Cackler Raid - RPLOG

Participants

• Edel
• Euoia
• Fenris
• Isabelle
• Magnus
• Narwen

Date

19/2/2022

Log

The day is grey and drizzly in Fairhaven's warehouse district. Perfect weather for clandestine operations. Unless you are the one who has to perform said ops.

At the coordinates listed from the job posting is the wreckage of an old building. It looks like it used to be some kind of landscaping outlet and the sign reading "SWEET LEAVES AND LAWN" is still legible in the wreckage. The urban renewal projects can only go so fast, after all.

Incongruously, an undamaged bus stop shelter stands in front of the ruined building and a well dressed tanuki sits waiting with a black umbrella folded neatly and leaning against his knee.

Narwen ambles up on all fours, looking both extremely unstealthy and unlikely to be a covert operative: the perfect spy! The skunk beast's tail is raised up over his back, shielding him from rain somewhat. Other than that, he doesn't seem dressed for the weather, just in his usual eye-watering shorts. As he catches the eye of the tanuki, he wiggles white eyebrows and raises a paw to the side of his muzzle. "Hello. Um, good afternoon. Is this the place for the... thing?" he asks, in a whisper that can probably be heard across the street.

Isabelle walks up to the meeting place, causing the group to quake. The 80+ foot giantess stops at the agreed upon meeting place and kneels down so she can get a better look at the group gathered to face this latest threat. "Greetings and well met everyone!" While not the perfect spy, she makes up for it with good intentions and high spirits.

As a tanuki shrine priest, Edel couldn't very well go and ignore someone tarnishing their image. It wasn't the first time she'd heard about it, but now she actually had an angle of approach to DO something about it. Drawing nearer, she tips up the brim of her large water-resistant hat and gives a flick of her bushy tail. "Narwen! You still exist! I haven't seen you in an age and a half."

Well then, evidently there was work to be done. It pertained to the extraplanar so OFCOURSE Magnus would be right here looking to cause mayhem for the ones trying to further upset the delicate balance of their world. The last thing this feline needed was a very pissed off patron out for blood due to the activities of some ragtag band of ne-er do wells. They had enough to deal with already what with recent developments. Magnus would be arriving here by the coziest way of travel within the city's limits that he had available. *THUMP* his legs impact the ground some twenty or so feet away from the well-dressed tanuki he'd spotted. While it was hard to guess where their meeting point was exactly, context clues suggested that this was as good a place as any to check out.

He'd adjust the cuffs of the brown leather duster covering his torso, then tuck in the telltale green and brown scarf looped around his neck beneath it just so its ends don't flop around. Checking the pockets of his black slacks, he reaffirms he'd brought what he needs, a momentary glance cast across his dark brown leather boots in passing. The feline rolls his shoulders on approaching, a small group having gathered here already. He'd feel for the presence of his armaments, a few of the more exotic blades hidden beneath his attire, two identical blades holstered crossing over one another upon his back, and a peculiar retractable implement swinging gently off his right hip. Upon approaching the others, would crack his knuckles and clear his throat, that predatory feline gaze wandering among the others.

"Gentlemen, ladies, good to see you all here today." His eyes wander over Edel, a soft smile tugging at his lips. "I had a good feeling you'd be here. Surprised someone else isn't though." Then again, Yejian had mentioned these sorts of affairs were more her mother's forte. "It is good to see you Edel, I look forward to working with you." Gaze wandering over the others... he'd greet them all with a silent nod and a soft wink directed at the equine among them, before finally landing upon the umbrella-holding tanuki. "Looks like Fenris did follow up on the intel I provided. So, who's teeth are we breaking over this?"

Fenris looks around the newly gathered crew and frowns a little, particularly at Isabelle's incredible size. "I am sorry, Miss," he says, "But I don't suppose you can shrink down on your own?"

"Though you are all punctual! Right on time," the tanuki says, smiling affably. Those who have met him will recognize Fenris, though rather better dressed than usual. "I will be brief, I promise," he says, beckoning the agents closer. "Some of you may have heard of a recent rash of petty crimes supposedly committed by tanuki. Smash and grabs, small time robberies, vandalism and even one rather ostentatious daylight robbery at a particularly good pastry shop." He shakes his head. "Witnesses claim that the perpetrators- well, this will sum things up."

He produces a small projector and queues up what appears to be security footage from a small convenience store. A pair of mutants, both with the bandit masked appearance of tanuki charge through the door and start pushing over displays and making threatening overtures. One pulls a knife while the other wields a club. Certainly not lethal weapons these days, but it still hurts to get cut or hit.

After the attendant empties the till, the pair run off, hooting and hollering! There is no sound, but there are some rather obvious gestures made.

Fenris turns of the projector off and stows it away. "The attendant said that the pair said that they were taking the money for "Lord Tanuki" and that the clerk could "Suck his big tanuki balls."" He explains, obviously upset, "Though it is obvious these two were not tanuki at all!" He looks to Edel for confirmation.

Narwen glances up as the giant approaches -- seriously, that's a _big_ giant -- and plants himself against the side of the building in case of accidents. She gets a cautious wave of a forepaw, and once she's acknowledged him he rejoins the little group. Edel gets a decidedly more enthusiastic greeting, swept into an undignified foreleg hug-and-squeeze. "Edel! Likewise, great to see you. Yeah, been a bit busy, but -- well, anyway, I exist now. How're you doing? Or, uh, should we be using codenames? I think mine was 'Not Narwen'." After waving to Magnus too, he settles down to watch the presentation -- although half-focused on the projector as much as the show. "Well, I mean, they took cash and not cakes! That settles it right there. So were there any other, y'know, clues? I'm guessing there wasn't a calling card, else we wouldn't be here, but, y'know, finger prints? Magical DNA? Conveniently dropped belongings? Uh, not quite clear on what detectives look for these days."

Isabelle ponders for a bit before responding to Fenris, "While typically Kaiju's don't usually shrink, I can think like a real sneak and I've been practicing! I dare say I'm the sneakiest of my kind. I can also use my wings to fly so I can provide a view from the sky." Isabelle looks at the illustrations and ask, "Has anyone asks around to see if the voices sound familiar or if they look like one of the locals? Chances are that petty crooks operate locally."

Edel flashes Magnus a smile in kind. "When it comes to tanuki and shady dealings both, Yejian has a lot to learn. This is definitely more my thing. Plus, she's busy today running a paired task elsewhere in the city with Molly." She turns her attention to Fenris then, "It's been a while since I've seen you, too, but I've never seen those two there," she says in regards to the projected display as she gives Narwen a pat on the shoulder.

"Throwing the name around like that, crass behaviour. Not becoming of tanuki at all. In the off chance they ARE, they're being extremely poor representatives." Her arm lazily rests over her sword's hilt while her tail curls around her paws. "Either way, it's something we can deal with. Is there a pattern in there targets?"

The feline simply leans agaisnt the nearest surface and dips his head, eyes closed once the presentation is over. "Typical. Surprised the K9 unit aren't ramming their batons all up those poseurs asses right now. Tanuki or otherwise, a criminal mind is a criminal kind. Ain't nobody exempt from the cuffs just because they claim to represent some otherworldly force. I'm glad you called us here, Fenris. We'll be hitting two birds with one stone. Can't really say all that much about these thugs though. I've got eyes and ears across the city, ESPECIALLY with the hyenas ever since I got in good with one of the tamer gangs around Fairhaven. Those mutts though..." he would indicate the patch upon which they'd seen an insignia upon the criminals seen in the footage. "They've been a pain in my group's tailhole for well over a year now."

"Call themselves the Cacklers, been around for a long time, have roots and connections in a lot of choice places. They'll be well supplied and well trained if and when we do encounter them. Question is..." he reaches up to rub his chin with one hand, eyes closing in deep contemplation "...what do they have to gain off of petty crimes while impersonating Tanuki. Trying to cause an upset that they can capitalize on? Looking to settle a score with the ringtailed raccoon-dogs for one reason or another? Maybe just doing it for the kicks, I wouldn't put it past them to do so. They need to be getting their transformatives from somewhere too. Someone is making bank off of providing them their disguises." He'd then open his arms and shrug deeply. "Typical arrogant hyena behavior though, didn't doff their threads on a framejob. That's just sloppy."

Fenris looks sidelong at the giantess and produces a brilliantly green leaf from the air. "Well, for an important mission like this, I am authorized a little bit of magic."

He flicks the leaf toward Isabelle and there is a flicker of emerald light and the giantess now seems small enough to fit in an ordinary building. It is a strange effect, because she is not any smaller, but space seems to be behaving differently around her for now. "That should help," Fenris says..

The burly tanuki rises from his bench and opens his umbrella, leading the group through the collection of old warehouses. He stops and makes his way to the corner of the ruined building and gestures to an old warehouse in much better repair, covered in graffiti, possibly some kind of gang symbols.

"My sources have traced our would-be-tanuki roughnecks here, to the old Doctor Chuckles Joke and Novelties Warehouse," he explains, "I would normally ask my fellow tanuki to solve this problem, but a third party will be better for PR." He grins at Magnus and opens his coat to reveal his FHPD badge. "Turns out, I represent multiple interested parties."

"Magnus is right," he continues, "We suspect that the leader of the Cacklers, Cackling Billy is the mastermind behind all of this."

Narwen gets to his paws, adjusts his pack absently, and pads along after Fenris. "All rightie, then. Interesting point about someone supplying them. Maybe they've got a tanuki captive?" he wonders as they walk. His claws clack against the broken sidewalk, slowing as they approach the corner. "Joke and novelties warehouse? That sounds like a little box of nightmares. Do we want to try and sneak in? Get an advanced peak? Go in in disguise?" He tilts his head. "If they're disguised as tanuki, would more fake-tanuki coming in from a job work?"

Isabelle looks around with wonder, "This is so strange, it's like I have two different perspectives: one is normal and the other is other people's normal! The Tanukis really do have powerful magic! So you know the location and the people responsible? I guess the Tanukis really don't want their name involved in any of this. Wait, doesn't this mean I'm extra sneaky now or do I still have my usual level of sneakiness?"

Following after Fenris, Edel scratches idly at her cheek. "Yes, it's always good to get others involved. If we solve it all in house it might seem like a cover-up job," muses the 'nuki girl. "I wonder if the kitsune put them up to it. I certainly hope they don't have a captive, or I'm going to be a lot less forgiving."

"Cackling Billy. Strange, that's a man's name. Hyenas generally have matriarchs. Even the one I hang with respects their matriarch more-so than anyone else. Hell, even I do. For a guy to be in that position, he must be some kind of tyrant, or blessed with the shiniest silver tongue." Magnus leans away from the wall and casts Fenris a soft smile. "This is going to be fun. I've been looking for a reason to shove my boot up some Cackler asses. My group's gonna be very pleased, and I'll be able to send a message. Though not looking like this." The feline excuses himself with a soft nod, then puts his hands together, producing some illusory smoke to conceal the way transformations worked for him. Let's just say that folks of Magnus' affliction tend to change form in an unpleasant-looking way, as probably witnessed by the soft sloshing-crackling-crunching sounds that emerge from the puff of obstructive white smoke. The moment it clears, he'd be rubbing at his face and adjusting his jaw a bit with one hand, his pelt distinctly spotted, body shape largely unchanged save for the absence of his long, serpentine tail, as well as the necessary facial reconfiguration from a feline snoot to the chiseled hyenid muzzle. "Never gonna get used to that." The fellow adjusts his attire just a bit, righting the slight wrongs his change had forced upon them with a few pats here and there. He rolls his shoulders, then follows after the other tanuki. What Edel says however makes his ears burn. "No... no no no no. Edel for the love of all that's holy I hope you're wrong. That'd open the floodgates for all kinds of nonsense we really don't want happening." The look on Magnus' face was telling. That flickering fear just behind those expressive irises. "As if we didn't have enough otherworldly friction already..."

Euoia decides to stop hiding and release the difficult control of brute forcing light nanomagic to keep her invisible. "I.. I might be of some scouting help." Sie flutters forward to the group. "Sorry for spying, but you looked like something big was going down. And, well, I might have a little too much free time on my hands." Euoia looked around at everyone. "I'm Euoia. Doer of odd jobs, maintenance work, and other stuff." Sie looks around at everyone. "I thought there was some kind of prank getting ready to go down, but this seems more serious. Sorry for following you out here. But it seems you might need someone tiny and mobile." Sie gives a bow but continues hovering.

"I said it before," Fenris says, "Those are not tanuki! At best they are fat raccoons with a testicle problem" He raises a hand to forestall both Edel and Magnus. "Fortunately, no one seems to be missing," he says, "I can guarantee that if they had taken a tanuki there would have been no opportunity for all of you to help clear this up."

He waves his umbrella toward the warehouse. He smiles at the newly visible Euoia. "No pranks today, I fear," the burly tanuki shrugs, and waves the group on "I trust you all to find out what is happening and to see that it is taken care of."

"Could be a 'Billie', like that actress-- oh geez" Narwen winces at the gruesome sounds and pointedly looks away while Magnus does his thing. Fortunately, Euoia provides a handy and sparkly distraction. "Hi there. Narwen. I mean, Not Narwen," he says, gesturing to himself with a forepaw. "Taking a peek-around sounds like a good plan to me, if you're okay with it? The hyena thing's a good idea, but I wouldn't bank on it up close -- I'm guessing they know who's in their own gang." He squints a moment. "What're we looking for? It's not enough just to rough them up. Maybe there's some of the loot still in there. Anything 'specially distinctive or identifiable stolen?" he asks Fenris.

Isabelle looks towards Euoia and grins, "That's a neat trick. I bet you could be all sorts of extra sneaky. You could get in and get, looks for clues and maybe even get some video evidences, and then leave without anyone being the wiser." Looks around the area for something, "I guess we find a transport and then make our way to this Cacklers hideout?"

"Don't worry about it, Magnus," Edel says with a wave of her hand. "Even if it were them, it's not that serious. I haven't seen any actual animosity between kitsune and tanuki in a long time. Usually it's good natured rivalry- By our standards anyway. I've done quite a bit of... Work... In the past to help bridge the gap and keep it that way." She adjusts her hat and looks over the warehouse. "Still, we're more than capable of getting this resolved for good."

Ever the paranoid, Magnus would simply breathe a soft sigh at Edel's comments. "Yeah, we also didn't think having this much magic jammed into our world wouldn't come without consequence, yet here we are. I'll believe you, you are the expert at this after all, but..." He'd lick his lips and cast his gaze downwards. "It leaves a bad taste in my mouth, is all." As for the enigmatic one that chose to reveal herself, she earns only a wandering glance and a soft nod from the yeen among them, though he doesn't feel like he's got anything to add. Narwen's comment however does spark some interest. "No. I'm not looking to blend in. I want them to remember my face and my scent when I shove my foot up their asses for what they've been doing. I want them to know it was my group's doing that helped put a wrench in their operations. I want them to think twice before stirring shit with us next time, because they've been causing a lot of problems." His fists tighten, knuckles popping softly "Can't say I'm a fan of their actions." Oh dear, seems there's a grudge boiling somewhere in there."

Euoia ponders for a bit. "Okay so we are gonna bust inn there and mess up their crap. Um, I can get some eyes on from whatever holes are in the roof and then relay that back with telepathy. Going in blind is a bad idea. Also... fireworks distraction? I know how to do pyrotechnic nanomagic, too!" Sie thinks it would be best to get a plan before just busting in there all willy-nilly.

Fenris snorts quietly. "Kitsune would have at least been convincing," he says, "And probably shown more finesse than gas station robbery and painting penises on things." He shakes his head at Narwen's question. "Even the Cacklers are typically more organized than this. I suspect a low chapter with a leader who stumbled on something useful." The only thing that makes this stand out is the appearance of the criminals and the fact that they are trying to frame tanuki."

The outside of the warehouse is plastered in graffiti, though the faded and chipped paint of the old novelties warehouse peek through here and there. For the most part, it seems unguarded.

"I vote Euoia goes and takes a quick peek first. No fireworks, no distractions -- that'll just tip 'em off that we're coming. I'd just like to know we're not walking into fifty of 'em, or a machine gun or something. Or a warehouse full of clown mannikins." Narwen shivers. "If you want a fight then I guess you're going to get a fight," he adds to Magnus, "but let's at least make sure that the leader doesn't run out the back when you bust in the front. That's not so much my bag, but I guess I can make 'em wish they'd never been born with noses."

A little recon shows there IS a guard! A rather unsavory looking hyena is huddled by a man access door, tucked carefully into the alcove, hunched over a cigarette.

Isabelle shrugs and asks, "Maybe we can just ask them to surrender? Like that guy over there that's all by himself in that alcove next to the door." says Isabelle as she points to the hyena who has a cigarette. "I usually find that if I ask politely, people are usually willing to do the right thing after a good bit of talking. I guess they take one look at me and find the inspiration to do good in the world." Isabelle produces a cheesy smile as she strikes a heroic super hero pose.

"Are you sure it's not because they think you'll squish them?" Edel asks, a bemused smirk on her naturally masked face. "However we decide to try and get by them, we should do it without giving him a chance to alert his friends. If you want to try and talk it out, feel free. Otherwise I will be standing by for violent maneuvers or whatever else. I wonder if we could get in from above. Buildings like this usually have some kind of window or spot for ventilation."

"By all means..." Magnus handwaves towards the guard, though he adheres more closely to the rest of his team, never straying more than a few feet's distance away from them. "A certain someone I know would have me try to resolve this as nonviolently as possible. She's been naught but a positive influence on my life ever since I met her. If that's what the group wants, then I'll not stand in your way, though it's far from my forte so it'd be best that someone else does the talking, or sneaking for that matter." Without the heavy armor once hugging his body, the lad would have a much easier time sneaking, though it'd been so long since he'd put that skill into practice, that trying something like that would be, well... less than ideal. He'd cast a glance towards Isabelle, one hand reaching out to pat her shoulder. "Nice to know it's not us you're looking to step on." His own glance then makes a wandering survey of the area. "I can climb the outside walls if it comes to chasing down ole' Billy, or Billie, whatever his-her-their-whatever name is. Pretty good with moving quickly these days too. Consider the outside covered if it comes to that. All else however, well..." Into his pockets those hyena hands go, contented to let his team handle this specific interaction.

Euoia looks around quick while everyone is talking. "I'm gonna take a quick looksie quick. Be right back." Sie flies up to get a good look at the 'enemy base' of a warehouse that looks like the only thing it keeps out is direct eye contact. Sie quietly continues to observe and slowly work hir way closer while trying to remain downwind.

Fenris has been rather quiet through all of this. Ultimately, that is because he seems to have vanished. He'll probably show up later.

So far the guard seems oblivious to the party's presence, just trying to enjoy his fag out of the elements.

Euoia's exploration reveals that the building is fairly sound. There are a couple of windows on the upper level propped open to admit some cool air, along with a pair of vents on the roof.

And the rusty fire escape that Edel surmised would be present on the back of the building. It looks like it would be pretty easy to reach.

Narwen looks at the building, ears tuned to Edel as she mentions her roof idea. A moment later, he blinks and then nods to himself as the wee fairy sends over a breezily cheerful telepathic message. He glances at the others, over to Isabelle, and then: it is on. He moves on silent paws, as quiet as a two-ton animal wearing saddlebags stuffed with equipment. He keeps his tail low, scent only wafting towards the half of Fairhaven that's downwind. His rainbow shorts blend in with the grey street and sky. Are the others following? It doesn't matter. He's focused on his objective: a side alley, where he hopes a rickety, non-quadruped-accessible fire escape might await him.

Isabelle saunters up to the guard, hips swaying in an exaggerated fashion which causes her four, garage-sized breasts to have more of a bounce. "Hey there Mr. Guard. Aren't you a little cutie! I was wondering if we could have a chat away from this place and you and I get to know each other", Isabelle coos as one of her claws ideally plays with one of her nipples while she extends another of her four arms towards the guard, gesturing for him to climb into her palm. Isabelle moans seductively while giving the guard bedroom eyes as her tongue plays around the edges of her giantess mouth, keeping them moist for smooching.

Edel grips the edge of her hat to keep it on her head as she springs into motion. For such a rotund tanuki, she's pretty light on her feet and darts after Narwen. She, too, had a mind to try the roof access. "Honestly Magnus, I have little expectation that we'll be able to solve this peacefully with a crew like this, but maybe I'll be surprised."