"JESUS FUCKING CHRIST ON A _STICK_!"

[hazlogs]

It is currently 20:09 Pacific Time on Wed Dec 31 2003.

Currently the moon is in the waxing Half Moon phase (56% full).

Cockroach Mansion -- Downstairs(#4100R)

The heavy, dark opulence to this mansion known as Dominion is perfectly
      exemplified by the room vistors first enter, this front hall. 
      Dark-stained wood serves as paneling on the walls, gleams with high gloss 
      in the hardwood floor, and supports a semi-circular balcony in carved 
      pillars. The heavy double doors, made of oak, open into the hall from the 
      south, opposite the huge, hourglass-shaped staircase composed of red and 
      black gneiss which soars up to the balcony; both are fenced in with a 
      wooden railing of simple spiraled posts. Several doorways can be made out 
      on the second floor, nearly blending in discreetly with the back wall. 
      The wall to the left of the front doors is composed entirely of windows 
      which run from the forty-foot-tall domed dark wood ceiling to the floor; 
      if drawn, the heavy velvet drapes of deep red would completely mask them 
      from view, but when parted, as they often are, one has a marvelous view 
      of the grounds outside.

A doorway to the right of the front doors leads to a parlor, and towards the
      back are the kitchens, the large dining room, and Salem's office.

The front door slams behind the Walker Elder as he enters. Clearly in a foul
      mood, he stops at the hall closet to shed his coat and other wintery 
      outerwear.

Salem was just in time to possibly see Josh tear up the stairs like a bat out
      of hell, or the Garou equivalent. The panicked youth was hugging a book 
      on cryptography as if it was a life preserver, as he ran up to his room. 
      The Door slams shut, echoing down the dark halls, and more noises can be 
      heard in the room. Lots of thumping and dragging.

Anthony skids through the parlor door awkwardly, arms extended to help him keep
      his balance; he catches his breath for a minute, and takes a few steps 
      towards the staircase before spotting Salem taking off his coat. He 
      lurches to a stop, not sure whether he should follow Josh up the stairs 
      or retreat into the parlor and maybe clean up the chair he accidentally 
      flipped.

Salem stops short, his frown deepening as the cub races off upstairs. His eyes
      narrow at Anthony for a brief second, and then with a scowl the tall man 
      heads up the stairs at speed, his boots heavy on the steps and 
      floorboards.

Anthony chooses the latter, ducking back into the parlor, cursing quietly under
      his breath, noting that this was the second time Salem had appeared just 
      as he did something stupid.

The Ominous thumping noises only spur Josh's heart. The bed was dragged in
      front of the door, logged long ways so it would be more effective of a 
      doorstop. Josh hastily threw some of the papers that littered the room 
      into his bag in his fevered panic. The Geekcub was sweating bricks.

Salem reaches Joshua's door and pulls up short; he's not even breathing hard.
      He tries the door first and finds it blocked -- lucky for Josh that the 
      doors open inward rather than outward. His frown deepening, he makes a 
      fist and pounds on the door. Loudly.

Joshua pages: Do the windows open?
You paged Joshua with 'Yeah, though you're on the second floor at least. Then
      there are the well-lit grounds and a fairly high stone wall that's got 
      nice tall covering hedges all along the inside.'.

Joshua jerks around, staring at the door as if he expected the devil himself to
      pound through. Running to the window, he slides it open, crawling through 
      and onto a tall shrub, dormant of the winter. The plant bows, then breaks 
      on the half, depositing the cub painfully on his rear on the cold ground. 
      The Crack of the plant was loud and resounding.

Salem almost snarls, but chokes the sound off before it can be born. Stepping
      back, he channels his fury into shapeshifting, hulking up into Crinos, 
      and then slams into the door with the force of a bullet train. The door 
      smashes open, the blockade behind it shoved violently aside. He takes in 
      the open window with a nanosecond glance and charges forward, slipping 
      quicksilver back down into human form.

It's only a second or two after Joshua lands on his ass that the big crazy mute
      comes leaping -- yes, _leaping_ out of the window after him, without a 
      care for life or limb. But what's a simple jump from a second-story 
      window to a demon who gave his voice to become an unholy creature of the 
      night?

Joshua is only on the ground half of a red second before he was back to
      running. Adrenaline flooded his every pore, and the daemon at his back 
      did nothing other than to spur him on in greater terror: pure, 
      unadulterated terror. With that speed born of desperation and panic that 
      even the dead hadn't had on him, Josh ran for the gate as fast as he 
      could carry himself. A wordless cry of terror is omnipresent as he tries 
      to carry himself away from the homicidal maniac.

Anthony temerously sneaks out of the parlor, having heard all the bumping and
      crashing and running upstairs stop. He looks up the staircase, then to 
      the windows, which he approaches and peers out of silently; his heart was 
      racing and his face was flush, a little scared for Josh's safety but 
      mostly for his own.

In slasher movies, the types with Roman numerals after their names, the killer
      always lurches slowly along. Too bad for Joshua that this isn't a movie, 
      because the "maniac" is charging after him _faster than he can run away_, 
      and as full of rage as the cub is full of fear.

The cub, with his slight lead, almost makes the wall. He's _almost_ within
      arm's reach of the big hedge that hides the stone barrier when a hand 
      grabs him by the back of his shirt and yanks backward, hard.

Joshua's gut deep fear is overwhelming and drives him faster than the though he
      could move: he begins to prepare to 'over the wall before the Daemon's 
      hand grabs him by the tee shirt. His head whiplashes as his momentum is 
      killed, but the pain is numbed by the natural drugs coursing through him. 
      Turning back to his accoster, he made a swing that came nowhere near to 
      planting. 

What thin thread that held him to near sanity, however, snapped. His face
      conveyed nothing short of terror, even complete with spittle at the side 
      of his mouth: the Cub shifted to Crinos without thinking, the frothing 
      the clearest sign of the frenzy that set in.

As if they didn't have enough trouble with the neighbors.

Salem reacts with a swift, vicious efficiency, as if this isn't the first (nor
      would it be the last) frenzying cub he'd had to deal with. Burning rage, 
      he matches Joshua's form and overpowers the maddened cub and uses his 
      fists to knock the little frother out cold.

Joshua takes the first blow more than a little pause, attempting to once more
      shred the Daemon before he himself was killed. The second blow, however, 
      knocks him flat into the snow with a yelp of pain. A moment later, Joshua 
      the teen, not the Crinos Garou, is lying in the snow bank: wearing now 
      ruined sweats and sporting a massive bloody bruise over the forehead.

Salem reverts to human form as well, his own clothes showing no sign of trauma
      from his blatant abuse of the laws of physics. His breath puffing out 
      into the cold air in angry huffs, the big Walker heaves the unconscious 
      cub up onto his shoulders and carries him back into the mansion.

Anthony abandons his spot at the window to make a retreat into the parlor,
      seeing one returning over the shoulder of the other.

Salem gives Anthony a sharp look, eyes narrowed. He continues past, leaving the
      cliath to follow or stay 'hidden' as he totes poor Joshua through the 
      house and then into... the Tower.

Cockroach Mansion -- Tower

Unlike the rest of the mansion, the interior of the four-story-tall tower has a
      rough and almost medieval feel to it. It's all concrete and stone and 
      exposed lightbulbs. There's one room per floor, plus a basement 
      underneath; a winding iron staircase leads from one level to the next.

The highest floor of the tower provides the best view of the grounds and
      surrounding neighborhood; there are several windows with dark brown 
      curtains and a couple of chairs to sit in. A black trunk acts as a 
      makeshift coffee table and footrest, and there's even carpeting. 
      Interestingly enough, all the windows are set with heavy black iron bars. 
      On one wall hangs a whiteboard and some dry-erase markers and matching 
      eraser.

The rest of the rooms are used mostly for storage and have a chilly, shadowy,
      dusty feel. In the irregularly-shaped basement reigns the boiler.

There are cockroaches everywhere, on every floor of the tower.

Salem carries Joshua up to the room at the top of the tower and unceremoniously
      drops the kid onto the floor near one of the chairs.

Joshua was in tatters, complete with even a little blood down the brow from not
      taking the second blow gracefully at all. With a groan, he stirred on the 
      cold floor, trying to figure out where he was.

Another sweatshirt and t-shirt is lying on the floor near Joshua's head; it's
      nearly the first thing he sees when he opens his eyes. "STRIKE THREE" has 
      been written in black ink on the cub's other forearm. Salem stands by the 
      dry erase board, arms folded across his chest. The door down into the 
      rest of the tower is closed and, probably, locked.

Anthony stands near the door at the top of the staircase, hands in his pockets
      and gaze fixed on his boots. He occasionally looked up to cast a darting 
      glance about the room, but otherwise he was motionless and silent.

The moment Joshua's eyes meet the sight of Salem, the panic returns.
      Disoriented by the concussion, he scampers backwards to the far wall. 
      "Daemon!" Is all he can manage... until he swallows. "Lemme go! I won't 
      tell anyone! Please don't kill me, please!" The would-be escapee's voice 
      borders on hysteria. He cowers against the cold tower wall.

Salem's mouth compresses into a thin, hard line. He turns his glare from Joshua
      to Anthony and stares at the cliath as if expecting something. Like an 
      explanation.

Anthony doesn't realize he's being stared at immediately, though once he
      notices it, he stands up straight, clearing his throat. "We were 
      talking," he starts, "and I don't know what happened but he just, you 
      know, started to freak out and I tried to calm him down but it didn't 
      work and then you showed up ..." He looks to Joshua apologetically for a 
      moment, then back to Salem.

Salem takes a deep breath and lets it out slowly. He looks back at Joshua and
      glowers at the cub with equal parts irritation and weariness. He takes a 
      few steps to pick up the replacement clothes, then tosses them at the 
      boy. Then he walks over to the dry erase board and begins to write.

His pleading with the creature of darkness having had no effect, Josh turns his
      panicked to Anthony. "Mister Jarred tried to kill him, but couldn't! 
      That's why his eye's all scarred up.. . Now he wants to kill us all! The 
      man in the basement was right! He sold his soul 'n lost his voice so he 
      could change into a werewolf! He's a daemon! It sounds crazy, but I've 
      seen him as one, 'n it's true! Now he wants to kill us all!" It's not so 
      much as a warning as a hysterical rant. The cloths thud on him as he 
      turns back to look at Salem.

Anthony is completely dumbstruck by Joshua's pleading; he stares at him, mouth
      agape, not sure what he wants to say first. After a few moments of 
      turning it over in his mind a few times, he starts to say something, but 
      he notices Salem writing something on the board, and turns to read it 
      himself.

The dry erase marker crashes into the board and then hits the floor as the
      Walker whirls back around. "JESUS FUCKING CHRIST ON A _STICK_!" Salem 
      roars.

Or, rather, he doesn't. Not _roar_, exactly. The crazy mute _does_ have a
      voice, but it's an octave too high for a man his size, and it has a 
      grating, raspy, whiny quality that the cliath in the room may (or may 
      not) recognize as the Voice of the Jackal.

Joshua instinctively covers his head, curling up into a ball against the wall.
      Some quiet murmuring might be heard, some sort of prayer to whatever god 
      might be listening, amidst the whimpering.

Anthony isn't quite dumbstruck this time; he laughs uncomfortably for a
      fleeting moment or three before clamming up, trying his very best not to 
      grin or smirk. He was a little familiar with the rite, having seen it 
      given out as punishment once or twice, but he hadn't expected this to be 
      the source of Salem's muteness.

Salem throws Anthony a glare that could kill tigers, teeth bared. Then he turns
      back to Joshua and crosses over to the cub in a few long, quick strides. 
      Reaching down, he grasps the boy under the arms and lifts him bodily to 
      face him.

Anthony pales, holding up his hands apologetically; he returns to slouching
      silently against the wall.

Joshua's whimpers intensify as the Daemon approaches and lifts him to face. His
      whole body shakes in wide eyed fear as he faces Salem. " 
      Pleasedon'thurtme Pleasedon'thurtme Pleasedon'thurtme..." he whispers 
      softly.

"Shut up," Salem says quietly, in that high-pitched, nasally voice. "I'm not a
      demon, and I'm not going to hurt you."

Josh is quick to oblige Salem's demand, and the stream of babble is cut. The
      cub is still trembling all over, however.

Anthony takes a few steps towards the other two, not wanting to get too close
      to Salem but concerned about Josh. He cranes his neck to watch, biting 
      his lip.

Salem nods and, slowly, loosens his hold on the boy. "Listen to me." His
      nostrils flare, but he's got a tight control over his rage now -- not 
      that the Jackal-Voice is helping things any. "You are family. Whether you 
      like it or not. Or accept it or not. I've been patient until now. Now... 
      look around. This room is where you'll stay, until you learn to accept 
      who you are, _what_ you are, and what you were born to do."

Josh presses against the wall with his whole body as soon as Salem releases him
      as if he could push his way on out. His voice is still shaky from fear, 
      as he stumbles out, "... wha... what do you mean by... by that?"

Salem straightens up, releasing the cub and taking a step back. His bearing is
      noble, even if his voice isn't. "The world is alive, and it's dying, 
      choking slowly on corruption, what we call the Wyrm. We, the _Garou_... 
      that's you and me _and_ Anthony over there... were born to fight it."

Anthony clears his throat again, nodding and standing up straight as he's
      mentioned. "Most people would probably call us, well, 'werewolves'," he 
      offers, hoping to put it into more easily understandable terms.

Joshua stops shaking, still staring at Salem with a look akin to panic. As some
      blood trickles down his brow, he wipes it, but does nothing else, 
      attention focused on Salem. "So... yer not all Daemons 'er other things?" 
      The cub asks haltingly.

Salem snorts. "I _fight_ demons, boy." Mouth twisted into the usual grimace, he
      walks over to pick up the fallen dry erase marker. What he was starting 
      to write never got past the first few letters. "Get dressed," he says as 
      he clears the board. "Make yourself comfortable. You've lost free-roaming 
      priviledges. For now."
Joshua nods, stooping down to pickup the cloths without taking his eyes off
      Salem.

Salem sets the eraser down and looks at the cub again for a moment, then turns
      to the cliath. "You. You know the Litany, yes?"

Anthony nods. "Yeah. Backwards and forwards. Why?" he asks.

Joshua looks between the two, trying to follow the conversation, hugging the
      cloths to him tight.

Salem tosses the dry erase marker to the Ragabash. "Teach it to him." He smiles
      humorlessly. "Backwards and forwards. Then see if you can teach him to 
      shift at will." He starts toward the door.

Anthony nods. "Yes sir," he says, reaching for the dry erase marker. He misses.