11 Campfire

A bell rings as the entrance to the Diner opens up, John walking inside. The smell of greased-covered food assaults his nose the second the door opens. Only a handful of patrons are scattered about. Some sit in a booth while one sits to the far left of the counter, chatting with the server, a large woman with curly blonde hair in a blue button-up with a pristine white apron on.

She takes notice of John as he walks up to the counter.

"Excuse me Bill," She states before walking on over with a wide, bright smile, "Hey there handsome, what can I get for ya?" She asks cheerfully.

"I just need to ask a quick question," He replies, giving her a warm smile as he masks his disgust of the stench that claws at his nostrils, "You haven't happened to have seen a bald man with a beard at all have you? He's a friend of mine but I sorta forgot his address, I know he lives somewhere in this area," He chuckles as he scratches the back of his head.

"Hmm…" She puts a hand to her chin as she tries to think, taking quick glances at John's exposed arms every once in awhile. She then realizes something, "You know, now that you mention it, I think someone like that, did, come in sometime in the dead of night. In fact, he was wearing clothes very much like your's,"

"Really? That's good to hear, at least I know I'm still on the right track. Did you happen to see where he was going at all? Did he mention going somewhere?"

"No...not really…"

"Aww...Well, thanks for the help," He states before he turns and heads for the door,"

"Buh-bye…" She waves as she glances down at his jeans.

"You really are a cougar…" Bill comments as he takes a sip of coffee.

"Girls have the right to admire fine cake just as much as guys," She counters before she walks over and takes his empty plate.

Exiting the diner John takes a deep breath of fresh air before looking around for anything that could give him some sort of hint. Not too far off to the right is a sign that mentions an Endron pumping station. That must've been where he was locked up. Quite the unusual place to transport prisoners to, though it seems like he was the only one there…

It's safe to assume he hates Endron as much as the other garou in the forest, so he wouldn't head that way…

John crosses back over to the forest side of the street and starts heading left of the diner. He walks a bit further into the woods so the trees provide cover from the road. The diner's smell remains in his stomach. Behind all that grease, is the tantalizing smell of freshly cooked meat. Bacon, eggs, beef. It's not long before his stomach begins to grumble.

What's with this hunger...ever since he woke up in that cell, it's like his metabolism and appetite had increased ten fold. He used to be able to twelve hours without eating if he stayed focused, but now it feels like every minute he's craving more food…

He freezes in place when he spots something off in the distance. A rabbit, munching on a bush several meters away. It doesn't seem aware of his presence. John finds himself staring at the rabbit as his a low growl starts to emanate with every exhale. He suddenly flinches when a stabbing pain tenses up his whole body. He hunches over as the pain moves to his hands.

He watches in shock as claws start to grow from his fingertips. Before he has time to process what he just saw, his hunger punches him in the gut, forcing him to his knees as he wraps his arms around it to try and ease the pain. He sits on his knees, trying to fight off the pain until a strange scent catches his attention.

He practically jumps up to his feet as he looks around for the source. He looks at the rabbit, which has moved a bit further away. It's coming from the rabbit. Hunger moves his legs as he slowly makes his way towards it.

It's not long before he's within a few feet of it, using trees and shrubbery as a cover. He crouches down slightly as the rabbit lifts its ears up and starts looking around. When its head is turned away from him, John lunges at it, his claws digging into it. With a quick bite to the neck, the rabbit goes limp.

More than half the rabbit is eaten before John finally comes to his senses. He swallows what's in his mouth before staring at the half-eaten corpse, the warm blood dripping from his hands and chin. He should feel disgusted with himself, or uncomfortable, but it just feels, natural…

After some time the rabbit becomes nothing more than a head and a torn-apart body. John wipes the blood off his mouth on the back of his hand as he stands up, leaving the leftovers hidden under a bush. He stares at his claws, watching the blood drip from them. As his hunger subsides a bit, the claws slowly go away until his fingernails are back to normal.

He tenses up his hand, trying to get the claws to grow back, but they don't. He lets out an irritated sigh before wiping the blood off on his jeans and walking away. He doesn't walk for much longer before the sun starts to set, and the moonlight shines down through the tree branches. After some more time, there's a burst of light off in the distance.

As he gets closer, the distant crackling of wood can be heard. It's a campfire. He heads for it, slowing down and walking more cautiously as he gets closer. It seems like an eternity before the actual campfire gets into view. He's still too far to see if anyone is near it though. He makes his way over, stepping lightly to make no sound as the crackling gets louder, drowning out the forest's silence.

He gets within a few meters and is able to see that no one is at the campfire at all. Nothing but a small backpack sits near it a couple feet away. He walks up to the campfire, entering it's field of warmth as he crouches down and examines the backpack. As he goes to open up one of the zippers, the faintest of clicking sounds goes off in the distance. Something comes flying at him, the fire's light bouncing off of it.

He falls back away from the backpack as an arrow flies past him, just barely missing. He looks in the direction it came from, only to hear another click. He bends forward, dodging another arrow as there's a third clicking nose. He quickly sits up and puts his left hand out, grabbing an arrow before it can pierce his side.

He jumps up to his feet, switching the arrow to his right hand, holding it like a knife as a man walks into the fire's light. A crossbow hangs from Cahal's hand as he glares at John, a feral rage behind his eyes.