11819/Lashing out

Lashing out
Date of Scene:	22 July 2020
Location:	Harry Dresden's Office, Kingston Falls
Synopsis:	Lash gives Harry something to think about...
Cast of Characters:	Karrin Murphy, Harry Dresden

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Karrin Murphy has posed:
Sleep. One of the most essential parts of life. Something neither Harry nor Karrin were all that good at, but eventually most nights they bedded down for a handful of hours in the wee darkness so the could keep with day jobs. Karrin couldn't say exactly when they fell asleep, but she's now snoozing deeply at his side, wearing nothing but one of his long teeshirts and her hair still damp from the pre-bed shower. It's cool enough in his basement apartment that she's got one leg draped over his leg, probably making his calf go half numb, and a loose hand unconsciously flopped against his ribs.

Maybe it's paranoia, or too many years of actually being hunted, but there's a sensation in the air before something goes wrong that Harry just knows by now. Nothing visually or audially different but... Something's changed. Five seconds later, there's a heavy thud against the front door of his apartment and the sound of breaking lass. Six seconds later, Karrin's eyes jerk open. So much for a good night's sleep. 8 seconds later, another thud comes.

Harry Dresden has posed:
When one deals with the things that Harry does day in and day out sleep is a luxury that doesn't come all that often, a deep sleep even less so. Tonight was one of those glorious nights where the wizard managed to find himself in deep REM, maybe because Karrin is there by his side and giving him that little extra sense of comfort to allow him to relax fully.

So imagine the disappointment when that sleep is shattered by breaking glass.

The glass shatters, ticking down onto the floor, but Harry is already moving before the last shard falls. Rolling out of bed in his boxers, the wizard casts a quick glance to Karrin before he looks around for his staff or blasting rod. Of course those are in the main room, why would they be here where he might need them in the middle of the night? Oh, right. Wards.

"Karrin," he mutters out quietly as he starts to creep forwards towards the door, "Why didn't the wards go off?" It's a rhetorical question mainly because how in the hell would she know, but it is an attempt to help jumpstart his own sleep deprived brain into thinking about the answers for himself.

Karrin Murphy has posed:
Waking up is unpleasant, but leading the lives they do, Karrin is pretty good at jerking into action as fast as possible. She's annoyed that she's not going to be doing it in pants, but sometimes there simply wasn't time. She groans as she jerks up and rolls over, grabbing for her gun that stays in the bedside table and has been there most nights, locked during the day, since she started spending regular nights at Dresden's place. She's already moving for the door, safety off but the gun pointed carefully at the ground in readied but not aimed stance. "...I dunno... got a wizard on their side to pull them down? Can of ward-be-gone? Your area, Dresden." She mutters, shoulders hugging the wall next to the door of the bedroom.

A third thud and there's sounds of things... Inhuman things, coming in the front room. Too many feet moving in too quick, rolling succession, like a centipede that has been blown up to weigh about a ton. In fact, that is exactly what has come through the window, two other half human, half demons at the door. One has the familiar, preying mantis-like features of an old enemy, but the others are new Denarians and, somehow, they've tracked a coin to his place.

Harry Dresden has posed:
Harry peers around the corner of the doorway quickly to try and get a glimpse of what is going on further down the hall and the glimpse he catches turns his already pale white skin almost translucent as the blood drains from it. "Oh...fu*k." is the wizards response as he recognizes Tessa's form. "Yeah...yeah they have a sorceress alright." he mutters out to Karrin as he closes his eyes and takes a deep breath in an attempt to steady himself for what is about to come.

Not having his staff or rod is a hinderance. He lacks control without it, but at times like these that is merely a hinderance. An inconvenience. But this situation doesn't call for control or fine tuning, this one calls for force and raw power is something Harry has in abundance.

Drawing the magic forth around him, the boxered wizard takes one last breath before holding it, rising to his feet, turning the corner, and yelling out 'FOZARE!' as he unleashes a bolt of force towards the denarians. "Murphy! Run!"

Karrin Murphy has posed:
"Run? HELL no." Murphy growls at him, wincing a bit as the bolt of force spills into the room, but she jerks around the corner opening controlled, focused gun fire at the Denarians in the few moments they are startled and stumbling from the wave of magic that he unleashed in their direction. She's not bothering with warning shots, every time she wastes a bullet it's meant to be a head shot, a killing blow, but even as strange blood splatters across the far wall with one particularly well targeted bullet, they don't seem scared in the least of her mortal weapon. She keeps firing.

Tessa is stumbled, first by the wave of force and then by a bullet, but she only hits her knee one moment before building a shield around herself and marching forward. The cow-sized centipede is sniffing around the room like a demonic bloodhound, more focused on a hunt than fighting. The other two we're plenty a challenge in a fight, though, and she whips a wave of lightening back in both their directions as easy as she might toss her hair across her shoulder. The monster centipede slows down as it gets to that hidden trap door. It's getting closer.

Harry Dresden has posed:
"Shit, shit, shit, shit, shit..." seems to be the only words on Dresden's lips as he draws in more power to toss another spell in the Denarians direction, this time something he doesn't use much of. Ice. Drawing in the moisture in the room the fallen are in, Harry clenches a fist tightly as he wills the molecules to come together and slow, and attempt to freeze dry the creatures to hopefully slow them down. "Arctis!"

"Murph, damnit, then are going for the coin!"

Karrin Murphy has posed:
It works, if only for a few moments. The demons slow to not even half speed as they fight their physical frames to break out of the ice that they've been turned to without shattering their bodies. In fact, they probably have shattered freeze-dried muscle and tissue, are just regenerating it so quickly than it means they've only been dramatically slowed. But it worked. He's bought them some time. A groan of anguish escapes crackling from Tessa's throat.

"...The COIN? You kept it HERE?!" Little does she know, there's two of them. Murphy swears loudly but jogs forward, tossing up the rug to his lab, the only hopes being she can get down there and help him get the coin *away* from here while he's holding them off. Hopefully she'd be able to see where it is. "Keep them clear...where IS IT?" She yells across the room. They clearly had a coin-scenting cow-piller, so what did it matter if he told her where it was?

Harry Dresden has posed:
"Where else was I going to put it?!" exclaims Dresden as he strolls forward into the living room, pumping more power into the spell to try and keep the Denarians from breaking free. "By the skull...next to the romance books." he strains out as he keeps the concentration on the spell at hand

"Karrin, grab it and move into the circle. Hurry..." he mutters out as he makes his way to the trapdoor himself.

Karrin Murphy has posed:
It all happens so fast. Karrin is down the ladder and the Denarians are almost totally free of the ice he encased them in, any damage to their bodies healed within the minute he bought them. Just as Harry is going down the trap door, the cow-a-piller begins to slither after him, thousands of legs propelling it forward like a speedy Denarian tank. It's going to overtake Harry if he doesn't jump the last few feet down the stairs, but then they're all trapped in the small lab together.

Karrin's found it, the box clutched beneath her shoulder like a quarterback going for the touchdown, but she's trapped now. Out of ammo, in nothing but a shirt, with the incredibly valuable coin, "Harry... I need a path..." She growls to him, desperately. He needed to work one more miracle.

Harry Dresden has posed:
Harry Dresden says, "CIRCLE!" Harry repeats to Karrin as he just lets go of the ladder and lets gravity do the work. "Get in the damn circle!" he repeats a third time as he scrambles on hands and knees towards the ring of brass set into the floor of the lab, thankfully clear of the clutter that sometimes occupies its space.

Assuming Karirn does what she is told, Harry focuses his will and touches the ring as he reaches it, sending the magical barrier up around Karrin, the Coin(s), and a dufflebag within it...with himself on the outside, panting as he turns to face the denarian centipede with a grin of satisfaction."

Karrin Murphy has posed:
The two seconds it takes her to locate the circle in the room are 2 seconds too long. She turns her head for just a second, searching for that pattern on the floor, and Tessa is down. On her. Too-long insect limbs dragging over torso, throat, arms, ripping Karrin open as she goes like a chainsaw going through the short cop. Her scream of anguish is only cut off by her throat opening, vocal chords no longer working. She tumbles, body, box, and coin to the edge of the circle. The coin spills free. With one last push of strength in a dying body, Karrin reaches a shaking, blood splattered hand over to the coin to try and push it across. Her skin makes contact... and power jerks through the room. A pact struck, even as her body is going still...

There's another coin. A chance to fight back, to redeem, or join her. As that Denarian tries to find it's place in a dying body, the other near by seems to awaken. Fingertips of memory through Dresden's mind, as the third Denarian spills down into his lab, slower now. Waiting. They know there is another coin but... What will he do about it?

Harry Dresden has posed:
Harry Dresden blinks, stunned into silence at the fact that Karrin didn't make it to the circle in time. That is an impossibility, the room isn't /that/ big and she has been down there and knows where it is. She was down before he was. How could she not make it?

Harry calmly stands as he lets out a long sigh, ignoring the denarians for now as he takes a moment to brush the dirt away from the side he was laying on.

"Nice. You almost had me." he finally says as he turns to face Tessa and the other Denarians. "You can cut out the shit now, Lash. I'm still not picking it up. You can come out now."

Karrin Murphy has posed:
The vision holds for the moment, Tessa prancing closer to him though she's reaching one long, spiny mantis arm in Karrin's direction, like she'd remove the woman's arm just to get the coin if he doesn't make the right decision. "...Join us, Dresden... She has one coin, you the other... It's that easy. You'll both live forever. Or, we can just take both the coins for ourselves but....wouldn't it be easier to join us? You'd never be alone again..." The last comment is sharp, the welling of emotions that echo how alone Thomas left him all of his life, they bubble up again. Whether it's natural thought or chemical manipulation, it's hard to tell. The emotions feel real. Murphy looks very dead, held hostage between the possibility of more life with the coin and Tessa's whims. There is no echoing of Lash's voice or words, just the warm, heavy knowledge of that buried coin...

... Maybe, just maybe... this wasn't a dream. Everything feels very real. The room smells like blood and worse. The sound of the thousands of legs sticking and leaving stone ground echoes like a stomach churning soundtrack. Tessa's eyes look very much like Tessa...

Harry Dresden has posed:
Taking in a deep breath, Harry shakes his head and strides forward towards 'Tessa' with a shrug of his shoulder, "Go ahead. Take it. I'd rather be dead and rid of it than join you, but you already know that don't you, Lash. See, your fatal flaw in this whole thing is that Karrin would have never touched the coin. Ever. Even in a last ditch effort to push it into a circle of power, one that her arms would have been in the way of anyway mind you. Maybe, just maybe, you would get her the same way Nickie got me but even then she is smarter than I am and likely would have just tackled little Harry out of the way instead. Nah, it was a valiant effort. The other was thinking that I would join you even if Murph was laying there dead with one of you in her, because it wouldn't BE her anymore. I wouldn't join you like that, and I think deep down you knew that. I'll give you props, you were so close to making me believe it, but nope, not buying into your bullshit."

Turning his back on 'Tessa' now, Harry walks towards the centipede thing, "I don't know this one? What's his name? Imabugicus?"

Karrin Murphy has posed:
As he continues to resist, the hallucination begins to fall away. First the smirking Tessa, then the other Denarians, last is Murphy's body. Maybe just to be a stinging, pouting reminder of things he could feel, but she's not fighting it any longer. Instead, he's still in his basement, apparently having actually walked there in his sleep, but everything is in calm order, the coin in the box where he last left it, and there's a beautiful woman sitting cross-legged on top of this lab table, staring at him with a mix of confusion, frustration, but also a strange bit of helplessness behind her eyes.

"I shouldn't tell you that. He doesn't come out much. They'd be...mad. But it was worth a try. Being this close to... another coin... It's nice to not be... Lonely, for a little bit. It's so lonely down here. At least you're talking to me now..." The expression on her face is earnestly aching. She's in very little clothing and, hallicination or not, looks cold.

Harry Dresden has posed:
Seeing that most of this is in his head, he concentrates on at least turning up the heat for the specter of the fallen angel in his head. No need to be an asshole and let he be cold.

He turns to face Lash as he leans against the lab table next to her with a sigh of partial relief he actually was right, "You can sense it huh? I didn't think about that when I brought it here. What would be better, burying it next to you or handing it over to the Church? Who is that coin anyway? The Imabugicus, or someone else? I didn't recognize the sigil on it."

Karrin Murphy has posed:
The extra heat seems to be appreciated, her shoulders relaxing just a bit more. She slides off the table, walking over towards the box there without ever touching it, but she does slip past *his* side while she goes, hip brushing his, fingertips trailing against the back of his hand for just a moment. Like a shy girl who wants more but also doesn't want to scare him away. She stands in front of the box, something raw in her gaze as she looks down at the surface of it, shaking her head slowly, "You'd...have to open it. To let me see. Really see, that is. And probably bring me out. I can't...really tell. I just feel it's power. But...it's... faint. I'd rather use what energy I have to talk to you than stare at what you're hiding."

Harry Dresden has posed:
"Well, that is going to be a hard no." Harry watches Lash as she moves around the room, his body having an involuntary reaction in the front of his boxers towards her touch as he clears his throat. Trying to ignore anything below the waist, he hitches his shoulder into another shrug. "Ok, Lash, you got me down here and talking to you, so talk. I'll let you know right up front it is going to be a waste of your breath if it is just the same old 'join me' shtick. I know you can't help it, after all it is your job, but I'm tired and kinda just want to go back to bed so if that is all it is going to be lets just cut to the ending."

Karrin Murphy has posed:
The seeming-woman, not an inch of insect or otherwise about her in this form, keeps staring at the box almost longingly for a few moments. Lash looks at it like a long lost friend, a child who wants to say hello to someone they haven't seen in ages, but is stuck in a class cage. The expression is completely raw and aching, but seemingly real. She doesn't even answer him for a moment. But, finally, his words draw her dark eyes back. She stares at him warmly, a bittersweet smile across her lips. "...Harry, if I can feel it... locked up, like you have me... they can too. They will be here, sooner rather than later. One...me... I'm... not worth it. Easy to ignore." Lonely. Abandoned. Scared. Her eyes drop as she considers that. "But...two. They're going to come for it." She then steps forward, to him, her body shifting up along his. "...I want to help you. I want us both to...survive..."

And just as her fingertips begin running up the back of his hand, that she seems willing to answer more questions, a sound comes from above. The footsteps of a drowsy, worried Karrin who just realized she was alone in bed and the trap door was left completely open. "...Harry? You alright..." She asks, kneeling near the door and looking down. Once more, she's still wearing nothing but his t-shirt.

Harry Dresden has posed:
"Yeah...I'm fine." Harry says as he looks from Lash to the trapdoor. He sighs, casting a glance at the box next to Bob before he starts to make his way over towards the ladder, "But I think we need to get dressed. I have something I need to get over to the church which I should have done by now, and it shouldn't wait any longer." He braces for the verbal backlash as he starts to climb up the stairs, casting one last glance over towards where Lash is sitting, "I've got a denarian coin, and I have it on good authority that if I hold onto it to long, they might come for it, so best get it out of her tonight..."