Howling Wolves and Paper Wings

**Users Involved:** User:HoloArc, User:Blackdagger01
**Setting:** Munich, Germany
**Characters Involved**: Chidori Kuromiya, Ashley Garfield

## Help Wanted

Chidori sat down on the edge of the stage with guitar in her lap. She tuned it, plucking the strings every now and again to make sure the sound she got was the one she wanted. Aside from her other two bandmates the abandoned warehouse that made their concert hall was empty, the sound of practicing instruments filled the room with an echo that always disappeared once a few more bodies showed up but alas it didn't make it any less annoying to hear even if there was nothing to be done about it.

"We'll start practice with 'Hail the Apocalypse' by Avatar in a few minutes to get us pumped up." She told them playing the first few seconds of it on her guitar. The other two nodded their heads with smiles on their face. Their bassist was a woman with skin as dark as the night sky and golden eyes, bright white hair with jagged horns protruding from either side of her head. Meanwhile, their drummer was a regular looking man. Blonde haired and Blue eyes, a man of German origin just like the bassist. At least, he would look like a completely regular human if not for the second pair of arms he had. Chidori had known she'd found someone born for playing the drums when they'd first met and she was right, as she often was.

Following the directions on the map app, it was a bit of a complicated address to find all the same, as the warehouse the flier had pointed Ashley towards didn't have a proper number to track and find on the map, so the final bit became a bit of a guessing game. Annoyed and about ready to give up and head back to the academy, she heard the sound of strings of a bass and electric guitar being strung. Following the sound she eventually came upon a warehouse that seemed to match the description. Trying the front, it remained locked.

Walking around the building, she found an entrance behind that allowed her in. Following a couple of corridors, she eventually found her way inside the concert hall itself, finding the band members just passing the time and discussing things. She should probably not listen to those things without being part of the band, but her sharp hearing didn't really allow her to not catch their discussion.

"Chidori, seems like someone is here." said Sombra as Ashley stepped up. The dark-skinned woman straightened herself and looked over the young wolven woman before turning to Chidori again. "Is she lost? Doesn't look like the rocker type."

"Those who wander aren't always lost." Ashley responded in advance, catching the woman off guard. Holding up the flier, she continued, "Saw these hanging around. Still looking for members? I would like to think I am qualified enough to rock along." She said confidently, yet before the rest of the punk-dressed bandmates, she might as well be a prude princess in her school uniform.

Chidori's eyes narrowed, before she'd even recognized Ashley she'd recognized the uniform and had put her guard up and let out a 'tch!' sound the others had heard and with her ears, surely Ashley had too.

However, once she'd gotten past the uniform saw the girl for who she was and her frustration was at a bit of a crossroads. She knew Ashley from school and she knew that she knew her as well. But Munich was a big place and she'd made sure no one had put fliers up near Drache to avoid this very thing. But at the very least she also knew that Ashley wasn't some prim and proper school girl either. That didn't mean she'd be any good as a rocker though.

Chidori pulled at the spiked choker at her throat, unsure of what to say or do.

"I think I recognize that uniform..." Oscar, their drummer said, pointing two of his four drumsticks at the dog-girl. "Yeah, That fancy military school. Same one as you, Chidori. She's not gonna get us in trouble for using this place will she?"

Chidori waved his comment off, sitting her guitar down to her side and jumping down off the stage. "I highly double that." She responded to Oscars question. "Still, hard to believe you just happened to find one of those fliers. What're you doing here, Ashley? Long way from Drache." She spoke, her tone was not outright malicious but it carried the possibility of it between her words, almost as if a warning to choose her next words carefully even if technically she'd already stated her reason for being here.

"There is a world outside Drache's school grounds. I was just going to buy a record from a good store and found one of these hanging outside. The store owner was about to rip it down before I stopped him. What's the matter? You are looking for members, are you not? I am a vocalist and a lyricist. Need either of those things?" Ashley explained before confirming again why she was here. "No need for hostility. I am here to rock n roll, and I am about to knock you off your feet."

"We are, yeah. And neither could hurt. Chidori doubles as Vocals and guitar right now." Oscar butted in again but Chidori ignored him and crossed her arms. "You don't seem surprised to see me here, I'm half tempted to ask why that is. But I'll spare us all the long story and not." She kept her up tone but she could not deny they were looking for members.

Chidori relented against her own feelings and better judgement, She jumped back up on stage and took down the mic from its stand. She tested it to show her it worked before tossing it to the girl. "Let's hear something you made yourself then. That isn't too much to ask then, is it?"

Ashley was quick to catch the mic and get into the ready. It was clear that she was a bit nervous about this, but she took a deep breath and, surprisingly, laid the mic carefully down on a chair before beginning to take off her uniform. Removing the jacket and the shirt, she then stood in a cropped top that would have shown off a lot had she had any more feminine features to flaunt. Picking up the mic again, she dusted off her skirt before speaking up. "Excuse me, but I need to get into the groove..." Clicking off the mic, she let out a wolf-like howl before activating the mic again and began to sing.

"Fear is on the rise and there's blood all over the ground! Let's all just blindfold the poor! We must remind them what's in store! They've got them now, just breaking them down a little bit more!" She began, her voice resonating through the building as she channeled her inner punk and let out her intense voice with all its grim lyrics. "And he said, 'Hey you! Feed the machine! Bring them all buck down to their knees! No time to waste! Remind the slaves they ain't gonna make it out alive today!' she said, 'Hey, you, poison the well! Watch it all burn, take 'em straight to hell' They've got the whole world, in their hands! Stand up against them! They've damned us all, c'mon! They've damned us all, c'mon!" She came down from the song, letting the sound echo to its last before speaking up in her normal tone, and not the fierce and almost guttural sound she had just produced. "A sample. I don't have a solid name for the song yet, but all the same."

"She's not half bad." Oscar commented, "She's got the spirit if nothing else. I mean, she can scream and the whole 'sexy wolf' thing ain't a half bad gimmick either. It's sure to draw as much a crowd as your paper angel thing." He gave his opinion on the singing. "lyrics are pretty passible too. With a little help we might be able to stop doing covers and focus on some original stuff. I'd be down for that, then maybe we could get a record deal or something, ya know?"

"She's alright. But I don't know... Maybe she ain't the best fit for us." Chidori stood with crossed arms.

'Sexy wolf thing'? Ashley thought to herself, but before she could say anything, the dark skinned woman spoke up, almost seeming a bit baffled. "Are you both high or something? 'Not half bad'? 'Alright'?" She just asked a bit exasperated. "Have you had band experience before?"

"Well, no, but-" Ash began before getting interrupted as the woman turned back to Chidori and Oscar.

"No band experience, and still writes lyrics like a boss. Guys, we don't even have songs we have felt proud of enough to put on stage. The hell do you mean 'with help'? What do you plan to help with, Oscar? Keeping her throat re-freshened? Ashley was it? How versatile is your voice and skills?"

"Very. I have about twenty rock songs under my belt. Some pop and hip hop too, but that is neither here nor there. Rock is the topic here, isn't it?"

Oscar raised his drumsticks up defensively, "Whoa, Whoa, hold up. Don't chew me out. We've only heard her sing once. She sounded great but I'm not gonna immediately shake her hand and offer her lead vocalist just because she sounded good. Besides, it's exactly like she just said, no experience. How do we know she won't freeze up the second a crowd shows up?" He made his reasonings for hesitation known, not keen on being told off without being asked why he felt the way he did.

"Exactly, even if she was the next Ozzy or Corey Taylor it wouldn't mean a whole lot without experience to go with it. Like my father used to say, a blade may be at its sharpest when newly forged but if it never sees the battlefield its strength will never be truly known." Chidori spoke as though repeating a proverb.

"What do you say we let her practice with us? We'll get a better feel for her that way. I mean, it isn't like we've got a line of people wanting to join. Let's get to know her a bit in the best way we can. Through some serious rock and roll!" He playfully stuck out his tongue as though he were imitating Gene Simmions.

Chidori's took in a breath and let out a sigh, "Alright, if she wants she can join us for practice. Ashley, do you know 'Hail the Apocalypse' by Avatar? That's what we were about to play. If you do, the mic is all yours."