Barking Mad (Samantha Augustine/John Black

[Augustine]

John was showing his inexperience again. The sword hadn't cut straight through the wolf like butter, but knocking these impressive, imposing beasts out of the air, sending them rolling across the ground with the sheer force? That was an effective tactic and had halted another wolf who had had to avoid its kin turned projectile! Still the gun had its merits. He opened fire, and the rounds did at least rip through the wolf's body, but that kind of armor penetration didn't have a lot of stopping power. The wolf yelped as it was struck, but it wasn't knocked back. At least it stopped it from trying to clamp around his jaws, but the large thing was likely to barrel into him!

He was strong, stronger than this thing, but the weight might throw him off balance as others circled in to try and nip at his ankles, to try and leap upon his back! The bullets had done damage, but devils were always hardy, that wolf though was going to be struggling to move. The lack of light from anything but the flashlight he was holding, and Samantha's across from him made it difficult to tell. Was it bleeding? How deep had the bullets gone? Had they completely ripped through its body?

As for Samantha, the wolf's fangs bit hard into her arm, and her knife had managed to push in. She ripped it out and rammed it in again, before she dropped, one knee coming up as she rammed the thing's chin down on it in a brutal move to rip her arm free of its jaws. She could feel the hot blood dripping down towards Roulette, still had three rounds before she needed to reload. The wolf she'd stabbed was backing away, whining, but there were others. The one she'd pistol whipped, part of its head still coated in ice was leaping towards her, so was the one she'd zapped. She whipped around and Roulette let off another three shots. Two balls of streaking fire shot from the barrel of the revolver, slamming into each of the wolves, the flames providing a stunning illumination to the entire clearing as the wolves yelped. They were thrown back from the incendiary force, and Samantha popped off another round, another arcing blue electrical shot at one of the wolves, before sticking the revolver in its holster as another wolf came at her from behind.

She didn't need a warning though, it was almost like she somehow had eyes in the back of her head. She whipped around, knife up, her other hand going to press against the back of her grip for extra force as she rammed it into the thing's throat just past its jaws, the two meeting hard, and the woman staggering back, nearly collapsing back from the weight before throwing the thing forwards as she staggered forwards after it. "How the fuck you doing rookie?!" She shouted out as she slipped the kukri into her belt, and grabbed Black Betty from where she was hanging off of Samantha's shoulder. These things were going to start dying soon, and that'd make things easier for the hunters!

[John Black]

He could not deny that slamming the wolf aside had still been effective, just not in the way he had intended. Things had played out rather beyond his ability to predict. This should not be a surprise considering that the true nature of battle would always be chaotic, but as the battle went on he was learning at least. He was learning what he was dealing with and what effects his tools had in this situation. Gradually adapting.

In the case of his gun at least, the damage and effect were a little more predictable since he'd already been shown that it could hurt these wolves in a way that better satisfied his sensibilities.

Since he knew his strength at least was more than able to compete with these demons, and his gun could tear into them the way he wanted, he'd make use of those for now. His sword was out of reach for the moment anyway.

The wolf intended to charge into him, and John was content to allow it as he gained his stance back. He lowered his shoulder and met the charge with equal force, like two walls slamming together, he didn't intend to overwhelm the wolf, only to match its force and stun it. And then pushed the muzzle of his gun against its body and let loose a non-stop barrage of bullets directly into its body. This time he wasn't firing blindly either, no fancy shooting behind his back at an enemy he could feel but not see. He aimed to riddle the wolf's center with as many bullets as he could in under two seconds before stepping aside to lift his gun at the next wolf that tried to come charging his way.

"I'm alive." He called back to her question. She sounded like she was doing just fine herself. He made a mental note to take a few more ques from her example in the future. A big knife seemed pretty handy right now when he couldn't maneuver a big sword in close quarters. The gun was doing its job well enough, but he wouldn't mind having an extra weapon on hand when he needed to cut or stab something, and it wouldn't take up that much space anyway.

[Augustine]

He probably couldn't see how badly her left arm had gotten mauled. He might have been surprised at how well she was still using it if he had. Still Samantha wasn't going to slow down for a moment. "Good, keep it that way!" She shouted, as she hefted Black Betty and met one of the leaping wolves. She went down and thrust the shotgun up. That heavy bayonet's purpose was made clear as she rammed the blade up into the wolf's stomach, hoisting it into the air. There was a feral grin on her face, the thing seeming to vanish as it was lifted up out of the path of her light, but she felt the weight, felt it thrashing.

Samantha pulled the trigger, and the thing went flying off of her bayonet to hit the ground hard, before she turned, smashing the grip of her shotgun into the head of another wolf and knocking it aside, the sound of her pumping the shotgun filling the clearing. That was one wolf down, and John's own maneuver was going to make it two dead, meeting the wolf's charge and grabbing it, pumping its stomach full of rounds that saw it go slack save for twitching, but the other wolves wouldn't have just watched! He might be able to respond to the next wolf, but the one opposite it?

If nothing else, they'd taken two of the wolves down, and if either had managed to count, there were about eight or so, that was a substantial blow, a bit less pressure for the pack to exert on them as they kept fighting!

[John Black]

He could not see how badly she was hurt, it didn't seem to reflect in the enthusiastic reply she gave him. She sounds like she was almost having a good time here.

As a wolf finally fell to his own attack he felt significant satisfaction. Finally, he'd gotten one of these things down. The woman was still well ahead of him when it came to body count though, especially a second later when she took down yet another one that planted itself on her bayonet. While he didn't see it, he heard the solid shotgun blast that slammed into her most recent attacker.

John still had too much going on around him to give more than a glance in her direction. He'd gotten one, but there were still so many darting around them in the darkness.

He decided he wanted his sword back though. Making a run at his sword where it lay, he heard the nearest wolf run at him from the side, glancing the light in its direction, seeing it make a leap he didn't stop to counter its leap. He dropped to slip under its leaping form in a slide through the dirt, lifting his gun to deliver three bullets into it just before tucking the gun away in time for his hand to grip the hilt of his sword.

And then he twisted, bringing the tip of his blade up to catch the form of the next wolf with the tip, intent to drive it through the beast. He hadn't been able to cleave these things earlier, but between the force of his stab, and the momentum of this creature running into the tip of his ready blade, he expected the effect would be nearly similar to a horse running chest first into a ready spear. He was about to make Shish Kabab out of one of these damned demon wolves.

[Augustine]

He was clearly being generous with his count. The one she'd impaled on her bayonet was the first she'd actually killed. Then again her aggressive and violent fighting style had seriously injured a number of the wolves. The one she'd 'stabbed the shit out of' to use the scientific term, was hanging back for an opportunity rather than leading any charges.

Either way he'd be closing whatever gap he perceived soon as he seemed to warm up to the fight, and get more aggressive and focused himself! He went sliding beneath a leaping wolf. His gun opened fire again, did he hit it? It was hard to tell, hopefully at least one shot hit but without the kind of impact to knock the thing out of the air he could only guess. Either way he avoided the leap and seized his sword once again. Fully armed he turned and his thought process was correct.

He ran one of the wolves through, the beast's limbs flailing helplessly as its head rocked back, not quite dead but clearly dying upon his blade. He could safely toss it off of his sword and turn his attention to another two going after him. They were circling one trying to come from his front the other behind. Samantha of course was doing just fine, the heavy roar of her Shotgun blasting a pouncing wolf out of the air as she sneered, a feral, bestial grin on her face as she lunged after the wolf she'd sent flying to give it the finishing blow!

[John Black]

He'd also been counting the one she killed when he first approached her. The corpse of one at her feet before they set off into the night together to hunt the remaining pack. Between that kill, and the one she had just made so far. But she was also doing a great job of stacking the damage on the other wolves running around. While he could not see much of what she was doing, he could hear well enough when a wolf would get slammed by a shotgun blast, gunshot, or even the cries of the wolf she stabbed the shit out of.

He hoped his shots hadn't been wasted, firing up at the belly of a jumping wolf, but as new wolves took it's place he didn't have long to ponder it.

But as his blade drove through the chest of another wolf, pinning it like a bug on his blade, left to do little more than squirm, he felt a soft smirk cross his lips. The thrill of success, the pounding of his heart at another kill, the growing confidence as he gained momentum. True combat experience. For him the situation was rather electric, perhaps sharing a portion of the excitement that the woman felt, if to a lesser degree. For him, it was an intense intoxicating feeling, but still maintained and controlled.

He didn't see any reason to waste the body though, rather than pushing the body off his blade he swung his sword with the wolf still impaled on it. Tossing the dying wolf like he was tossing a ball, sending it flying at the other wolf in front of him, trying to smash it between the dying wolf, and a rock behind it with the motion.

Then turning to ready a slash at the wolf behind him, intending to catch it with a powerful upward swing that would send the wolf spinning skyward in a wild spinning tumble.

[Augustine]

The battle had rapidly turned against the wolves. Samantha's bayonet rammed into the wolf on the ground, and delivered another powerful boom from Black Betty to finish the beast off. A wolf leaped at her, jaws clamping on a shoulder, shaking as it tried to knock her off, but though she stumbled, she dropped the shotgun, and drew her Glock, pressing the barrel to stomach and firing rapidly to force the thing to let go, before delivering a swift kick to its snout.

John's own maneuver went well, hurling the corpse like a projectile, it smashed into another wolf who yelped as it was crushed against the rock. Half the pack was dead or dying, and realizing that they were about to be wiped out, some of the wolves tried to run. Naturally Samantha didn't feel inclined to let them, putting her glock back down and taking a blast at one wolf moving more slowly than the others, taking out its hind legs, before walking forward to finish it off.

The wolf pinned against the rock by one of its brethren was also struggling to move and get free, but that still left...two or three wolves to flee into the darkness of the forest as Samantha cursed, letting Black Betty fall again to be held by the shoulder strap. She didn't seem that quick or eager to try and follow them into the forest as they went running off. Instead, she was pulling out a cigarette. "How the fuck you doing over there rookie? All your limbs still attached?"

If he flashed his light towards her, well. She looked...a bit of a mess. Her left forearm was badly bleeding and mauled, and there were deep bite marks on her right shoulder, bleeding freely down one arm...and she seemed completely unconcerned. It seemed like she wasn't even aware she was injured!

[John Black]

With one wolf pinned, and the other wolves apparently running, he decided to focus on the easy target. Walking over, sticking his sword in the ground before drawing his pistol. Putting a couple of bullets in the head of the pinned wolf before putting away his gun, and drawing his sword from the ground, turning to the woman.

Walking her way he noted her injuries, giving her a quick once over in the light. "I'm fine." He answered. He considered mentioning her wounds and offering her some aid, but considering she came here more prepared than he had, he expected she had whatever medical supplies she needed until she said otherwise. But in the event she did mention needing some first aid, he had supplies back on his boat.

However, there was also the matter of the fleeing wolves. "How should we proceed?" He eventually decided to ask, figuring whatever plan she came up with would make more sense than whatever he came up with. Since he was half inclined to chase the wolves on foot, which he likely could not do, especially not in the dark, even if she let him keep using the flashlight.

He was a little surprised the wolves had decided to flee, he supposed he gave them too little credit. Perhaps having figured they would be more aggressive than self-preserving as they became more desperate to kill them in the hope of surviving, rather than deciding they were too great a threat and retreating.

[Augustine]

Samantha lit her cigarette and took a deep drag off of it as she stared into the thickly clustered trees of the forest. Then she turned away to walk towards John, and then around him. "Hmm, not bad there rookie, expected you to have a few bite marks, heh." She didn't seem concerned about her own at all still.

She exhaled, one hand resting on her shotgun, still hanging from its strap, the other pulling the cigarette from her mouth. "Ain't no point in trying to track them through the night. Several injured should leave a good trail, but call me cynical, trying to track a black blood trail through a forest at night sounds like a recipe for getting more lost than a priest in a brothel."

Sticking the cigarette back in her mouth she walked to the large boulder in the middle of the clearing, looking inside. "This was definitely there nest, so who knows where they're going to go run out from it. Might even come back. Either way." She reached a hand up to tactical harness and withdrew something from a pouch, before tossing it deep in. Turning around she'd gesture with her head, "GPS locator. Means we can find our way back. Best bet is to come back in daylight. Either they returned, or we can track 'em better in the actual sunlight. Doubt anything will happen to the trail in...what, 8 hours? If something has...that's just reason to be suspicious eh? Even if someone heard the gunfire and reported it, it's doubtful they'll find the exact spot we fought in, and even if they do, no reason for them to get rid of the trail, just the bodies."

She'd slap his shoulder as she moved to walk past him. "You're welcome to come with me. Bus' got a few spare beds fer just that reason." A bus? Well it presumably wasn't a public bus that was for sure.

[John Black]

"I got lucky." That was probably an understatement considering that if the grip of Balmung had not been in the way he'd likely have a broken neck and possibly be dead right now. At least he'd been able to make up for his initial mistake. One that he had no intention of repeating.

"But even if one had gotten me, I heal quickly." He wasn't fully aware of the exact limits of his regenerative abilities, but it wasn't uncommon for someone like him to survive massive vital trauma apparently. He didn't intend to find that out anytime soon.

He listened as she gave the outline for her plan, and seeing no flaw with it, he nodded. Again, it was better than anything he was likely to come up with.

"I'll take one of the spare beds on your bus." He agreed, curious to see the bus she owned. He doubted it would be a normal bus, granted he'd only just met the woman tonight and could be wrong. But he was expecting a bus unlike any he'd ever seen. Maybe heavily armored? He supposed he should not assume too much, best to wait and see. Clearly, the woman could be reckless, yet not unprepared. She'd come heavily armed, even if not extensively armored. Her arm was injured, but she seemed to pay it little mind. She might not be a half-demon like he was, but he had no doubt she was dangerous after witnessing what she was capable of. And besides, he was the rookie here. And that meant she was the professional between them. He'd save his concerns for when he knew better what he was dealing with. For now, he was just going to assume she knew better than he did, and it was probably best to follow along till the job was done. If he needed to worry about her, he figured she would make it clear when the time came.

Until then, he was just ready to get out of these dark woods and get to her bus. He sheathed his sword on his back, keeping the big light in hand until she wanted it back. He'd continue sweeping the light around as they walked, just in case any of the wolves decided to double back for an attack, but he imagined they would be licking their wounds for tonight and that the woman was right in that they could track them in the morning, perhaps even back to their den. At least the GPS device would make finding their way back to it easier.