Pursuing Shadows

( OOC: Hey, welcome back. No worry about confetti guns here. I don't know where I left mine.

Post order is now: Me, Shade, Froshana, Goobtron)

Wolf had been sleeping rather soundly right up until Walt knocked on the door. He opens his eyes and glances around, trying to recall just where he was, then he sees Walt entering through the front door.

Letting out a yawn, Wolf climbs back to his feet, but he doesn't say anything in response.

(I may or may not have eaten my confetti guns.)

Shade was still asleep, he was dreaming about... something. Even Shade did the know what was happening. He just went with the flow to see what was happening.

(Sorry about the short post, just my character isn't doing anything important right now.)

((Mine are out of order after I tried filling them with bubble solution... Not recommended! Welcome back, though. :P))

As the time ticked by, Tangerine had grown bored toying with her phone. She'd done some texting, rapidly tapping away at her phone's screen as she tried to explain the day she was having to someone. That went on for some time, but the conversation died down eventually. She wanted to settle down and sleep but found it difficult with the lingering thought that someone or several someones were likely looking for Wolf. She didn't even know what Shade was involved in. It was enough that she could only close her eyes and try to rest. Each time she would doze off, though, her mind would bring various concerns back to her attention and so rest did not come particularly easily.

A knock at the door and Walt's voice made her look over with a little start. She was just getting up from the bed when he opened the door himself and entered the room with the shopping bags.
"Food sounds pretty good about now, actually," she commented, letting out a yawn shortly after. There was a visible shudder from the reptile at the draft of frigid air that followed Walt into the room, but she made no mention of it otherwise. Instead, she glanced over towards Wolf and Shade, noting that Wolf seemed a bit drowsy himself as he stood up and Shade was apparently still asleep.

Walt looked around the rather tired room "...Was I gone that long, or was it that tiring of a day" he mused as he passed out the various food stuffs to those in the room 

"Either way, now that you've had a chance to rest and with food in  front of us, I'd like to do my job and do some reportering, starting with you" he pointed to the other wolf 

"seems your the centerpiece in this story, however from there, I'd like to hear how all of you fit into this.... disturbance." he sat and pulled out a cheap egg sandwich and tore a bite out

( OOC: Shade... there was really no need for you to double post either. Your second post could have just been edited into the first one. )

"It has been a long day." Wolf replies as he accepts some food from Walt.

He sits back down on the floor near the couch.

"I'm not sure what I can really tell you about things that have gone on today." he says, "It might be best if you didn't look into it though. From what I've experienced, these people aren't anyone you want to draw the attention of... and if you go looking for them or details about them, who knows what might happen."

(I know, sorry C.S.O. Something weird happened and it kept messing if I tried to edit it into the other comment so I just decided to cut all the hassle out and do another. )

Shade yawned before slowly sitting up, legs on the couch, and looked around with half closed eyes.. He smacked his lips and wiped some sleep out of his eyes. He suddenly noticed Walter handing out food to everyone, the aroma filled his nose. Shade slowly turned to face Walter and outstretched an hand, "thank you Mr. Whit," he said, tired.

Shade didn't care what he was eating he just dug in, it was a long day and Shade thought he deserved at least something to eat. He barely made out Walter and the other two in the room but oddly enough, Shade could make out a fourth being, excluding himself. Shade tried to make it out but was too tired so he decided to ignore it.

Tangerine didn't give much in terms of a verbal reply, letting Walt and Wolf chat for now instead. She accepted the food handed to her with a nod, though, then sat back down on the bed beside her discarded jacket as Walt began to address Wolf. The dragon glanced over, but otherwise set her attention on the food in her paws for now.

Looking at Wolf as he pulled out a note pad he sighed lightly "Look, its my job to go looking into things people would prefer to remain hidden, and considering the damage done by these individuals, I think its best that they were exposed. 

Besides if their after you, how long can you really last, by yourself with no help? I don't know about your other two companions but it sounds like your story is good enough to keep me committed." 

"Pardon me if I'm forward but this is important, as it seems these people will be rather ruthless at trying to get to you, and while this chase is ongoing innocent lives are at risk. So shall we start from the beginning? Who are these people and why are they after you, what can they do and why are they doing it?" from both his questions and his serious demeanor, it was very apparent he wanted to get into this mess, even if it met personal danger

Wolf sighs softly. He looks up from his food and towards Walt.

"Well, you may want to get involved, but I was completely serious when I told you that I wasn't sure what I could tell you about them." he replies, "There's nothing that hints at their arrival. It never seems to be the same people I run into either... so yes, this has happened on a few occasions before. Those times there was only one to deal with..."

He pauses for a few moments.

"But I don't know who they are... they don't introduce themselves. They haven't issued any threats or warnings or demands. The first indication that I get that there's trouble is when a weapon is drawn and swung towards me..." he continues, "I've obviously managed to survive, but I haven't been able to do any more than stalemate one of them or find a way to disengage myself from them and make a run for it."

Shade could hear Walter and Wolf talking but couldn't make out what they were saying. Shade assumed they weren't talking to him but he wanted to hear anyway. Rubbing the inside of his ears, Shade could now hear the conversation better; Walter was interviewing Wolf.

Before Walter seemed like an uncanny stranger but now that he wanted to becom more involved in this "quest" showed either he would do anything to get a good story or he was a good friend now, or at least ally. Shade began to listen more to the conversation between the wolves (Walter is a Wolf, right?) and noticed that Walter had a notepad. Shade thought nothing else of it but finished his food, placing it gently on a nearby table.

Just having woken up, Shade needed to stretch a little so away from the other three he began to stretch his quads, thighs, biceps etc. Finally, Shade leaned backwards until his head fit in between his legs. Shade then placed his hands on the ground and pushed himself into a handstand.

Tangerine listened to Walt and Wolf converse about Wolf's problems. It struck her as highly strange, indeed, and she felt a pang of pity for the younger wolf as he explained his situation. No doubt it was a very stressful way to be going through life. But what, really, could someone like herself do to help?

Even as these two were talking, she noted movement out of the corner of her eye and spotted Shade doing... something. He seemed to feel the need to stretch right now after eating.

Oh.

Oh.

Her brow furrowed a bit as he revealed his apparent contortionist abilities. It made her back hurt just watching. And so she looked back to Wolf and Walt when the hedgehog went into his handstand. She kept on eating for now as she had nothing to contribute to the conversation.

(Yes Walt is a wolf, and I'm sorry guys I am trying to make this more exciting for all of us) 

Rubbing his chin at Wolf's response, Walt snapped his fingers in a moment of clarity "Mr. Wolf, it seems you have done something to anger this organization, and I have to believe it is an organization, or at least a group of some kind . Now I don't expect you to know this group Mr. Wolf but it is imperative we figure what you did, or perhaps what you saw, or even simply who you are that has marked you for death, or capture. 

I know I'm asking you to tell me a lot but I promise I'll only put on the record what your comfortable with, unless of course the information can save lives... I'm a bit of a press vigilante when it comes to that."

"Anyway, there must be a piece to this puzzle that you must be conscious of, unless some random group of guys want to kill you for no reason. So any idea's Mr. Wolf why they'd be after you, it could be an important part in tracking these guys down and stopping them"

Wolf lets out a breath.

"Okay... they may have a reason for being after me, but I have no idea what it might be." he replies.

He glances away from the others.

"I haven't done anything to others because I do my best to stay away from people. I live most of my life wandering in the area between cities. As you can imagine, there isn't much to see out there that would make others chase after you." he says, "As for who I am, I'm no one of importance. As far as I know, I'm just like everyone else. Of course... I have no home, or family, and few friends and I'm constantly on the move because someone... or many someones are after me."

His last words are a bit more heated, but it doesn't really seem directed at anything specifically.

"If I had more details about what was going on or who was responsible, I'd have already tried to do something about it... But it's beyond me. So all I can do is make the best of my life as it is..." he finishes.

He keeps his gaze away from the others, looking down towards the floor.

Shade gracefully placed his feet back on the ground before pushing himself upright. Shade didn't notice Tangerine see his backwards contortionist skills but he still noticed that the two wolves were talking. He walked over to the bathroom and locked the door. I'm not gonna say what he's gotta do.

((I don't think you should have to apologize about it, Goobtron, especially since it's C.S.O. who's prob doing the planning. :P))

Tangerine's frown deepened as Wolf further expanded on his situation and what he knew about it. It almost sounded unreal, honestly. But clearly it was no way to be living either.
She briefly noted Shade retreat the bathroom and shook her head a bit. The kid obviously didn't care about the story going on. Deciding to butt in, herself, the dragon looked back to Wolf.

"You ever consider changing your identity?" she suggested, "New look, new name?"

Walt rubbed his temples a bit, this story had become a lot harder then it was shaping up to be "She does have a point, if you have no idea about anything going on why not simply change who you are?  Why risk your life continuealy against a gang of thugs you know nothing about?" 

"And lets face it the only way you'll find out about these guys if one of them is captured and spills the beans, and what are the chances of that happening... Look Mr Wolf I want to help you, but it seems this dangerous story you warned me about has little to it. What do you plan on doing, you can't run for ever... can you?"

"No one knows my name. I don't see how they would." Wolf replies, "What else am I supposed to do? I can't just change my appearance. I don't know how... And the alternative to running is to remain in one place. How is that going to do me any good? That's just waiting for them to show up in force."

While it may have been rude, Shade was eavesdropping on the trio's conversation. He listened carefully to what they were saying. When Tangerine mentioned changing identity, Shade made a "yeah that could work" kind of nod. Shade flushed the toilet and proceeded to wash his hands. He made sure the water was flowing at a low pressure so the sound of the tap wouldn't overwhelm the conversation.

Shade dried his hands with a drying cloth before leaving the bathroom. Shade sat back down on one of the couches and sighed, rubbing his eyes. He looked at Wolf and asked, "we could help. Before you were alone and fought them by yourself. This time you have us. We can give them the element of surprise the next time they try to attack you. That could work, right?"

"Heh, trust me," Tangerine commented, "There are at least a few ways to disappear. It could be a simple as getting some hair dye. You could probably pass for... I dunno, maybe a coyote or something, right?"
She glanced over as Shade returned and seemed to now be willing to contribute. As keen as she was on not making any new enemies, the dragon had to nod in agreement.
"He's got a point. It's not like we'll just hand you over if trouble comes knockin'," she said, "With all of us, maybe we could make you disappear. Let you run off to some other country somewhere."

"Both of you have good points" Walt was pleasantly surprised to see everyone suddenly get involved "However at the end of the day, Mr Wolf here will have to make the decision, and while I do want to learn more about why this random group of people is hunting a random wolf...seems the answers are rather elusive"

Wolf shifts his gaze towards his food and starts to pick over it a bit.

"I don't know if you'll want to get that involved by fighting them. What if they go after you as well?" he asks, "Maybe if you have an idea of how to send me far away perhaps that would work... I just don't know if that's a solution or a stalling tactic..."

Shade listened to Tangerine and Walter and nodded in agreement. Shade listened to Wolf and noticed how he seemed to play with his food. Shade raised an eyebrow but soon felt a little queasy, "woah!" He stood up and walked to the door.

He turned to the trio, "I'm just going outside. I uh need a little fresh air," he then left the room and walked outside of the hotel.

"Well, it's different for them to go after you by yourself," Tangerine pointed out, "Those guys earlier.. geez, they got wrecked. The people who came to help you there were merciless."
She paused to take another bite of her food and was about to speak through her current mouthful when Shade stood up and excused himself to go outside. Impulse kicked in and she managed to call out, "Be careful," before he shut the door behind himself.

She looked back over to Wolf. "Anyway, if you're only traveling places on foot, maybe that's why they can find you again and again. You need a faster means of transport. A plane ride or low-key boat trip could be at least helpful in throwing them off your scent," she suggested.

A little surprised to see the young hedgehog just walk out Walt returned to the matter at hand "Mr. Wolf I believe that sadly the point you brought up may be right, simply running away will only stall the problem, and while I actually abhor the thought of putting myself in the way of harm, to actually solve this problem is to get to bottom to this mystery. Which of course is going to include fighting these chumps, or at least capturing one of them..." he stood up and stretched his legs, was he really considering actually  throwing himself into a war zone? 

Of course he was, just he wished he was better armed then a crowbar. Contemplating all this he looked at himself briefly in the mirror and raised an eyebrow "Wait a second I got an idea, crazy granted but if your interested in actually fixing this problem of yours, well I'll gladly pitch it"