Hiya, partner! Finally realized you need some snack and polish?

  Well, if yer feelin’ peckish, then you’ve got a vast and unvaried selection of tasty meat treats [60 Flesh Resources] and a couple life- force flavor-savers [2 Life Resources].If yer wonderin’ how many game world Pauses you have left, that number is a magnificent ONE!

  You have 16 Attribute cards in your Fatigued deck and 12 in your Ready deck.

  And since you’ve been playin’ hooky from school you’ve got a lightly-spanked allotment of 10 Experience Dots ready to apply to Skills and Attributes.

  Keep up all this violent interaction with other Players and you’ll be gradge-oo-aytin’ to Novice Tier in no time.

  He pulled out the two grey dollops and briefly considered handing them over to Ashalina, but he was really pissed with her for chest cracking Martiposa. If the whole point of Converting

  Robin peevishly gulped down the two Life Forcejuuust one more so as to savor its rich buttery potato flavor. He wished he had a whole bag of them, they tasted like heaven was bathing in his mouth. He groaned aloud with satisfaction not caring if he sounded like an old man lying down for a midday nap. Back in the real world, he had taken for granted how three meals a day of flavorful food was valuable to the soul. Eating had always been a thing he to do to keep him energized. He had rarely stopped to take pleasure in the sensations the process produced upon the palette. The gratification dining offered in this world was far more palpable — literally healing — capable of providing reprieve from the shock of life so easily getting snuffed out by a proverbial sneeze.

  When the chip’s flavor evaporated he did a quick calculation of how many of the 60 FleshInitiateAttributeReadyDamn! I’m short two fucking bon bons — wait… my hat!

  He activated the latent ability of his ED FedoraEquipmentd12 Bodhid8ReasoningTemple Tremble Impedimentd10AgilityCharlie and the Chocolate Factory, Robin went to town on 56 of his 60 FleshResourcesResourcesResource

  ” Marti with coloring, maybe I can find a way to undo it. Take it back somehow.

  Next, he took a gander at his AttributeSkillsExperienceDotsTemple Tremble Impedimentd8Reasoning

  Next he choose to spend four of the remaining seven DotsZingZapSpellmedium. If he was going to be fighting claws and fangs he wanted to keep more distance between himself and all those furry Feralsamount to so that he could hit more than one target, but he only had three Dots

  Instead, he dumped these last three DotsNaughty & Nice Spell’sDotSanta SackAttributeAttribute

  His timing couldn’t have been better. As he refocused on the real world — well, the world which he still wasn’t convinced was really real — Ashalina motioned for them to get off the bus. They had arrived near the FeralHomeBase

  Interestingly, most of structures in the immediate vicinity had purple accents or full-on violet paint jobs, albeit chipped and peeling, putting the shape-changing Feral’s

  The firehouse was clearly at the center of this purple smear. Dangling raggedly in the blessedly mild breeze from a rusty light post flapped a huge amethyst flag with slashing claw insignia. A single, large, half-oval garage door and one smaller door covered much of the front of the building but atop its second floor was a poorly-constructed, wooden fortification looking like a fourth-grader’a attempt at a backwoods treehouse.

  Clutching her side with one hand, Yarya gestured to the entire region with the other. “As you no doubt can decipher for yourself, Robin, Ferals

  Robin thought back to that PowerRoarFeral

  A cluster of dirty, drab children huddled in front of the tenements, looking too sad or ill to do more than poke at a partially-inflated ball with jagged sticks.

  “The firehouse appears undefended,” Zebryl observed. The incubus carried a still-wheezing Martiposa in his arms. He glanced at the despondent children. “And there is a deliciously aroma about this place.”

  Yarya sneered. “Dear brother, I think your senses are as short as your tail. What you smell is despair, not Fear

  Zebryl’s jaw tightened ever so subliminally at his sister’s jab about his lack of a tail. Robin had learned the incubus was viewed as deformed by his kind, but he was thankful to not have had to deal with yet one more devil appendage in bed.

  “That is the goldWater cannon,” Ashalina stated flatly. She pointed lethargically to the crude water cistern atop the firehouse. What looked like the half-aborted offspring of a squirt gun and pre-school knockoff Legos rested a cannon of sorts precariously balanced on a thin swivel-mount.

  “What do you mean, ‘goldWater’”? Robin queried.

  “It is filled with Undead

  Robin had a vague memory of StinkPew referring to it as a reward or upgrade the Feralsare at war with some tribe of Undead

  Yarya sniffed impatiently. “Have you not been paying any attention at all, Robin? We have already confirmed it. It would appear they have not come home from their most recent assault against the unliving.”

  “Or maybe they all got slaughtered and they won’t be coming back at all,” Zebryl suggested hopefully.

  “Wishful thinking, dick sniff,” Robin snapped. “Last time one of you tried taking this place you got your wings handed to you on a platter.”

  Yarya strode away from the bus stop, her posture indicating she expected everyone to follow. “It was not the beasts that nearly killed me, it was that detestable angel. He showed up out of nowhere, like he’s been keeping an eye on me.”

  Robin found it hard to believe that the most powerful Playercabal

  He slung his Santa Sack

  A case of theft: this story is not rightfully on Amazon; if you spot it, report the violation.

  Before they mounted the steps to the front door, Yarya stopped and opened the driver-side of the tan firetruck sitting abandoned in front of the building. If this clan of FeralsUndead

  Yarya snatched a set of keys from the visor. Robin thought that only happened in the movies for plot convenience. The fire truck’s paint job instantly shifted to red. Had she just claimed possession of the vehicle? It certainly appeared so. “Brother, put the pixie in here and cast a ward on the truck.”

  “Maybe we’ll find some Resolve

  “Unlikely,” Zebryl responded as he gently lay the groaning fashionista in the cab across the wide bench seat. “These beasts don’t have the wherewithal to extract anything but FleshKnock-Knock-KaBoom

  “Good enough,” Yarya stated. She then strode confidently up the steps and through the front door with Ashalina and Zebryl a few strides behind. Robin grunted and trudged after them hoping they weren’t walking into an ambush.

  The interior of the fire station was a rank mess. In fact, they passed a doorless locker room where toilets overflowed with wads of garbage and human body parts. A meeting room on the other side of the hallway swarmed with flies as that space was clearly used as the latrine. The building felt almost sepulchral in its silence. Except for the flies. So many flies.

  “Maybe no one’s here at all,” Robin whispered, waving hands around to disperse the irritating insects.

  “Oh, I should think the Nest’sFeral

  Robin nearly made a snide comment about treatment in this cabal

  Nailed to the banisters like holiday bunting were the savaged remains of a dozen seaweed-encrusted UndeadUndead

  A multitude of playful yips from above broke the quiet. A half dozen tiny little half-human, half-fluffyDog critters stood between stair railings one level up. They pelted the cabalLife ForceResourceUndead

  The yapping little half-puppies cavorted and frolicked in loops around each other before darting away with barks of delight at having attacked the intruders.

  “These nasty mongrels appear to be breeding,” Yarya said, scornfully, her upper lip curled in disgust.

  Robin was keeping his nose plugged as the stench of the place threatened to bring puke into his throat. “Guess that’s what animals do best, right?”

  Zebryl snorted and turned to face Robin. “It is indeed repugnant to imagine manufacturing offspring without a thought toward proper covenants and agreements. You and I have yet to engage in such accords, but perhaps we should when things settle out.”

  It was Robin’s turn to snort. “First off, no way am I having your baby. Where would I grow it? And second off, we’re still fighting you, self-centered twat. And third off, aren’t you and Yarya bastards or something? I bet your parents didn’t have all the proper paperwork.”

  Yarya didn’t look up from her careful examination of the garage below. “They most certainly have proper agreements before birthing either one of us. Their motivations may have been suspect — given their different genealogies — but we are the very proof that it was all done properly above the mantel.”

  Wet mouth-smacking sounds distracted Robin. Ashalina was collecting and noisily ingesting every one of the Life

  “We need to go down,” Yarya said. “We can squish those vermin offspring later.”

  The dim lighting got even dimmer as they descended the wide staircase into the empty garage. The space was big enough to hold at least two fire trucks, but instead there was a wide pile of dingy bed mattresses in one corner all leaning against each other like drunken sailors on shore leave. A half dozen large TV sets lined two other walls and human bones lay scattered everywhere. Carved wooden totem poles of various heights were driven into the pavement floor. Every pole depicted multiple animal faces on each tier though canines seemed to be most commonly represented. Blood and stains suspiciously fecal in nature splattered the floor and walls adding to the abattoir decor. How anything remotely intelligent willingly lived here was hard to imagine. No wonder StinkPew had stayed at Betty’s house to join the devil cabal

  A low-toned, small growl emerged warningly from the mattress nest. Then a screechy and shrewish female voice yowled from deeper inside, “Asky, go fetch the babies, all my titties are getting leaky again!”

  Emerging into view came a ludicrously diminutive wereDog dressed like a purple cholo hobo complete with bandanna around his head. “Yooz fuckin’ devils best scram or I’ll haz to get to makin’ Ankular Instability

  “Who’s there, Asky? Is they bringin’ me dinner? I’m dyin’ for some coffee, too. Did they bring coffee?”

  “Get offa muh back, Grunny,” the chiWerehua barked. “It’s not dinner. It’s that dumb devil bitch come back for a second tit whippin’.”

  “Oh, how fun Asky,” replied the shrill voice. “You want me to come help?”

  The little guy called out, “Yeh, yooz betta, Grunny. She’s done brought friends n’shit. There’s even that red zombie again, the one dat punched Jazmin in half.”

  Robin looked around wondering if they were on some sort of YouTube prank show. Nothing about this interaction seemed real, or even dangerous. If it weren’t for the befouled surroundings he might have actually laughed out loud. A second, tiny, dog-human hybrid emerged from inside the mattress fort. She was was dressed in similar street gang attire but had a poofy fur coat and tail, adorable little ears and a small face cute enough to pinch. With her somewhat orange coloring he guessed her to be a pomeWerenian, a lycanthropic vanity dog presumably more at home in a vapid socialite’s purse than ruling over a charnel house. She sniffed the air upon examining the cabal

  Robin was not the only one to find the scene ludicrous. Yaritza, usually so serious and full of blustering threat, half crossed her arms and put one hand over her mouth hiding a disdainful grin. “Do you two little mutts have anything to say as your epitaph?” The succubus regained her composure and gestured blandly about the garage. “You are clearly not capable of managing this Home Base

  The pomeWerenian leaned causally upon her mate’s shoulder. She seemed entirely unbothered by the threat. “Oh, so you think yuh bettuh than us? You think yuh could run this place bettuh? I can still smell the sizzle of your soul after what the archangel did to ya.”

  The chiWerehua threw his head back and yipped annoyingly for several seconds. Maybe it was his way of laughing at his spouse’s humor. “Yooz gotta be kiddin’ me, suck-yoo-bitch. Yur not the first flesh-peddlin’ devil we’ve dealt with. Yur half-breed kind’s only good for a rut in the gutter — if yur into hairless freaks, that is. At least a yooz got a tail.”

  “Yeah, that’s not nothing, Asky,” the pomeWerenian agreed agreeably. “Everyone’s gotta love a tail. Gives ya somthin’ ta pull on when your all randy an’ stuff.”

  “That’s torn it, you little yabbering slap-jaws,” Zebryl intoned peevishly, sounding sensitive about his lack of a tail. He summoned his fire whip into one hand, the flames licking its length adding a flickering glow to the dimness.

  With astounding speed, almost faster than Robin’s eyes could track, the two little wereDogs dropped to all fours, shifted into full dog form and dashed forward with shrill yaps. They became a flurry of motion whirling in-between the cabal’s feet and ankles as some sort of vortex attack was initiated. Dice cascaded off everyone as the tandem assault took effect:

  

FIREHOUSE CHIEFs’ RESULTS: 8 successes [quality = 63]

  AGL d12 + d12 = 11 + 7

  AGL d12 + d10 = 9 + 1

  Ankular Instability d12 = 2

  Ankular Instability d10 = 9

  Ankular Instability d10 = 8

  Ankular Instability d10 = 6

  Ankular Instability d10 = 6

  Ankular Instability d8 = 7

  

ROBIN’s RESULTS: 1 success [quality = 11]

  FOR d8 = 1

  “Defensive” Dancing d12 = 11

  “Defensive” Dancing d10 = 1

  “Defensive” Dancing d8 = 1

  The sound of cracking and crunching bone seemed louder even than the wereDogs’ yowls and growls. Robin shrieked in pain as his left shin, both ankles and half the bones in each foot snapped like over-dry kindling. He fell to the ground alongside his three teammates. Neither of the devils had been fast enough to get airborne and Ashalina was, well, slow.

  Despite fiery pain shooting up Robin’s legs, he had the wherewithal to throw both arms over his head in fear the tiny dogs’ assault now had clearance to his face. His used FortitudeAgilityd6BrawnInjury

  He only had four ResourceInjuryFatiguedSantaSackFlesh

  “Oh no you don’t, mister funny hat,” she chided, shifting into upright half-dog form. “These treats aren’t for yer kind.” She made to pop them in her little mouth but Yarya screamed like a banshee and managed to launch herself airborne from her knees, feet dangling uselessly at the end of her legs.

  She flapped her wings powerfully and flew up the stairwell disappearing into the dim upper floors. Was she abandoning them, leaving her brother to die by a thousand dog bites? Robin was so shocked at the turn of events he momentarily forgot the sizzling pain he was in.

  “What’s she doin’, Asky?” The pomeWerenian yowled, the four Flesh

  The chiWerehua shifted to half-dog form in order to respond, having been gnawing on Zebryl’s ankles like holiday chew toys. “I dunno, Grunny,” he responded. “Maybe she’s too chicken to fight to the death.”

  “Yeah, Asky,” Grunny said. “That’s so like a devil. No real backbone to do the job themselves. Let’s finish these fukkuh’s off so’s I can go feed the babies.” She popped all four FleshResources

  The incubus had somehow lost his whip but had managed to get on hands and knees. Ashalina sluggishly tried to hit the chiWerehua but the dog was too far out of reach.

  While that exchange was going on, Robin desperately tried to focus through the pain to figure out something to do. The game made him roll a Willpower

  

ROBIN’s RESULTS: 2 successes [quality = 12]

  WLP d10 = 8

  Unskilled d4 = 4

  Unskilled d4 = 2

  Unskilled d4 = 1

  Having no specific Skillsrelic’sNaughty & NiceSpellAttributeAttributestiny - would be enough to affect both wereDogs who were, collectively, not very big. Not overcommitting and keeping cards in reserve in case this gamble didn’t work was probably wise.

  

ROBIN’s RESULTS: 1 success [quality = 4]

  Naughty Gift d4 = 1

  Naughty Gift d4 = 4

  Naughty Gift d6 = 1

  ESN d6 = 1

  casting time boosted with: AWR d8, REA d8, BOH d12, PRE 2d12

  He let the sound of the she-dog’s shrill and grating voice guide the spell into the danger zone. He hoped the use of BodhiPresenceAttributesFeralsReasoningAwareness

  What came out in his hand was a bone-shaped squeak toy no bigger than his palm. It was only going to last for the next 30 seconds so he needed to make use of it ASAP. “Here doggie doggies! Come an’ git it!” He squeezed it twice letting the wheezy whistle tone ring across the room and then tossed it into the air.

  Without any real thought or intention behind it but afraid the crappy dice roll might somehow sabotage things, Robin spent another d6 EssenceCharm

  

ROBIN’s RESULTS: 4 successes [quality = 31]

  ESN d6 = 6

  Charm d8 = 7

  Charm d8 = 8

  Charm d10 = 10

  Whether the combo SpellFeral

  The wereDogs froze in place as fur and skin melted off their bodies like they had peeked at the Ark of the Covenant in the first Indian Jones movie. In seconds, they were nothing more than greasy puddles adding new stains to the garage floor.

  Silence settled over the grisly scene. Robin groaned as he became aware once more of the throbbing pain in his legs and feet. Zebryl was moaning too but Ashalina managed to silently sit upright and stare overhead at the sound of incoming wing flaps.

  Yarya returned to hover in the air with each clawed hand clasping a tiny, wiggling werePuppy. She slowly examined the acidicly-bubbling remains of the Feral

  She casually smooshed both werePuppies in her palms then let their dripping remains plop onto the concrete.