[Some weekend around Oct 20, 1996]
Regan Hope Project(#3662RAJ)
This barn of a room with eggshell blue walls has been divided up into several
different areas. In the east end are several apartments formed by carpeted
walls, similar to those found in office buildings. In the centre is a day
care/play area walled off by a two-foot fence. Off to the west are
apartments similar to the ones in the east, but much larger. A prominently
placed sign reads "Guns Will Be Checked. No Kidding. No Exceptions." in red
felt tip. There is a large painting on the floor, an intricately-painted
magpie.
There are large double doors set in the south wall to allow access to Regan
Avenue. There is a smaller door off to the left of them.(+view alert)
Contents:
Dante L Coyote
Only Antique Toys
Emrys
Ally
Obvious exits:
Regan Avenue Buick's Office
Dante L Coyote sitting against the wall, looking down at the ground, his hat
over his eyes.
Hazmat stalks into the project, mumbling something under her breath. She
glances around, her glance at first going past Dante... and then slipping
back toward him. She frowns, eyes narrowing.
[Dante L Coyote]
A short, thin AmerIndian boy, apparently not more than 10 years old. His black
hair is tied back into a pony-tail and he wears a pair of tattered blue
jeans, a University of New Mexico t-shirt, leather slouch boots and a dusty
outback-style long jacket. An old guitar is slung across his back.
His face is the handsome, though dirty face of a young boy. However,
when you peer into his dark eyes, he looks back at you with a haunted look
of innocence lost.
Carrying:
books
guitar
Dante L Coyote does not notice her, absorbed in his own thoughts.
Xandra has connected.
Hazmat rummages in her trench pocket, slouching over toward a wall. Casually,
the girl leans near a corner, one hang tugging out a smudged mirror. She
seems to be looking into it, though the perceptive might notice that she's
got the mirror tilted so tha it reflects Dante. Her grey eyes go unfocussed.
Xandra has left.
Dante L Coyote mumbles and grumbles to himself.
Dante L Coyote is pretty much oblivious to anything going on around himself in
the mostly empty project.
Hazmat's eyes snap back into the real world, and she pockets the mirror.
Sighing, she wandeers over toward the kid and nudges him gently with a boot.
"Hey. Wake up."
Dante L Coyote looks up at her with a snarl on his face. "What? Oh, what do
_you_ want?"
Hazmat isn't much intimidated by snarls and anger. She tilts her head and
grins. "Yuh wanna hang on in this place all y'life, then?"
Dante L Coyote harumphs. "As if I had anywhere else to go. There was another
place, but -someone- wouldn't let me stay there..."
Hazmat shrugs a shoulder. "Things wasn't good there righ' then. Yuh woulda
gotten inna middle a' some bad stuff." She changes the subject. "Anyway, yuh
*do* have another place tuh go to. If yuh want."
Dante L Coyote says "What do you mean, where?"
Hazmat scratches the back of her neck. "Place out near Kent Crossin'.
Farmhouse." She crouches down on her heels, more at his level, and whispers,
"Yuh been havin' dreams? Weird stuff happenin' to yuh? Get angry fuh no
reason?"
Dante L Coyote narrows his eyes suspiciously. "What do you mean?"
What she says hits too close to home.
Hazmat scratches at her crooked nose and smiles again. "Wolves. Runnin',
maybe? Woods an' stuff like tha'?" Her expression's suddenly sympathetic.
"Yuh ain't 'lone, kid." Her voice remains at a whisper, not carrying further
than the two of them.
Dante L Coyote turns away, about in tears. "I don't know what you're talking
about."
Hazmat sighs quietly, eyes softening. She's a sucker for youth in tears.
"There's a... a spirit, I guess, says yuh do." She reaches out and taps him
lightly on the leg. "C'mon. Yuh don' hafta be 'lone. Or onna run. Or fearin'
yuh own anger. Yuh c'n learn tuh control it."
Dante L Coyote looks at her, his eyes, wet, blinking slowly. A big sigh, as
the few good moments he'd had since he'd arrive had been trashed earlier
this evening anyways.
Dante L Coyote speaks, resigned, "Okay, I'll come. Just a moment."
Hazmat taps his leg lightly again and gives him her best Hazmat smile. "Cool."
Dante L Coyote stands and moves deliberately around the project, placing items
from his pocket on desks and beds.
Hazmat straightens up, shoving hands into pockets, watching the boy and
waiting for him to be ready.
Dante L Coyote goes into a final cubicle, and comes out with his backpack and
guitar. "Okay, I'm ready."
You go through the double doors.
Regan Avenue, 300 Block
Even against a background of sleet, the south side of the street, while it's
clearly low income housing, is less rundown than one might expect. There are
no broken windows, no broken bottles on the sidewalk. The north side of the
street is dominated by a colorful, near gaudy mural covering the entire side
of one building. Loud, graffiti-style lettering proclaims, 'Regan Hope
Project!' The rest of the north side of the street is taken up by
storefronts, and both housing and offices above them. Some have their own
less colorful murals.
Fourth Street lies to the west, and Third Street to the east. The door of the
Regan Hope Project is closed.
Obvious exits:
Regan Hope Project West East
Dante L Coyote steps through a pair of double doors, coming out of a building
to the north.
Dante L Coyote has arrived.
Dante L Coyote pauses, and looks back with a small sigh.
Hazmat gives the kid an encouraging smile and catches a bus. The ride is long,
takening them past the city and over the bridge, into the more rural Kent
Crossing. After the bus comes a rather long walk through sparse woodland and
down narrow lanes.
Lane(#300RJ)
Stretching a good quarter mile from the road, this gravel lane leads back to
the Escrowe farm. Trees line the lane, leaves of brown and orange, red and
gold coloring the branches and carpeting the ground around them. In the
distance, the farmhouse looms above the treetops, gleaming white as the snow
from its yearly coat of paint. Silence prevails here, save for the rustling
of the tall grasses in the fields when the wind blows.
The front entrance to the farmhouse is on the porch alongside the gravelled
road which continues on around the eastern side of the house back to the
barnyard. The opposite end of the lane turns back west to empty out onto
Sunrise Road.
Obvious exits:
PORch BarnYard Sunrise Road
[journey into the farmhouse omitted]
Farmhouse: Downstairs
Three rooms make up the first floor of the farmhouse, the living room which is
the first as you come in, and the dining room and kitchen at the back of the
house. (See +view and places)
A door in the kitchen allows direct access to the barnyard behind the house,
while the door in the living room lets out to the front porch. Carpeted
stairs twist up the northwest corner of the room, leading to the second
floor.
Contents:
Shin
Tatiana
Brittany
Derrick
John O'Morain
Dusty
Illuminated Text
Blanket
NOTE: Current Farmhouse Residents
Obvious exits:
Front Door Back Door STairs
Dante L Coyote steps in from the porch, closing the front door behind him.
John O'Morain turns to look at the new arrivals.
Derrick says "Haz, hey."
Dante L Coyote stands, with his back against the door, looking around
nervously.
Shin looks at Brittany for a moment. "In my province, that position was
hereditary. I stress the word 'my'." He says nothing more.
Dusty's eyes go to Derrick, trying with limited success to stay impassive. He
jerks his head, very very faintly, at the rest of the room, then turns to
look as the door opens.
Tatiana quirks a brow, studying the strange woman.
John O'Morain eyes Hazmat, as if trying to figure something out.
Hazmat raps on the front door before steering her charge inside. "Hey, guys?
This here's, uh..." She looks at Dante. "Wha' was yer name again, kid?"
Brittany nods. "Welcome, then, and well met, Takimara-san. I trust you will
bring more honor to your people."
Dante L Coyote his voice hushed and quiet, his eyes red with cried tears.
"Dante."
John O'Morain blinks, and nods. "Hiya, Dante. Nice ta meet you."
Dante L Coyote chews on his lower lip.
Shin murmurs softly. "And you, Miss Jefferson." He tips his head, then blinks
idly over at Hazmat and the youth she half pushes inside.
John O'Morain looks at Hazmat. "Have we met?"
Derrick nods slightly at Dusty, and then levers himself up off the floor.
"Hey, Dante. I'm Derrick. Y'look like you might want something to drink...?"
Hazmat squeezes Dante's shoulder comfortingly. "Yah, Dante. A 'corn spirit
nearly put holes in m'leg tellin' me tuh pick him up. Figger he's a Coggie
cub, yah? So I'm bringin' him here." She pauses, glances at John. "Um,
dunno?"
Dante L Coyote says "Uh...""
Dante L Coyote is a bit overwhelmed, rather confused.
John O'Morain nods. "Right." He launches into his introduction, obviously
having done this many, many times before: "John O'Morain, Cliath theurge of
the Fianna. Nice to meet you."
Shin permits himself a small smile for Derrick, shaking his head. He leans
back. "Perhaps the child would like some time away from all these people, or
has he had enough of that?"
Hazmat keeps a slight grip on Dante's shoulder, and stands behind him,
blocking his way toward the door in case he tries to make a run for it.
"Hazmat. Gnawer. Ragabash. Lupus. Cliath," she answers John, absently.
Dusty is standing back by the bannister, looking rather as if he doesn't want
to be overly noticed. His eyes watch Dante sympathetically, though he
doesn't say anything.
John O'Morain nods. "Right, thanks."
Dante L Coyote speaks, again, very quietly. "I'm confused, what does all this
mean?"
Dante L Coyote slides down the door, into a sitting position.
Derrick glances over at Shin and says, dryly, "I'd kind of gathered that since
my last comment, thanks."
Shin lifts an eyebrow and simply looks at Derrick, not saying a word. His gaze
doesn't waver.
Hazmat glances down at Dante. "It'll get less confusin' eventually."
Dante L Coyote bites his lower lip again.
Derrick lifts an eyebrow back. "What." The question is more of a statement
than a question, and he doesn't break Shin's gaze.
John O'Morain lenas forward, resting his chin on a hand, watching Shin and
Derrick. He scratches his chest absently.
Hazmat glances around, obviously waiting to see if someone will take charge of
the cub she so helpfully and honorably brought. Rather than keeping him for
her own tribe.
Shin doesn't respond. He merely continues to look at Derrick, hardly moving.
John O'Morain notices Hazmat. "You think he's Coggie?"
Dante L Coyote glances at the blanket, looking it over absently for a moment,
apparently in an effort to keep from looking at anyone.
Hazmat raises her eyebrows at John. "He hadda kinfetch that was a *unicorn*."
John O'Morain hops up, moving over to Hazmat. "Well, yeah, that's a good
start. Hmm." He looks down at the cub. "Are you hungry?"
Dante L Coyote says "Um, no, I'm okay. They fed me good at the Project."
Dante L Coyote not meeting John's eyes.
Trying to be unobtrusive, Dusty makes his way around the edge of the room
towards Dante. He leans over and whispers in his ear.
Megan slides open the glass door in the kitchen, stepping in, and then closing
the door behind her.
Dante L Coyote speaks absently, "...well..."
Rose slides open the glass door in the kitchen, stepping in, and then closing
the door behind her.
Tatiana moves over to sit by Shin.
Hazmat brightens, seeing Megan.
Dante L Coyote looks over at Dusty.
John O'Morain nods. "Mm. Well, it's a bit crowded down here. Why don't you go
with Dusty" He looks at Dusty for confirmation--"here and go upstairs and
clean up a bit, oK?"
Derrick mumbles something, and looks down at the floor.
Dante L Coyote suddenly sees Rose, his eyes brighten. "Mary?"
Dusty looks up at John, and shrugs assent, then gestures wordlessly to the
stairs.
Rose brightens and suddenly animates, dropping her bag and flinging herself
bodily at Dante. "Baby brother!"
Megan is still in the kitchen, with Rose, and invisible to anyone in the
living room. At the sound of people, she starts heading that direction,
saying, "Well, I don't know about that, Rose."
Derrick glances at Dusty. "Mind if I come with?"
Shin snorts at Derrick softly as the other man breaks eye contact. He shakes
his head and turns to glance at the wall.
Hazmat pats Dante on the shoulder once more, encouragingly, and leaves him to
be taken care of by John and Dusty.
John O'Morain is knocked bodily (!) out of the way by flinging Rose, and trips
over the couch's arm, falling onto the couch. "What the--?!"
Tatiana sits close to Shin, crouching against the wall to draw as little
attention as possible.
Megan comes in soon after Rose does, to see John go flying. "Hey, hey. No
destroying the furniture."
Dante L Coyote stands up and embraces Mary.
Hazmat's expression lightens, and she makes her way toward the Fianna. "Heyuh,
Megan."
John O'Morain claws himself up to a sitting position. "Not me, honest. Flying
cubs, is what it is."
Rose says "Oh, baby brother! I thought I'd never see you again! What are you
doing here! Did you make trouble?""
Shin grimaces slightly, then lifts his head to look around the massed people.
He shakes his head and pushes away from the wall.
Dante L Coyote says "No, I didn't, I swear, she came and brought me here."
Dusty gets knocked to the floor as well by Rose's enthusiasm, and his
nervousness becomes a little more apparent. he scrambles to his feet,
rubbing at one elbow, and glances at the stairs, then at Derrick.
Dante L Coyote points to Hazmat.
Megan still has her arms around her chest, looking vaguely cold. "Heya, Haz.
Well, okay, John, the cubs then," she says with a look to the tiny gymnast
and the complete stranger that claims to have come with Hazmat.
Derrick nods at Dusty. "Sure. C'mon."
John O'Morain blinks at Megan. "Something wrong, cous?"
Derrick mounts the stairs, pausing briefly at the landing before continuing up
to the second floor.
Dusty gestures to Dante. "C'mon...Dante, is that your name? We can do the
introductions when I'm not suffocating."
Hazmat explains to Megan, briefly. "Kinfetch dragged me t'him. Mus' be a
Coggie." She tilts her head toward the Fianna, some other topic behind her
eyes.
Derrick comes down the stairs.
Rose looks up blankly at Hazmat, then hugs Dante again. "Go with your guide,
Dante."
Dante L Coyote looks back and forth between Mary and Dusty. "Okay."
Derrick nods to folks. "I think we're gettin'. Brittany - we ever gonna get
together again?"
Dante L Coyote turns for the stairs.
Dusty flashes a weak, somewhat edgy grin at Mary, and turns and heads for the
stairs.
Brittany nods to Derrick. "That is the entire purpose of my trips here,
Frederick. When you are free, please inform me?"
Dante L Coyote mounts the stairs, pausing briefly at the landing before
continuing up to the second floor.
Dusty mounts the stairs, pausing briefly at the landing before continuing up
to the second floor.
Derrick smiles at Brittany. "Surely. I just figure, folks're kind of nervous.
And I don't blame 'em. Later..."
Shin's voice is soft and languid, very pleasent sounding. "Oh, have a nice
time, Derrick." He smiles with all his teeth.
Derrick mounts the stairs, pausing briefly at the landing before continuing up
to the second floor.
Rose looks to Megan as Dante departs. "I am sorry," she apologizes. "That was
rude."
Megan shakes her head at John. "Shoulda wore a coat out. Gaian, huh," she more
states than asks Hazmat. "Drew's going to have fun."
Hazmat grins at Megan briefly, and then grows slightly serious. "Um, hey.
'Member wha' I asked yuh back aftuh when Remy snuffed it?"
Shin pauses where he is, still watching the stairs, but his focus of attention
has shifted.
John O'Morain leans back on the couch, propping his feet on the coffee table
again.
Megan looks between Rose and Hazmat, nodding to Hazmat distractedly. "Yeah, I
do. Yeah, it kinda was, Rose," she says to the petite girl. As if feeling
mildly xenophobic herself, she makes her way over to a seat on the couch
near John.
John O'Morain scoots over to make room.
Rose stands fidgety in the middle of the room.
Hazmat shifts her weight slightly and moves toward the couch, leaning against
the back, regarding Megan almost nervously. "So, uhm, wha' d'yuh think?"
Brittany drifts to the kitchen for a bit, to make herself a drink.
John O'Morain peers at Rose, curious.
Tatiana curls up against the wall, writing a note to Shin.
Megan scrapes a hand through her hair. "That I need to talk to you, and Matt
and Becca, about that little fight sometime. Not now, though," she says,
with a pointed glance at Rose, then back.
Shin tosses his head slightly and turns away from the staircase, drawing back
to stand against the wall. He glances down at Tatiana and nods. "Nor did I."
Hazmat sighs slightly, quietly, and rubs at the crooked arch of her nose. She
looks as though she could say something about that, but doesn't.
Long distance to Megan: Hazmat suspects Meg would notice the crooked nose.
Looks like it was seriously smashed and healed that way. New feature. :>
Brittany returns, sipping at a glass of bourbon.
Megan turns back to Rose, and says, "Why don't you introduce yourself to
everyone, Rose."
Rose looks around, and realizes just how many people are about. She quavers,
before setting her eyes on Megan again and obliging. "I am Rose Fierrerre. I
am from the Phillipines. I... dance... a little."
Hazmat's brow furrows. "Phillip-peens? Tha' in Oregon?"
John O'Morain blinks slightly, looks at Megan, then looks back at Rose.
Shin says softly. "It's an Island, virtually conquered by the United States."
Brittany says "Phillipines, Hazmat, wrested back from the Japanese in the
second World War, now protected by the United States.""
John O'Morain chuckles, shaking his head.
Rose says "My country. It's a big country. A lotta people. Not conquered. It
isn't!"
Shin smiles thinly. "Lovely, how your country won that war, through the Wyrm's
weapons. I suppose supporting a maniac like Hitler, even indirectly, wasn't
much better."
Hazmat glances at Shin, then Brittany. "Oh. I know 'bout th' Japanese," she
says, confidently. "Kosh watches all kinds a' Japanese stuff, wi' words in
English."
Brittany advances, slightly, adding, "Although the person in question was
reported killed in an aerial accident."
Shin half-smiles. "Anime."
Rose seems confused and distressed by all the talk about her. "I didn't mean
to do it. I didn't. I'm so sorry."
Brittany pauses, deciding to not press the point, rather than confuse a cub to
Fox.
Hazmat glances, puzzled, at Rose. "Do what?"
Rose sniffs. "Everything. I didn't mean to lose. I tried so hard. I did
everything right, but the Judges hated it all. I was clumsy and ugly and
bad. And I didn't want to break the airplane. The bad men made me.
Shin blinks at that, covering his confusion by brushing a lock of hair back
from his face. He looks askance at Hazmat, then, less certainly, at Megan.
Tatiana sighs and looks at the time. Getting up, she stretches her legs before
leaving.
Tatiana leaves through the front door. You can hear the screen door swing shut
again with a clatter.
Hazmat doesn't quite grok this, but for the gist. She hums. "It ain' yuh
fault, naw. Stuff's hard when yuh change fuh th' fuhst time, an' b'fore."
She nods her head knowingly.
Rose looks at Hazmat. "You... you know? Are you the Sacred?"
Hazmat's expression goes blank again. "Uhm, say-cred?" She looks to Megan for
help.
Shin murmurs softly. "Sacred, divine, godly. Sounds like she means it as an
object - God, perhaps."
Megan shrugs her right shoulder. "I was taking it to mean Gaia. It's all the
same in the end."
Hazmat ohs and looks back at Rose. She grins encouragingly. "Yea, I guess so.
S'ok. Like I tol' tha' Dante kid, yuh'll learn t'control it." She glances at
Megan and ducks her head slightly, adding, "Uhm, mostly."
Shin smiles faintly, without humor.
Rose looks confused by this, somewhat, but just nods dumbly.
Brittany returns to the kitchen for a refill.
Megan glances down, avoiding looking at Hazmat, then nudges John. "You'd
probably be the best one to explain Gaia."
John O'Morain blinks, and looks up. "Hmm? Uhh. Gaia? Gee."
Hazmat bites rather hard on her lower lip and looks away from Megan, shoulders
slumped. Under her breath, she mutters, "I *apologized*, dammit."
John O'Morain looks around, a bit confused.
Rose looks at John. "Is... is the Sacr...is Gaia going to kill me now, for
being so bad?" She seems stuck on this point, refusing to let it go. "Will
it hurt much?
John O'Morain blinks at Rose. "Well, no. Gaia won't kill you. She doesn't work
that way. Don't worry about it." He smiles reassuringly.
Shin arches an eyebrow.
Rose hugs her arms around herself, looking about for her forgotten gym bag and
not seeing it. "Then... what does the Sacred want of me?"
Shin brushes the hair from his face and sighs. He steps back for the moment.
John O'Morain says "I don't know, Rose. That's for you to find out. But we can
help you get to the point where you're ready to start looking for that.
You've got some gifts--given by the Sacred, by Gaia--to help you find out."
Rose nods. "Yes. The Sacred made me a dancer.
John O'Morain nods. "And it's given you some other gifts, too, some of which
are shared by others, like us"--he nods, indicating the others in the
room--"which we can help you practice and use."
Rose says "Do you mean... like how the Sacred rotected me from the bad men?"
John O'Morain looks questioningly at Megan for a moment, but nods. "Yes. Like
that."
Megan gives John a 'I have no idea what she means either' look.
John O'Morain shrugs and looks back at Rose.
Shin actually asks it. "Pardon - how did she protect you? I'm the curious
sort."
Rose is not terribly perceptive, but finally realizes an explanation is in
order when asked. "When the bad men came, the Sacred wrapped me in safety."
John O'Morain covers a smile. "Yes, Rose. You have gifts that protect you."
Brittany asks, as she looks back from the kitchen doorway, "Is that how you
survived a fall of roughly 10,000 feet?"
Shin murmurs absently. "Handy trick."
Megan blinks, and looks over at Brittany uncomprehendingly.
Rose says "The Sacred gave me strength, even when my legs were broken, I could
walk. And I had claws ... but I did not fall. The Sacred made me strong, and
I stayed in the plane."
Rose says "And the bad men, they could not see me. The Sacred took the light,
and protected me with Sacred Darkness."
Hazmat isn't even bothering to follow this; she's only listening with half an
ear.
Brittany blinks? "Teh story was that you, and two believed terrorists, had
plunged to your doom. You were still on the plane? How did they not find you
when it landed?"
Shin murmurs. "Darkness came."
John O'Morain picks a magazine up off the table and flips through it.
Brittany glances to Megan?
Rose says "When the bad men went away, the Sacred made me small again, and
everyone was crying and screaming. And I knew it was all my fault, and I ran
away. I ran and ran."
Megan gives Brittany a similar glance as the one she gave John. She seems
confused, but content to sit back in her seat and listen.
Brittany asks, "Ragabash, perhaps, merging with the shdaows?"
Hazmat's attention snaps back to the present, this last bit of Rose's story
making sense. "Mine was kinda like tha', too. Kinda."
Shin tilts his head. "All your fault - why? Depends on what you believe of
this Sacred. If it would destroy a plane because of you, but then save your
life..." He shrugs.
John O'Morain mms. "Would you like to sit down, Rose? Been a trying time
lately, it seems." He nods toward one of the open chairs.
Rose says "No. No. The Sacred only destroys the bad ones. Like my father saved
the village from the bad ones before I was born. But I broke the airplane. I
let the bad men make the big hole."
Megan shrugs her shoulder. "I don't know, maybe."
Shin says quietly. "Let them? Did you know they were going to make the plane
fall and not stop them?"
Brittany asks Shin, then, "Could she be Hakken?"
Rose takes a seat, as directed, but becomes more, rather than less agitated as
she sits. "I don't know. I don't know," she protests. "The bad men came, and
they had tongues like the big water snake, and they wanted to hurt me. But
the Sacred saved me."
Rose looks about for comfort. Her eyes veer towards the stairs where Dante had
gone.
Shin shakes his head and enumerates. "We do not loose track of our Kinfolk and
their offspring." He turns to look at Rose. "Were they after you, in
specific?"
Megan seems to be eyeing Rose carefully. She seems as if she's ready to say
something, but holding her tongue, for now.
John O'Morain mutters quietly, shaking his head.
Rose hugs her knees to her chest, then nods. "I think so. They came... they
came, but the Sacred watched, and filled the airplane with Sacred Darkness,
and made me strong and swift. And I had to fight them, because they hurt all
the people."
Shin prompts softly. "With what - claws, guns, knives? Can you remember,
little one?"
John O'Morain sets the magazine down, very deliberately.
John O'Morain mutters something in Gaelic.
Rose says "The Sacred gave me claws like el Gato, and teeth like el liguardo,
and made me fast. I moved like the stinging wasp."
Shin says "Crinos. And the men?"
Hazmat straightens up and vanishes out the back door, hands in her coat
pockets, suddenly moodly.
John O'Morain gives Megan a look, and stands swiftly, steps over the coffee
table, and walks quickly out of the room, through the kitchen, and out the
back door shortly after Hazmat. The door slams rather loudly behind him.
John O'Morain slides open the door in the kitchen, passing through into the
back yard.