[Crossbow]

"As long as you keep the noise level down," Sammy replied, "there are things I really don't want to know.  And that Marcus makes his homework.  Now, where have you been the whole week-end?"
The last question was asked more concerned than angry, but she felt the need to know.  While talking she also opened her second sight and assessed Cassie.

"Like you said Sis, some things you really don't want to know, but your brother is a charmer, I'll give you that." Sammy's astral scanning picked up nothing unusual about the girl.

Marcus still seemed cautious, waiting for the other shoe to drop, but following Cassie's lead.  "We went to a house party up in Everett, on the Sound.  Some point, folks decided it would be fun to start walking, see how far we could get, hitting spots on the way.  Finally gave up the ghost on Sunday and crashed in a park in Tacoma somewhere, but I made it school on time, don't worry."

[Necrogigas]

O'Connor's whole body tensed when fire was mentioned. He swore he could smell his flesh cooking again, *The hell was that?* He didn't dwell long on it though, seeing the look in her eyes. It'd been a long time since anyone look at him in such a manner. The closest he'd seen in years was varying mixtures of pity and disgust. This woman's face however seemingly lacked that condescension and haughtiness. He nodded to her, "When do we start?"

[Crossbow]

When O'Conner woke up, he realized his lip had split where he had hit the pavement.  She was very fast, and she had barely moved when the spell had hammered him..   The buzzing of his com is what had brought him around.

>You have to get used to the feeling of the magic before you can steel yourself from it.  Be here tomorrow at sunset.  Bring Italian takeout from the place on 5th.<

[Necrogigas]

O'Connor checked the time to see how long he'd been out, "..." He had a feeling that this was going to be a recurring theme for his training. He was thankful that an unconscious person didn't draw much attention in this part of town. It seemed odd to him, he figured that the cops would be on top of anything that hinted at being disruptive to the orderly bulldrek that society pretended to be outside of the Barrens. Unwilling to question his good fortune however, O'Connor made his way back to Redmond. He made a stop at Darrell's shop, making his entrance by obnoxiously kicking the door open, "Yo Short Stack, how's it be omae? Came to check up on that hunting rifle."

[farothel]

"Like you said Sis, some things you really don't want to know, but your brother is a charmer, I'll give you that." Sammy's astral scanning picked up nothing unusual about the girl.

Marcus still seemed cautious, waiting for the other shoe to drop, but following Cassie's lead.  "We went to a house party up in Everett, on the Sound.  Some point, folks decided it would be fun to start walking, see how far we could get, hitting spots on the way.  Finally gave up the ghost on Sunday and crashed in a park in Tacoma somewhere, but I made it school on time, don't worry."

Sammy made a mental note to check it with the school anyways, but other than that she let the point slide.
"What do you do at school," she asked Cassie.

[Mercy Merchant]

Snow has picked up a few cooking skills and she put them to use making breakfast for the three.  It is Saturday and the guys are both off.  It is also Andrew's last weekend before he has to go back to work.  Snow hums a tune from last night, one of those songs just will not leave her head.  She is practicing a couple of the dance steps from the club when she feels arms curve around her, pulling her in close to the man whose scent is so distinct to her now.  She murmurs softly that he might ruin breakfast and he reluctantly lets go.  Turning to him, she says, "Here, you watch these while I get out of this robe and throw some clothes on.  Flip those in about 15 seconds.  I will be back out in a jiffy."  Her kiss and smile are completely genuine and she runs off to the bedroom just as Tommy comes from his room.  The young man gives a wolf whistle as she disappears.  After dressing, Snow returns to the kitchen in time to rescue the meal from the two men, who seem to be more used to eating out than having meals cooked for them and it is only since Snow moved in that the refrigerator has had much in it. 

Snow serves the plates and all three sit down at the small dinette table to eat.  She looks over to Tommy and says, "So, some more training today?  I think I am getting the hang of it more.  You have been a great help."

[Crossbow]

He made a stop at Darrell's shop, making his entrance by obnoxiously kicking the door open, "Yo Short Stack, how's it be omae? Came to check up on that hunting rifle."

Darryl pointed over his shoulder to the weapon in question, unfazed by the entrance as he worked on another weapon under a desklamp.

"Right where it was the last time you asked, still waiting for the stuff I need and the time to finish it.  On the bright side, Sargent Dipshit says that he can make the big gun disappear after the maneuvers are done in the back 40 at Lewis next week." 

[Crossbow]

"What do you do at school," she asked Cassie.

"Waitin' outside for Big Mark to finish so we can go have some fun."  She heads for Marcus's room, dropping her leather on the way.  "You coming?" she says to the boy from the doorway.  He follows closing the door behind.

[Necrogigas]

Darrell pointed over his shoulder to the weapon in question, unfazed by the entrance as he worked on another weapon under a desk lamp.

"Right where it was the last time you asked, still waiting for the stuff I need and the time to finish it.  On the bright side, Sargent Dipshit says that he can make the big gun disappear after the maneuvers are done in the back 40 at Lewis next week."

O'Connor nodded, "Finally, I was starting to think we were going have to pay him an unfriendly visit." He was a bit disappointed that the rifle was just collecting dust, but he couldn't get it back to Blackeagle before getting the machinegun to Jesus.  He was rather disappointed, however, that he hadn't gotten a rise out of Darrell. He was tempted to continue trying to push the dwarf's buttons. He thought better of it though, at least for the moment. O'Connor stuck around for a bit to chat it up with his friend, telling Darrell that his group had formally become a team, Heaven's Devils.

Eventually O'Connor headed deeper into the heart of the Redmond Barrens, towards Azure Fist territory. He went looking for either that hobo Angus, or Azure Fists to hunt, whichever he found first. O'Connor wasn't picky about it.

[farothel]

"Waitin' outside for Big Mark to finish so we can go have some fun."  She heads for Marcus's room, dropping her leather on the way.  "You coming?" she says to the boy from the doorway.  He follows closing the door behind.

"Use protection," she called after them, while making a mental note to check out this Cassie.  But then she thought, why not immediately.

She contacted Snow.
"Hey," she said when connection had been made, "I have a question.  My brother has a girlfriend and I want to know a bit more about her.  Could you do a bit of digging?"

[Mercy Merchant]

The note from Sammy was out of the blue, but it makes Snow feel good that her teammate was reaching out to her.  >>I can certainly try.  Send me a name and anything else you have on her and I will do some digging for you.  A photo would help.  And your brother's name and a photo, as well.<<

Once she has everything Sammy sends, Snow starts looking in the obvious places first.  The matrix is the place where all social media goes and she begins sifting through the data streams for anything she can find on Cassie and Sammy's brother.

[Crossbow]

Eventually O'Connor headed deeper into the heart of the Redmond Barrens, towards Azure Fist territory. He went looking for either that hobo Angus, or Azure Fists to hunt, whichever he found first. O'Connor was picky about it.

O'Conner finds no Fists, but he does find Angus.  This is not good news, the hobo's body is stuffed behind a dumpster, the poor slagger looks like he has been tortured.  His filthy shirt carries a message "you ain't the only one hunting anymore bitch" with a fist all drawn in the hobo's blood.

[Necrogigas]

O'Connor gave an annoyed sigh, *Well this ended predictably* He glanced around the area, looking for anyone watching the dumpster. He then checked the body over for boobytraps before dragging it out from behind the dumpster to get a better look.

[spoiler=Perception for people]
Intuition 3 + Perception 3 + Visual 2 + Actively Looking 3 = Pool 11
Perception (Visual): 11d6t5 5
[/spoiler]

[spoiler=Perception for boobytraps]
Intuition 3 + Perception 3 + Visual 2 + Actively Looking 3 = Pool 11
Perception (Visual): 11d6t5 5
[/spoiler]

[Necrogigas]

After finding no one keeping an eye on the dumpsite, and no boobytraps on the body, O'Connor pulled Angus' corpse from out behind the dumpster.  He checked the body for anything else the Fists might have left besides their message. After which O'Connor tossed the corpse into the dumpster. He went to the nearest store, or what passed for one at any rate, and returned with lighter fluid and flammable materials. A dumpster fire cremation was the closest things he could give the hobo in way of a proper funeral. At least the devil rats and ghouls wouldn't be able to get at him this way. He cracked open a 40, poured a bit out for Angus and took a long swig, "The next Fist I kill will be for you." O'Connor wasn't the sentimental type by any means, and he didn't even know Angus on a personal level. But the hobo was dead because him, so he figured he owed Angus a send off and some blood spilled in his name.

He tossed a lit match into the dumpster and watched the conflagration light up. He instantly regretted deciding on cremation. Panic made his chest tighten as he reflexively shied away from the flames. He retreated back to his car and drove off. He pulled over a few blocks later, breathing heavy, *The fragging hell was that? What's wrong with me?* Introspection wasn't a skill O'Connor was well versed in. So instead, he decided to drop a tab of Zen and let the drug wash away his fear.

After letting the Zen kick in, O'Connor returned home to rest and prepare for his training with Barefoot. He put a reminder in his comm about the Italian food. He had a feeling that if he forgot she would escalate things from stun bolts to lightning bolts.

[farothel]

Sammy had send the requested data to Snow and then retreated into her magical lodge.  There she studied a bit until Cassie went home.  Marcus knew he couldn't disturb her when she was working there, so she slipped out of her body and followed her brother's new girlfriend on the astral plane.  She stayed a bit higher so she could follow Cassie's astral aura without others getting in the way and also without having to worry about astral barriers, which were more often placed at street level.  This way she would be able to see where the girl lived.  And since the girl hadn't registered as magically active when she had checked, she shouldn't be able to see the mage following.