

"Anyway I'll take junior here down to the pound." Xandre shrugged his shoulders and bounced the body resting there. "Lark, yeh've got a couple more stops, and after this I'm pretty confident yeh can handle yerself. Yeh can keep going or yeh can come along. Yer call."

He looked toward the shop owner, having witnessed their exchange. He didn't understand a word of it, but the enforcer had become pretty adept at reading tone and body language, so he knew it wasn't good. "Always a pleasure, Thorje. That's a good kid there. Not yours, I reckon, but treat 'im well regardless. I'd hate to haveta make a special trip back out here, but if I hear otherwise I'll haveta. And I'll be in a bad mood, ta boot." If the words weren't clearly a threat, the look Xandre shot the older Aanaran man clearly was.

A friendly tone rang through the shop as Xandre pushed through it and schlepped the unconscious boy to his bike and set about figuring out how to hold onto him on the bike. He settled for sitting him in the bitch seat behind him and holding Jimmy's body against his own by pulling one of the boy's arms over his shoulder.

Once situated he stuck around to see what Lark was gonna do.
 
Hearing their words, Kóri grinned and pretty much ignored Thorje's growing annoyance at the way the Bloodstone wolves treated them.

"Please help get out of here..." They muttered quietly enough that only other lycans would probably hear it. Thorje just huffed.

"Go clean that up!" He said to Kóri, who rolled their eyes and went to do exactly that with a grim expression. They waved goodbye to Lark though.

"And you, "continued Thorje, talking to Lark." leave them alone. They may be another m-... Another one of you, but I don't need to have to call their family to tell them they've joined the pile of bodies you lot have going on." After all, the conflicts weren't a secret. And neither was that the Bloodstone's hold on some of their territory had been slipping. Only now we're they getting their dirty paws back on it.
 
"Wouldn't ever pressure them into something they didn't want," Lark replied with a placating smile. "But I can't exactly stop 'em coming around if they want to. Maybe work on being nicer to live with than a bunch of street thugs, and they might not be so eager?" he added with a wink. "Just a thought. But much as I'd love to stay and chat, I've got places to be. I'll see you next month, Thorjee!"

He clicked his tongue and gave the old man a flippant salute, before turning to head for the door. He paused to give Kóri a pat on the arm as he passed them. "I'll see you around. And really... sorry about the mess. We'll make sure Pissboy knows he owes you when he wakes up."

With one last apologetic smile, he headed out the door with a sigh. It really was never a quiet day in Lupaix.

"I'll catch you later, Xan," he called over to him with a wave. "I'll finish up then come join ya. With any luck I'll even make it before Ragenard finds time to give Beanhead a piece of his mind."
 
Status
Not open for further replies.
Back
Top