Sewer scouting.
Monday, 25 June 2012 17:27![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
flint_garouThat is one helluva angry rat.
25 June, 2012
The moon is in the waxing Half (Philodox) Moon phase (43% full).
As the pack prepares to head down into the sewers, Alexandra hands out small flashlights to her two packmates, keeping one for herself as well. "These should be pretty sturdy. They've also got red lenses you can put on them so we don't completely ruin our night vision down there, not that there's going to be much of a distinction between lit and pitch black to worry about. Most important," she raises hers—with no colored lens—and clicks the button on the base, sending out a brilliant beam of light, "they're really bright. I also picked up a few pounds of salt that we can divvy up as we see fit. Key thing to remember, though, is that we're down there to explore. If it comes down to a fight, we're just looking to keep the things off us until we can get away unless we're at a clear advantage."
Flint takes the small flashlight and nods. "Good," Flint says. "This," and he points to a D-cell maglite that hangs from his belt, "is. Is more for, if." Though he doesn't finish the sentence. "It's bigger, this. Small's good." There's a grin offered to Alexandra. "Though. The. The big one, I … I Dedicated it," he explains. "So that, yeah."
Ky gives the flashlight a once over, testing the light and the distance the red filter offers, then hands it back. "I'll be nose and ears up ahead," he offers. Without waiting for an answer, he starts off ahead, shifting into lupus and taking himself to one side rather than straight down the middle. Less muck to wade through, and less noise to be made. He's quiet anyway, padding along and scouting.
The sewers are, unsurprisingly, utterly disgusting. A narrow walkway runs along one wall, while the remainder of the tunnel is dedicated to effluent of the Industrial sector. The only blessing is the constant drizzle that the city has been experiencing lately. As a direct result of the rain, the muck is actually flowing at a half-decent pace, rather then stagnating like an overused and broken down pubic toilet. The smell is utterly horrific and when Ky shifts down in to lupus, the stink takes on a near-painful intensity, making his nose utterly useless. In the darkness, there is a skittering sound, followed by a wet plop. So far, the Garou's lights see nothing unusual.
Given what they've been told to expect and that she really doesn't expect to bump into anyone down here, Alexandra assumes glabro once they're down in the sewers. She's got a copy of the map in one hand, and her flashlight in the other as she walks. "Good. That could definitely come in handy," she tells Flint. To Ky, she says only, "Don't get too far ahead. Easy to get lost down here."
Flint waits a little bit longer before shifting up to glabro, mostly to judge whether it's worth taking up the extra space, but it is. "It. Yeah," Flint says. "I. I can use it, more than just as. As a flashlight." Even as they walk, one hand comes to rest on the top of the flashlight, the other tugging down his sweatshirt a little. "Ick," he mutters, at one point. "Ick."
Little Firebrand's ears angle back, and through the packlink there's some sense of acknowledgement for Lex's warning. He doesn't go too far, but he's not in clear sight, doing what he can to ignore the smell of raw sewage. He relies on hearing instead, ears twisting and flicking toward sounds ahead and of to the sides as he pads along.
The trio are about a block from the first indicated nest and make it about half-way there without incident. Little Firebrand passes through the first major intersection and in this area, the sewer widens briefly and the pooling sewage seems deeper here. His packmates trail along behind him, their lights flashing about in the darkness. Alexandra notices little unusual, but Flint can hear a faint hissing and popping sound coming from above.
Little Firebrand twists around with a warning growl to his packmates. His feet brace against the ground as a shake works his hide in hopes of shaking free whatever has afflicted him.
Pack> Flint emanates concern over the link, briefly.
Pack> Little Firebrand says, "Something's on my back, burning. Stay back."
Alexandra halts her advance at the warning growl, sending the beam of light from her flashlight as far up ahead as she can to see if she can spot the Ragabash. Over their shared link, her packmates would sense both concern and readiness to assist, if needed.
Flint pauses, then moves so that he's not directly underneath where he was, though he doesn't go so far as to catch up with Ky. "There. There's something," he says, speaking softly but echoing the words over the packlink, and he points up with his hand and not his flashlight, turning to see if he can see whatever the source of the sound. The small flashlight is turned off, leaving Alexandra to light their way, and Flint pulls out the bigger one, holding it club-like in one hand.
The sewer gets that much darker when Flint turns off his light and turns his attentions towards the ceiling. In the near-dark, the Galliard can see very little, despite the fact that his head is nearly brushing it. The sewer roof glistens and gleams, with a faint shimmer of slime and smooth brownish growths. Alexandra's light just catches sight of Little Firebrand and there is certainly something on his back; brown, tubular, glistening, and a little over a foot long and roughly four inches long in the middle. As Little Firebrand bucks and whips about, the thing on his back remains firmly in place as the stink gets worse and his skin starts to burn.
Alexandra advances quickly, then. "You're not going to shake the thing off. Hold at least somewhat still, so this doesn't miss." And with that, she pulls out a handful of the salt, flinging it at the leech on Ky's back. "Time to find out if pain makes these things let go…and whether or not we can heal from their bites."
Little Firebrand throws himself onto his side and rolls onto his back, paws flailing in his haste to rid himself of his passenger.
"Salt," Flint agrees, fishing his hand into his pocket to pull out his own handfuls of salt to throw at the thing that's on Ky's back, and then to keep a handful of salt ready afterwards.
Throwing salt at a wolf that is rolling around probably isn't as effective as throwing it at one that is standing still. Still, some of the salt does land on the brown thing on Little Firebrand's back and the slug voices a high pitched wail as it starts to writhe about and lets go of the Ragabash. From the ceiling, there comes an answering sound, Squeeeeeeeee! As lights flash upwards, the brown lumps on the ceiling has started to move and a few have grown eyestalks, which swivel to look at the Garou.
Alexandra moves back away from the area of ceiling that they're under. "Flint, you're up. Let's find out if these things are willing to communicate and acknowledge that we aren't food. It's a long-shot, granted, but worth a try."
Little Firebrand flips himself back to his feet and circles around, head tilted to let him watch the slugs. His posture is more on the offensive, how he might handle them is anyone's guess, but he's definitely more ready to attack and keep them from his packmates.
Flint squares his shoulders and moves over, stepping to one side of Lex to stand next to her. "Hi," he says, voice taking on the quality from his gift of Beast Speech, though he doesn't let go of the handful of salt just yet. "Hi there. We're. We're not going to hurt you."
The brown slug-things, roughly a dozen all together, watch the garou with stalk-like eyes. They make no response that Flint can understand and one by one, the eyestalks disappear back in to the tubular bodies.
The galliard clears his throat, and then the gift of Persuasion joins the Beast Speech. "Please let us pass through here," Flint says.
The slug-things do not move, or show any sign of responding. The one that got salted has stopped writhing about and is slowly crawling its way to the sewer wall. Where the salt fell, the creature's skin no-longer glistens.
Alexandra begins to advance slowly and cautiously, salt at the ready, testing to see whether they're going to be able to pass without a fight. "I hope you weren't too polite. I'd have told them that they wouldn't be hurt so long as they didn't try to eat us."
Little Firebrand gruffs some sort of warning, lacking any of the pleasantries or persuasion the Galliard can offer. Still, his meaning is clear enough. After another circle beneath the googly-eyed beasties, he starts on his way again, warning his packmates to stay wary.
Flint follows, the handful of salt gripped tightly. "Let us pass," he adds, before he lets both gifts fade from his voice, and looks at Alexandra. "I. Sometimes, if you mention being hurt, it's. It's enough to make things panic. I didn't. I didn't want to… to incite them, to attack. Even. Even the gifts, only go—" There's a pause as Flint pays attention to his footing, "so far."
The slugs, if left alone, seem inclined to return the favor. As the pack moves on, the sewers continue in the same depressing monotone. But, as they draw closer to the 'rat-nest' indicated on their map, the sound of chittering and claws on rough stone becomes more prevalent. Little Firebrand is the first to pick up on the sounds, but he still can't see much in the darkness.
Alexandra makes a quick note on the map of the slugs' locations. "Ky, you healing up from the bite you took?" She also notes, once she gets in range to hear the noises, "These, based on what I've seen of them, are too aggressive to talk to. But they'll turn on each other as readily as on us, which could be an advantage."
Little Firebrand slows, hearing the noises of scratching up ahead, and eases himself closer to the rat nest. His response to Lex's concern comes over the packlink, filtered pain but assurances he's okay.
Flint lets the handful of salt drop back into his pocket where he's been keeping it, and adjusts his grip on the large flashlight, free hand cradling the larger end. Instead of talking aloud, now, the galliard affirms, over the packlink. Quiet, so. So they don't hear us, more. He pauses, looks around, and purposefully shuts his mouth as he continues. I don't want to, to turn on the big flashlight. Until we're close enough.
Little Firebrand is the first one that encounters one of the rats, since he is the one in the front. The creature is running along the same walkway as the Garou. Two-thirds the size of the wolf and covered in lumpy skin and sparse fur, it literally bumps into the Ragabash in the dark.
At the sound of a commotion ahead, Alexandra picks up the pace to catch up, though she also puts her hand partly over the lens of the flashlight to significantly reduce the amount of light present, on the theory that when they do kick on the lights full force, it might have greater effect.
Flint follows barely a step behind Alexandra, a tense nervous energy leaking through the packlink. One hand hovers on the button of the flashlight in his hand, though for now he's ready to use it as a weapon, without turning it on.
The Ragabash bites down on the unfortunate rat that bumps in to him and for his efforts, receives a mouthful of purulent burning puss. The puss splatters forth from the lumpy nodules buried just beneath the rodents skin, as the flesh is pierced by lupine teeth. The rat squeals in pain and squirms, lashing out with massive incisors and managing to take a bite out of Little Firebrand's leg.
Little Firebrand's head jerks at the taste, though his teeth remain firmly set in flesh. He lifts a forepaw, half pouncing to pin the rat against the ground. Give him a chance to worry and shake the creature.
Alexandra sends out a warning via the packlink for Little Firebrand to shield his eyes, and then she removes her hand from the flashlight, tracking as needed until she catches the rat in the face. With the Ragabash on top of the rat, there's not much else that she can do to help.
Flint moves forward after the ragabash after Alexandra has turned her own light on, turning about to try and see any of the other rats, though he's careful not to get in the way of her flashlight. And then, Flint pulls out his own smaller flashlight, clicking it on to shine the light past his packmate and further in the direction of the nest. The maglite is held in a defensive stance, still merely a weapon and not turned on to cast light.
The rat squeals and flails, biting and scratching as it is shaken about violently. There is a snapping sound, as the rodent's back snaps and it goes limp. Little Firebrand is left is burns about the face and one nasty gash about his throat, but he has his prize. The light captures another two rats in its beam and they dive in to the sewage to escape it, disappearing beneath the sludge. The 'nest' is nothing more then a mass of garbage, that completely blocks the sewer up ahead. Aside from the sewage, which continues to flow beneath it.
Little Firebrand turns away from the light a second too late. One forepaw comes up to cover his muzzle and eyes as he makes some vocal complaint.
Pack> Little Firebrand leaks some pain over the link.
Alexandra rummages around for a few cans, bottles, or things equally heavy and not too large. "You two fall back some. We need some idea of numbers to make this trip worthwhile, so it's just about time to kick the hornet's nest. Flint, you shine the light on it after I throw, but let's be ready to run if there's a swarm of them." She holds off on throwing, however, until Ky and Flint have a chance to get into positions.
Flint nods, turning the second flashlight in his hand on as well, but that one is pointed down and at his feet for the moment, ready to snap to point both lights upward once the rock is thrown.
Little Firebrand takes up a position, not exactly fallen back but near Lex's flank. Again there's a readiness in his posture, to intercept if something goes after the Ahroun, or help shed numbers so she isn't overwhelmed.
Alexandra may be a soccer player, but she's thrown plenty of baseballs around for fun, and she's got a pretty decent arm. Making sure she's at a reasonable distance both for the throw and for a head start, and that her packmates are behind or behind her, she says, "Start counting." And with that she throws a crushed beer can, partially filled with water. Her second shot, this time a glass bottle, follows a moment later. The third and final round looks like it might once have been the wheel of an office chair.
Flint steps forward again once all of the throwing is done, rapidly swinging both lights until they point straight to illuminate the nest, one larger and one smaller beam of light.
And the rats start to boil out. One, two, seven, a dozen, and more come out. There may be more, but the exact numbers are hard to count as the rodents clamber over eachother. There is a much large squeal, indignant an angry, from within the mound. That must be a big rat.
Little Firebrand snaps at rats that get too near, crossing in front of Lex. He doesn't engage, though, more trying to keep the creatures back enough that he and his pack can retreat and regroup. As much is implied over the packlink from him as well.
Alexandra blinks a bit, not so much at the swarm as at the sound of the big one that they don't see. "Fall back to the nearest sewer exit, we've got an idea of how many are at a nest now. And that mommy rat is big."
Flint nods, taking the back and keeping one of his flashlights pointed behind them as they make their retreat. "Yes," he agrees. "Very big."
25 June, 2012
The moon is in the waxing Half (Philodox) Moon phase (43% full).
As the pack prepares to head down into the sewers, Alexandra hands out small flashlights to her two packmates, keeping one for herself as well. "These should be pretty sturdy. They've also got red lenses you can put on them so we don't completely ruin our night vision down there, not that there's going to be much of a distinction between lit and pitch black to worry about. Most important," she raises hers—with no colored lens—and clicks the button on the base, sending out a brilliant beam of light, "they're really bright. I also picked up a few pounds of salt that we can divvy up as we see fit. Key thing to remember, though, is that we're down there to explore. If it comes down to a fight, we're just looking to keep the things off us until we can get away unless we're at a clear advantage."
Flint takes the small flashlight and nods. "Good," Flint says. "This," and he points to a D-cell maglite that hangs from his belt, "is. Is more for, if." Though he doesn't finish the sentence. "It's bigger, this. Small's good." There's a grin offered to Alexandra. "Though. The. The big one, I … I Dedicated it," he explains. "So that, yeah."
Ky gives the flashlight a once over, testing the light and the distance the red filter offers, then hands it back. "I'll be nose and ears up ahead," he offers. Without waiting for an answer, he starts off ahead, shifting into lupus and taking himself to one side rather than straight down the middle. Less muck to wade through, and less noise to be made. He's quiet anyway, padding along and scouting.
The sewers are, unsurprisingly, utterly disgusting. A narrow walkway runs along one wall, while the remainder of the tunnel is dedicated to effluent of the Industrial sector. The only blessing is the constant drizzle that the city has been experiencing lately. As a direct result of the rain, the muck is actually flowing at a half-decent pace, rather then stagnating like an overused and broken down pubic toilet. The smell is utterly horrific and when Ky shifts down in to lupus, the stink takes on a near-painful intensity, making his nose utterly useless. In the darkness, there is a skittering sound, followed by a wet plop. So far, the Garou's lights see nothing unusual.
Given what they've been told to expect and that she really doesn't expect to bump into anyone down here, Alexandra assumes glabro once they're down in the sewers. She's got a copy of the map in one hand, and her flashlight in the other as she walks. "Good. That could definitely come in handy," she tells Flint. To Ky, she says only, "Don't get too far ahead. Easy to get lost down here."
Flint waits a little bit longer before shifting up to glabro, mostly to judge whether it's worth taking up the extra space, but it is. "It. Yeah," Flint says. "I. I can use it, more than just as. As a flashlight." Even as they walk, one hand comes to rest on the top of the flashlight, the other tugging down his sweatshirt a little. "Ick," he mutters, at one point. "Ick."
Little Firebrand's ears angle back, and through the packlink there's some sense of acknowledgement for Lex's warning. He doesn't go too far, but he's not in clear sight, doing what he can to ignore the smell of raw sewage. He relies on hearing instead, ears twisting and flicking toward sounds ahead and of to the sides as he pads along.
The trio are about a block from the first indicated nest and make it about half-way there without incident. Little Firebrand passes through the first major intersection and in this area, the sewer widens briefly and the pooling sewage seems deeper here. His packmates trail along behind him, their lights flashing about in the darkness. Alexandra notices little unusual, but Flint can hear a faint hissing and popping sound coming from above.
Little Firebrand twists around with a warning growl to his packmates. His feet brace against the ground as a shake works his hide in hopes of shaking free whatever has afflicted him.
Pack> Flint emanates concern over the link, briefly.
Pack> Little Firebrand says, "Something's on my back, burning. Stay back."
Alexandra halts her advance at the warning growl, sending the beam of light from her flashlight as far up ahead as she can to see if she can spot the Ragabash. Over their shared link, her packmates would sense both concern and readiness to assist, if needed.
Flint pauses, then moves so that he's not directly underneath where he was, though he doesn't go so far as to catch up with Ky. "There. There's something," he says, speaking softly but echoing the words over the packlink, and he points up with his hand and not his flashlight, turning to see if he can see whatever the source of the sound. The small flashlight is turned off, leaving Alexandra to light their way, and Flint pulls out the bigger one, holding it club-like in one hand.
The sewer gets that much darker when Flint turns off his light and turns his attentions towards the ceiling. In the near-dark, the Galliard can see very little, despite the fact that his head is nearly brushing it. The sewer roof glistens and gleams, with a faint shimmer of slime and smooth brownish growths. Alexandra's light just catches sight of Little Firebrand and there is certainly something on his back; brown, tubular, glistening, and a little over a foot long and roughly four inches long in the middle. As Little Firebrand bucks and whips about, the thing on his back remains firmly in place as the stink gets worse and his skin starts to burn.
Alexandra advances quickly, then. "You're not going to shake the thing off. Hold at least somewhat still, so this doesn't miss." And with that, she pulls out a handful of the salt, flinging it at the leech on Ky's back. "Time to find out if pain makes these things let go…and whether or not we can heal from their bites."
Little Firebrand throws himself onto his side and rolls onto his back, paws flailing in his haste to rid himself of his passenger.
"Salt," Flint agrees, fishing his hand into his pocket to pull out his own handfuls of salt to throw at the thing that's on Ky's back, and then to keep a handful of salt ready afterwards.
Throwing salt at a wolf that is rolling around probably isn't as effective as throwing it at one that is standing still. Still, some of the salt does land on the brown thing on Little Firebrand's back and the slug voices a high pitched wail as it starts to writhe about and lets go of the Ragabash. From the ceiling, there comes an answering sound, Squeeeeeeeee! As lights flash upwards, the brown lumps on the ceiling has started to move and a few have grown eyestalks, which swivel to look at the Garou.
Alexandra moves back away from the area of ceiling that they're under. "Flint, you're up. Let's find out if these things are willing to communicate and acknowledge that we aren't food. It's a long-shot, granted, but worth a try."
Little Firebrand flips himself back to his feet and circles around, head tilted to let him watch the slugs. His posture is more on the offensive, how he might handle them is anyone's guess, but he's definitely more ready to attack and keep them from his packmates.
Flint squares his shoulders and moves over, stepping to one side of Lex to stand next to her. "Hi," he says, voice taking on the quality from his gift of Beast Speech, though he doesn't let go of the handful of salt just yet. "Hi there. We're. We're not going to hurt you."
The brown slug-things, roughly a dozen all together, watch the garou with stalk-like eyes. They make no response that Flint can understand and one by one, the eyestalks disappear back in to the tubular bodies.
The galliard clears his throat, and then the gift of Persuasion joins the Beast Speech. "Please let us pass through here," Flint says.
The slug-things do not move, or show any sign of responding. The one that got salted has stopped writhing about and is slowly crawling its way to the sewer wall. Where the salt fell, the creature's skin no-longer glistens.
Alexandra begins to advance slowly and cautiously, salt at the ready, testing to see whether they're going to be able to pass without a fight. "I hope you weren't too polite. I'd have told them that they wouldn't be hurt so long as they didn't try to eat us."
Little Firebrand gruffs some sort of warning, lacking any of the pleasantries or persuasion the Galliard can offer. Still, his meaning is clear enough. After another circle beneath the googly-eyed beasties, he starts on his way again, warning his packmates to stay wary.
Flint follows, the handful of salt gripped tightly. "Let us pass," he adds, before he lets both gifts fade from his voice, and looks at Alexandra. "I. Sometimes, if you mention being hurt, it's. It's enough to make things panic. I didn't. I didn't want to… to incite them, to attack. Even. Even the gifts, only go—" There's a pause as Flint pays attention to his footing, "so far."
The slugs, if left alone, seem inclined to return the favor. As the pack moves on, the sewers continue in the same depressing monotone. But, as they draw closer to the 'rat-nest' indicated on their map, the sound of chittering and claws on rough stone becomes more prevalent. Little Firebrand is the first to pick up on the sounds, but he still can't see much in the darkness.
Alexandra makes a quick note on the map of the slugs' locations. "Ky, you healing up from the bite you took?" She also notes, once she gets in range to hear the noises, "These, based on what I've seen of them, are too aggressive to talk to. But they'll turn on each other as readily as on us, which could be an advantage."
Little Firebrand slows, hearing the noises of scratching up ahead, and eases himself closer to the rat nest. His response to Lex's concern comes over the packlink, filtered pain but assurances he's okay.
Flint lets the handful of salt drop back into his pocket where he's been keeping it, and adjusts his grip on the large flashlight, free hand cradling the larger end. Instead of talking aloud, now, the galliard affirms, over the packlink. Quiet, so. So they don't hear us, more. He pauses, looks around, and purposefully shuts his mouth as he continues. I don't want to, to turn on the big flashlight. Until we're close enough.
Little Firebrand is the first one that encounters one of the rats, since he is the one in the front. The creature is running along the same walkway as the Garou. Two-thirds the size of the wolf and covered in lumpy skin and sparse fur, it literally bumps into the Ragabash in the dark.
At the sound of a commotion ahead, Alexandra picks up the pace to catch up, though she also puts her hand partly over the lens of the flashlight to significantly reduce the amount of light present, on the theory that when they do kick on the lights full force, it might have greater effect.
Flint follows barely a step behind Alexandra, a tense nervous energy leaking through the packlink. One hand hovers on the button of the flashlight in his hand, though for now he's ready to use it as a weapon, without turning it on.
The Ragabash bites down on the unfortunate rat that bumps in to him and for his efforts, receives a mouthful of purulent burning puss. The puss splatters forth from the lumpy nodules buried just beneath the rodents skin, as the flesh is pierced by lupine teeth. The rat squeals in pain and squirms, lashing out with massive incisors and managing to take a bite out of Little Firebrand's leg.
Little Firebrand's head jerks at the taste, though his teeth remain firmly set in flesh. He lifts a forepaw, half pouncing to pin the rat against the ground. Give him a chance to worry and shake the creature.
Alexandra sends out a warning via the packlink for Little Firebrand to shield his eyes, and then she removes her hand from the flashlight, tracking as needed until she catches the rat in the face. With the Ragabash on top of the rat, there's not much else that she can do to help.
Flint moves forward after the ragabash after Alexandra has turned her own light on, turning about to try and see any of the other rats, though he's careful not to get in the way of her flashlight. And then, Flint pulls out his own smaller flashlight, clicking it on to shine the light past his packmate and further in the direction of the nest. The maglite is held in a defensive stance, still merely a weapon and not turned on to cast light.
The rat squeals and flails, biting and scratching as it is shaken about violently. There is a snapping sound, as the rodent's back snaps and it goes limp. Little Firebrand is left is burns about the face and one nasty gash about his throat, but he has his prize. The light captures another two rats in its beam and they dive in to the sewage to escape it, disappearing beneath the sludge. The 'nest' is nothing more then a mass of garbage, that completely blocks the sewer up ahead. Aside from the sewage, which continues to flow beneath it.
Little Firebrand turns away from the light a second too late. One forepaw comes up to cover his muzzle and eyes as he makes some vocal complaint.
Pack> Little Firebrand leaks some pain over the link.
Alexandra rummages around for a few cans, bottles, or things equally heavy and not too large. "You two fall back some. We need some idea of numbers to make this trip worthwhile, so it's just about time to kick the hornet's nest. Flint, you shine the light on it after I throw, but let's be ready to run if there's a swarm of them." She holds off on throwing, however, until Ky and Flint have a chance to get into positions.
Flint nods, turning the second flashlight in his hand on as well, but that one is pointed down and at his feet for the moment, ready to snap to point both lights upward once the rock is thrown.
Little Firebrand takes up a position, not exactly fallen back but near Lex's flank. Again there's a readiness in his posture, to intercept if something goes after the Ahroun, or help shed numbers so she isn't overwhelmed.
Alexandra may be a soccer player, but she's thrown plenty of baseballs around for fun, and she's got a pretty decent arm. Making sure she's at a reasonable distance both for the throw and for a head start, and that her packmates are behind or behind her, she says, "Start counting." And with that she throws a crushed beer can, partially filled with water. Her second shot, this time a glass bottle, follows a moment later. The third and final round looks like it might once have been the wheel of an office chair.
Flint steps forward again once all of the throwing is done, rapidly swinging both lights until they point straight to illuminate the nest, one larger and one smaller beam of light.
And the rats start to boil out. One, two, seven, a dozen, and more come out. There may be more, but the exact numbers are hard to count as the rodents clamber over eachother. There is a much large squeal, indignant an angry, from within the mound. That must be a big rat.
Little Firebrand snaps at rats that get too near, crossing in front of Lex. He doesn't engage, though, more trying to keep the creatures back enough that he and his pack can retreat and regroup. As much is implied over the packlink from him as well.
Alexandra blinks a bit, not so much at the swarm as at the sound of the big one that they don't see. "Fall back to the nearest sewer exit, we've got an idea of how many are at a nest now. And that mommy rat is big."
Flint nods, taking the back and keeping one of his flashlights pointed behind them as they make their retreat. "Yes," he agrees. "Very big."