It is currently 19:08 Pacific Time on Mon Jun 24 2002.
Currently the moon is in the waxing Full Moon phase (97% full).
Currently in Saint Claire, it is partly sunny. The temperature is 75 degrees
Fahrenheit (23 degrees Celsius). The wind is currently coming in from the
northeast at 5 mph. The barometric pressure reading is 30.01 and falling,
and the relative humidity is 46 percent. The dewpoint is 54 degrees
Fahrenheit (12 degrees Celsius.)
Harbor Park -- Fountain
Situated in the center of a large, open meadow is a clustering of six trees,
a flower bed, a few steel-and-wood benches set firmly into concrete, and a
flagstone courtyard that is dominated by a large fountain.
The fountain is a wide circular pool of water some fifty feet across and
about five feet deep in most places. The sculpture in the center is a mix of
old and new, traditional and modern: eight concrete-and-stainless-steel
slabs about six feet high are set in a rough Stonehenge-like circle around
the center of the fountain. Water flows from their tops, cascading in bright
mesmerizing sheets to the pool below. Rising above the steel circle is a
large marble statue of the Water Bearer, an androgynous figure draped in
robes of flowing water. It bears a large jug carved with various Greek
symbols, from which pours a seething torrent of water into the pool at its
feet.
Cars on the nearby street have an excellent view of the park as do any
residents of the tall buildings which line the waterfront.
The murky waters of the Columbia River flow swiftly along the east side of
the park. Bracketing the park to the west is First Street and the city of
St. Claire. Recent construction work is creating an earthen berm several
feet high all along the borders of the park in all directions.
Kaz is perched on the back of a bench, reading an actual book, for once.
Leonard enters the park, eyes narrowed. He scans the area around the
fountain, then makes a beeline for the strangely literate Kaz.
Kaz raises her head at the movement, and narrows her eyes. She puts the book
away.
Leonard pauses in front of her, seeming wound pretty tightly. "I have news."
Kaz regards him carefully. "Do tell."
Leonard brushes a stray strand of hair behind one ear. "You talked to
Sebastian yet?"
Kaz furrows her brow. "...No," she eventually says, "Not lately. Should I
have?"
Leonard nods. "He's back. He went to talk to his elders among the Uktena.
They said they think the... spirit thing, that was working with the mage
that originally destroyed the caern is the one behind this attack also. Its
working with the Spirals. Andrea thinks it might want to free the Consumer."
Salem hoves into view from the street, moving at a steady jog and dressed in
sweats and sneakers, his hair tied back.
Eamon enters the glade in the middle of the open meadow.
Eamon has arrived.
Leonard continues, voice grim, cracking once embarassingly. "The _Uktena_
_elders_ said they had never seen anything like this spirit before. It was
like nothing they had ever dealt with. Some mage thing."
Kaz blinks, and goes still on her perch. "Well, ain't that just fuckin'
peachy," she eventually says.
Reggie appears on the fringes of the park, strolling at an easy pace that'd
do a snail proud.
Leonard nods. "They say it will destroy and devour unless we can stop it.
Andrea has asked me to call on Wendigo for help." He looks a bit...
shell-shocked at this pronouncement. "Nightflash also mentioned a powerful
spirit, some dragon or something, he saw once. Sebastian said he could ask a
spirit he has been talking to a lot lately for help, also. We need help
wherever we can get it. Andrea doesn't want to promise them anything, but we
are desperate." Leonard says 'anything' like 'anything they want' not
'anything at all.'
Kaz snorts. "Fuck that, we can promise them all /kinds/ of shit. But yeah,
ok, gotcha."
Eamon wanders up to the fountain and waves to the others. "Hey there.
Whassup?"
Leonard nods, slowly. "Yeah." He turns and looks at Eamon. Leonard says
"What have you heard so far?"
[Net-bump. Some poses missing.]
Eamon nods. "Elan said he'd summoned gremlins before, so he might want to do
it. Kristine can help, too, sure."
Kaz shakes her head. "They're cool for /talkin'/ to spirits, an' they're
some've my heroes 'cause they got the spirits to help us at that big ol'
battle last time, but they don' got no Summonin'."
Leonard says "Might want the more powerful spirit talkers to call on
powerful allies. Nightflash mentioned some dragon spirit. Uh, Seeker thought
of another, Sebastian another. Andrea calls the purity spirit tomorrow or
tonight, I forget which. That's all she's concentrating on right now. I'm
going to get Sepdet to help Sebastian, I think she's called Wendigo once
before. Then she can help you.""
Eamon says "Well, maybe we can find some, then. There are a shitload of Wyld
spirits around the fountain, there's bound to be some gremlins around
somewhere."
Leonard nods. "Neither does Sebastian. I'm going to see if Sepdet can't
teach him it by showing him how she summons Wendigo." Leonard says "I
wouldn't want a bunch of Wyrmcomer cubs there, though. Wendigo is not... a
friendly spirit."
Kaz nods, as she listens. "Uh, no. Wendigo wants to /eat me for breakfast/."
Leonard cocks his head, as if considering this, then nods like its not an
unreasonable expectation.
Eamon says "Maybe somebody can summon a Black Stag. Dunno if any Fianna
theurges can do it, though. A Black Stag is a powerful stag that takes
vengeance on things that hurt Gaia."
Leonard arches an eyebrow. "Could we get a herd?"
Eamon says "Um, I dunno. Usually you only summon one at a time, I think."
Salem angles his jog over toward the trio of Kaz and Leonard and Eamon,
slowing to a walk as he gets within earshot. The Walker hasn't been running
for long; he's barely broken a sweat.
Reggie silently listens to the spirit debating, as he takes up point,
watching the rest of the park, drawing down his cigarette. Salem's arrival
gets an inspecting glance.
Leonard frowns, as if something about a herd of pissed off Fianna spirit has
jogged his memory. "Isn't there some kind of... herd, you call?"
Kaz asks, tentatively, "Wild Hunt?"
Leonard points at Kaz. "Yeah. I think?" He looks at Eamon curiously.
Eamon says "The Hunt. None of the Fianna here can call the Hunt down on
them, unfortunately. Dunno who could, except some people in Boston or
Ireland."
Salem, in turn, glances at Reggie as well, his eyes narrowing. Then he jerks
his head in a nod of greeting to the others. "Evening."
Kaz asks, "Why not?"
Eamon says "The Wild Hunt is fuckin' powerful, though. Elder Fianna can call
it down with a gift, but the only Elder Fianna I know are in Ireland. If
they're still alive, that is."
Kaz gives Salem a half-wary nod, and then sighs. "Gotcha."
Leonard huhs. He looks at Kaz. "Those are all the shaman I know that are
here."
This teenage boy stands about five and a half feet tall and looks to weigh
maybe a hundred-twenty pounds. He looks lean, almost hungry as his body
stretches up towards adulthood, seemingly taller every time you see him.
He's about fifteen and his coppery skin, black hair and high cheekbones
proclaim his Native heritage. His brown eyes are large and fringed with
lashes any woman would envy.
He wears a black t-shirt, over which a blue button-down shirt is buttoned.
Both are faded but clean. Equally-faded blue jeans and a pair of scuffed
black boots round out his wardrobe. Around his neck is a rawhide bag of
which he seems very protective.
Eamon says "Anybody know where Kristine's hangin' out these days?"
Leonard blinks. "Oh, Seeker thought maybe, maybe, we might want to talk to
some of the world warpers here. I have a kin that is also a shaman."
Kaz says, "There's some Fury chick, but she's mostly into healing. An' a
couple Walkers that ain't around." Then she pauses. "Well. I know a couple.
What'd Andrea think?"
Reggie throws in a question, "Isn't that Talon one?"
Eamon says "The theurges I know are Luke, who's not around now, and Cameron
and Aubrey who are still cubs. Not much help there, sorry."
Kaz says, with a grin, "Ain't gonna be cubs /long/..."
Salem wipes a thin, stray clump of hair out of his face, tucking it behind
one ear. He glances toward the Wendigo, probably due to the Pure One's
mention of 'world warpers'; his expression is neutral. Then he looks toward
Kaz. "Is a date set for the end of their Rite?"
Eamon grins at Kaz. "Cool."
Leonard brushes an errant strand of hair from his eyes, taking in the big
Walker-by-choice. He folds his arms.
Reggie exhales smoke, then tries again, speaking to all and none. "Counting
Theurges?"
Leonard glances at Reggie. "Yah. We miss one?"
Kaz shakes her head at Salem. "But it's gonna be soon. An' th' end of their
Rite is gonna be /me/, pimpin' their accomplishments to all an' sundry. So
hey. Come one, come all."
"Might have", Reggie grunts. "I don't go talking much with them when I can.
But rumor's that there're still Talon in the woods. Can't afford to overlook
even them."
Eamon looks at Salem. "At the half-moon, according to Leonard."
Leonard nods, slowly. "There is one. Shadow-of-Blood. Andrea has asked that
he and I do a Gathering for the spirit allies lost."
Kaz says "/Yeah/. Tell me when, I'll fuckin' be there."
Salem turns his eye toward the Wendigo again. "When?"
Leonard says "Very soon. Day or two. Hard to find a safe place. Maybe the
cabin we had our elder moot at." Leonard cocks his head. "Or maybe the bowl.
Want to make sure the howls don't carry to the caern."
Kaz adds, "Be nice if it could /be/ welcomin' for all them lupes."
Reggie shines with a satisfied sheen as if he created the Talon Theurge just
for Kaz's and Leonard's counting. "So that's another one."
Leonard nods. "Bowl, or Wolf Woods, then."
Kaz nods. Then she says, as if just remembering, "Oh, hey, guess who we
found?"
Leonard cocks his head curiously.
Kaz explains, "Brittany. I done drove her out of that fuckin' hellhole of a
hospital this mornin'."
Leonard narrows his eyes. "She tell you what happened?"
Eamon blinks. "Damn. How'd Brit get into the hospital?"
Salem folds his arms across his chest, likewise quite interested in the
answer to Leonard's question.
Eamon says "And how'd you get her out, that's what I wanna know."
Reggie turns attention on Kaz, along with the other two. Kaz, star attraction.
Kaz shrugs. "She was a lil' vague, but I don' think she got in there 'cause
of no diversionary thing. As f'how she got out... some dipshit that ain't
supposed to be here still has power of attorney for her, so he came back up
from Cali and made the doctors let her out." Abbreviated, that.
Leonard looks blank at phrases like 'power of attorney.' "Oh. We should talk
to her."
Salem grunts, then says, looking more at Kaz than the others, "There's other
news, too."
Leonard glances at Salem.
Kaz raises an eyebrow in Salem's general direction.
Salem looks grim, though that's hardly uncharacteristic, considering his
general disposition and the fullness of Luna. But his words certainly suit
the mood. "Voice mail from Daisy. She's at Western Eye. It's under seige,
its Pathstone broken."
Leonard stares. "That's... they've almost taken the whole Northwest."
Eamon arches an eyebrow at Kaz. "Shit. Uh, Kaz, did you happen to check her
for Wyrm-taint? Who knows what happened to her in that place. I don't wanna
sound paranoid, but we need to be careful. Remember what happened to
Glissa." He stares at Salem. "Holy shit." He nods at Leonard.
Kaz, quite literally, falls off her bench, managing to grab onto the back of
it as she's falling. This manages to slow her fall only slightly, but she's
already up onto her feet in an instant. "The fuckin' fuck? Fuck?"
Reggie jerks around his head at Salem, nearly biting through his cigarette
and swering as hot ashes make contact with his lip.
Leonard takes a deep breath, and sighs. "Its... I think its anything time."
Eamon shakes his head. "They're fallin' like dominoes now. Goddammit!"
Salem nods, the corners of his mouth twisted downwards. "They attacked the
last new moon, according to Daisy. She's busy helping there, but..." He
shakes his head. "It doesn't sound good. We can expect no help from that
quarter."
Leonard stares at the ground, and says tonelessly, "On the bright side, if
the spirit here is behind all the caerns in this area falling, once we kill
it the others should be gotten back easier."
Kaz says, explosively, "/Fuck/," and, whirls around, fingernails evidently
drawing blood from her palms by accident. "Scuse me," she mutters, and
crouches down, breathing slowly.
Eamon nods. "Yeah, but killing it is the hard part. Do we even know where it
is?"
Leonard nods. "At the caern, I think. Not sure. Might be that really long
t-name. I named it Heart of Darkness, first time I saw it."
Salem watches Kaz, arms folded across his chest, his body held tall and
straight and still.
Reggie spits out the ruined cigarette. "I call it Thing That Must Die."
Eamon says "Is that the same thing as ben Isaac's demon?"
Leonard shakes his head. "Don't know. Was his demon a big huge blob of
blackness that ate away at you from inside and out until your flesh and bone
was gone?"
The metis breathes. Then, clearly, Kaz says, "Trichlorotrifluoroethaneous."
She rises to her feet abruptly, eyes hard. "Right. Ok. So."
Salem's eye remains on the Gnawer as he says, "It sounds more like a
chemical compound rather than the name of a spirit."
Eamon shakes his head. "I don't think so." He stares at Kaz.
"Tri-what-tri-what? Sounds like fuckin' drain cleaner or something. Sheesh."
Leonard lets the science talk fly right over his head, looking at Eamon.
"Yeah. I should go tell this to Andrea." He cracks his neck. "Or should we
talk to Brittany first."
Kaz shrugs. "I know only what I'm told, Salem, Eamon. That is what Andrea
told me." Then she turns to regard Leonard. "Yes. Brittany. We can test her
then." My. How formal you are, Kaz.
Leonard nods. "Alright. Where is she?"
"I left her at her home. Let's check there first." The metis' words aren't
drained of emotion, but the emotion is tightly held, as if she doesn't trust
herself to let it out, yet. "The Questing Stone will help." (Indeed, the
Stone points right to Falcon's Rest.)
Leonard makes to follow Kaz wherever she leads.
Salem nods once, cracking his knuckles.
Reggie makes as if not to be left behind.
[Scene change.]
Falcon's Rest(#2599RAJLMh)
The large spacious living room of the estate appears to have been
decorated to promote comfort. The room strives to remain lighted either
naturally with open windows, or artificially with conservative lamps placed
on wrought iron and glass end tables.
A beige couch sits before a coffee table similiar in style to the
end tables. A loveseat and chairs matching the couch is placed about the
room to offer more sitting space.
The hard wood floor is covered with a large oriental rug, and carful
attention has been placed on putting the furniture upon it.
House plants are strategically placed about the room, while the
windows have a beige scheme to their drapes.
The south of the room can find the study, and guestrooms. The north
possesses a hallway that branches into the kitchen, to the left, and a
bathroom, right, with the master suite ending it. The east leads to the
balcony.
(+view and places enabled here. Non-Garou, please +view Curse)
[Brigid is passed out asleep on the couch.]
Kristine, likewise, is clonked out on an armchair, curled up, and just
dozing. It'll probably take another wave of the Apocalypse to get the Wonder
Twins to wake up. Or just a helluva lot of knocking.
Kaz is always willing to knock. Bam, bam, bam.
Reggie wanders down the side of the house to squint into a window, while Kaz
sounds out a concert on the door.
Salem stands behind Kaz, though not crowdingly near, arms folded and
expression cold.
Brigid wakes up enough to grab a pillow and fling it at Kristine. "Your
turn." she mumbles, and returns to sleeping the sleep of the dead.
Bam, bam, bam!
Gathering up pebbles, Reggie adds some higher notes to the music by pebbling
the window.
Bam. Bam. BamBamBam!! Whu'? THis is suddenly the Flintstones? "I don't wanna
go to sch--" BAM!! Well, that certainly sounded alot louder than it was, but
it's enough to get the older of the pair of theurges to bolt upright, and
fall out of the chair. "OW!" is her first impression as she lands chest
first on the ground, THAT was smart. SHe still hurts. Slowly, she stands up,
staggering a little bit. "Bite me, sweetheart.." She says , flipping her
sister off, after getting whacked in the face with a pillow. A COUCH pillow.
Those things hurt. A series of locks are heard, and the door is yanked open,
just enough until the chain catches. She's still trying to get her eyes
focused. "May I help you?"
Leonard peers around the passel of garou in front of him, craning his neck
to see into the chi-chi abode.
Cheerfully, Kaz says, "You bet! Hi there. We're the Welcome Wagon, an' we
wanna bring a nice warm welcome to the Silver Fangs of St. Claire. You got a
Brittany Jifferson--" yes, it's mispronounced -- "In the house?"
Eamon grins at Kristine. "Now is that any way to talk to a former packmate?
Whassamatta you, eh?"
Action! Reggie leaves off the window and hurries back to the door.
Brigid makes a vaguely annoyed sound and rolls over to face the back of the
couch, putting a couple of couch pillows over her head.
Salem looms behind the Galliard Bone Gnawer, arms folded across his chest.
"I hurt." And the door slams--and then there's yelling, "Why the hell is
this door so fuckin' heavy? What does Brittany have in it? LEAD?" Then the
chain undoes, and she opens it farther to let people in. "Sorry about that.
C'mon in. Make yourselves at home. Beer's in the fridge. Smiley, Scotch
Whiskey in the wetbar." Kris isn't awake yet, give her a moment.
Leonard scowls at the mention of beer, but seems to curb his distaste enough
to gawk at the splendor surrounding him. Its pretty obvious he's never been
in a house this big.
Eamon grins. "Hey hey! Excellent. Is that Brit's stash?"
Kaz doesn't gawk, since she housesat. She merely heads for the fridge and
gets a Coke. "Why you hurtin'?"
Reggie brightens at Kristine's news. That might even be more interesting
than Brittany's news. "'xcuse me", the Ahroun fetches himself a beer, then
looks for a cushy place to park his fleabiten ass.
Eamon pours himself a double, then makes it a triple, and finds a seat
somewhere.
Leonard proceeds to wander through the house, stopping in the bathroom. He
marvels to the point of actually sticking his head out of the bathroom to
say, "The soap is shaped like _seashells_."
Kristine walks over to sit on the endge of the couch, where Brigid's legs
curve, and leans backwards. "Eh, took a little hit during the Silver Forge
thing." She guestures to Eamon, wanting the decanter of the scotch, then
watches as people mill about, getting drinks, and, uh, oogling at seashells.
"At least it isn't the hygenics that's shaped like seashells.." She murmurs
under her breath.
Salem eyes the groggy Kristine critically for a moment, and then the
unconscious Brigid. The interior of Falcon's Rest gets barely a glance, and
that disinterested; he's seen high-price decor before. Leonard's remark
prompts a bit of a snort from the Glass Walker, who remains on his feet,
restless and edgy.
Leonard continues prowling the confines of Falcon's Rest, eyeing the
light-colored fabrics everywhere, and plinking at the real, live piano in
the study. He looks out the window at the carved bushes, cocking his head
with a wrinkled nose of utter confusion.
Kaz grins faintly. "You oughta see the /beds/, Leonard."
Leonard's voice echoes faintly from the back of the cavernous house. "They
got _beds_ too?"
Reggie calls to Leonard, "They got _sheets_, on them, too."
Leonard disappears into a guest room. Something that sounds suspiciously
like someone jumping on said bed can be heard faintly from one of them.
"This is becoming comical," Salem mutters, not particularly approvingly.
Reggie turns to the tired Fangs. "So, you got any word out of her?"
Kaz murmurs to Salem, "Think of it as blowing off steam. Especially," Kaz
says, getting tenser just talking about it, "given that /news/ we just
heard."
The oogling of the house is mostly ignored. Probably because she's just used
to it. to Reggie, Kristine merely shakes her head, "Not really." It's not a
thorough answer, but at least, it's the truth.
Eamon knocks back about a third of his drink, then falls silent for a
moment. "You know, I just thought of something. When we went to fight ben
Isaac, we made a deal with Marbuel to get him to help us. After we killed
ben Isaac, he said he wanted one of our souls in return. We refused, and he
left. Maybe that's why he's doing this, because we stiffed him."
Leonard exits the bedroom, looking a bit flushed, hair in disarray and a
slight smile on his face. He heads for the kitchen and rummages around in
the fridge. With a voice of slight distaste, he calls out, "I think your
cheese has all gone bad."
Kaz blinks at Eamon. "Really? What'd he want with it?"
Salem glances at Kaz briefly, then shakes his head a bit. His attention
flicks toward Eamon. "Marbuel. The demon?"
"Sorry, Leonard. We haven't exactly had the time to shop." Nor clean the
fridge, apparently. Kristine, folds her arms across her lap, and just
listens for now.
Leonard comes out of the kitchen, a proscuitto and mustard sandwich on a
kaiser roll in one hand, an apple in the other. "S'okay. I threw it out for
you. It was all runny. And some was blue."
Eamon says "Yeah. Who knows? Demons torture souls in Hell. Maybe he's tryin'
to climb the demon ladder or whatever. The thing is, he never got payment.
Or, he could be just doin' this on a whim, just to cause mayhem. Who knows?"
Leonard licks mustard off his hand. "Andrea doesn't know that she believes
the Uktena, that its him."
"Someone's soul... versus a Caern." Kaz chews on her lip.
Salem just shakes his head and starts pacing the room, hands clasped behind
his back.
Reggie has a hint of wariness as he looks aside at Kaz. "Could it be just
any soul? Such as one of the enemy?"
"Or one of a hero..?" Kristine offers, quietly. Ignore the Theurge over
here.
Leonard glances at Kristine, thoughtfully. He takes a bite of the sandwich,
goes to stand by the window.
Eamon says "No, one of our souls. It might not be him, but it'd make sense
if it was. I don't think a demon would take a slight like that lightly."
Kaz makes a slashing motion with one hand. "we don't even know if that's
what it is. Or if it's even him. Don't go assuming yet."
Leonard says "Maybe all the caerns around here falling is all part of
someone's plan."
Kristine crosses her legs, leaning forward to prop an elbow on the uppermost
knee, then rest her fingers against her chin, as she thinks. The look given
to her by Leonard is met with just a simple meeting of eyes, the Cheese,
well, is mute. They can always buy more. "Do we know anymore information?"
Eamon shrugs. "Just thinkin' out loud, Kaz." He glances at Leonard. "The
Wyrm. And if it ain't the Wyrm, it's probably laughin' anyway."
"Of course it's a plan," says the Glass Walker, rather sharply. "A very
simple plan. Take one. Use it as a base. Take any nearby."
Kaz says "We know lots of information. What'd you last hear?"
Leonard sits on the floor by the big bay window, watching the lights of the
city as he munches his sandwich.
"On the current topic? Nothing much more than the visions." Kristine offers
quietly. "Then whatever was known during the Rite last week." A shrug.
"Well," Kaz says, that stony edge to her voice creeping back, "Western Eye's
pathstone has cracked. They hold out, yet, but expect no aid from them."
Reggie glugs his beer, keeping a good grip on it to keep frisky Wendigo from
stealing it.
Kristine gives slight nod to that, indicating she knew about that much, at
the very least.
Leonard pointedly ignores Reggie 'the Wendigo' and his beer drinking, though
his eyes are narowed.
Kaz ticks off things on her fingers. "It wants to maybe let the Consumer of
Stone out... Three of the four folks we did the Ritual on are gone...
Robert's off being healed somewhere weird that ain't here, but he's not
dead... Alla you theurges should Summon Gremlins... Um..."
Leonard says quietly, "And Andrea's asked me to call on Wendigo."
Kristine nods, and nods again. It seems she's doing more of a confirming of
intelligence, then gathering it. Though, Leonard's words causes Kris'
eyebrows to arch upwards. "A noble task. I wish you luck."
Leonard gives Kristine a look and nods.
Brittany, slowly, rolls from the bedroom, not at all graceful in terms of
wheelchair mastery. She groans a bit, one hand pressing against the bandage
of her head, before managing, "Would someone get me some water, please?"
The metis, who's rising to get a Coke anyway, calls, "Got it!" and heads
into the kitchen. She emerges with a Coke, and some ice water, which she
proffers to the Philodox with a flourish. And some aspirin.
Leonard hops up, licking the remains of mustard off his hands as he heads
into the kitchen to fetch some water.
Salem stops pacing abruptly and stares over at the wheelchaired Silver Fang,
studying her critically.
Reggie peers oddly at the wheelchair user. Water over beer? Oh well, people
know she's weird anyway. He continues to stare at her.
Brittany's given a rather humourous look, but her eyes return to Leonard for
a moment, before offering to Brittany, "Told you to watch that first step.
It's a looloo." Though, Kristine's giving the Philodox the visual once over.
Eamon arches an eyebrow at Salem, sipping hs whiskey idly.
Leonard gets himself some water anyway after Kaz calls kitchen duty,
standing in the door and sipping it while staring at Brittany. He whispers
to himself, "Wasicu."
Brittany takes the glass and pill, for once not even bothering to shy away
from the mule, muttering a short, "Thank you," before gulping in a most
unladylike manner until half the drink is gone. "Terribly dry..."
"Ms. Jefferson," says the Glass Walker, his voice even and utterly polite,
"it's good to see you alive, if not well. Is there something preventing you
from shifting to heal?"
Kaz, as Salem is speaking, asks, "Brittany, what's with the Evangeline
routine?"
Eamon snorts laughter, almost spraying whiskey all over himself. "Yeah, she
likes being wheeled around like a princess."
"And baring that, I do have Gifts, you know." Is Kristine's objection to the
wheelchair routine.
Brittany manages to unshutter her eyes long enough to give Eamon a withering
look, but then closes them again. "I'm on the tail end of shaking off three
days worth of sedatives. Do give a moment." She does, however, nod to
Kristine. "If you would? I prefer to make certain bones are all in place
before 'going manual', as it were."
Reggie snorts, but not as amusedly. "Wheels are for invalids. These things
that people lift and walk around with--that's what a princess'd use.
Pallet?", he guesses, then "I'm not volunteering for that", and disappears
into his beer.
Salem nods once at mention of sedatives, which seems to be explanation
enough for him. He resumes his restless stalk about the room.
Leonard just watches from his place in the kitchen doorway, sipping his
water. That came out of a fancy little spout on the door of a refrigerator.
He feels positively cosmopolitan.
Kaz just shrugs. She apparently can't connect to sedatives being a problem.
Kristine stands up, and walks over, "Then you're going to tell me what in
blue blazes happened." Her hands move to rest on the Philodox' shoulders,
and she closes her eyes. Concentration's mainly given to the legs, but any
major, debilitating breaks are at least mended. It takes a few long moments,
before she sighs. "Now, walk. You should be able to." Something about a
wheelchair obviously just urks the Theurge.
Brittany relaxes, as Kristine's gifts do their work. "If only we could share
that..." She patpats the Theurge's hands, with a nod. "Thank you, Kristine.
That should leave everything else easily correctable."
Eamon looks impressed at Kristine, raising his eyebrows at her.
Kaz says, cheerily, "Rock. So. Brittany. Where you been all my life? Or,
anyways, why the fuck were you in Hilliard?"
"It didn't get all of it, but hell," She gives a shrug, and drops back down
on her Sister-the-Couch, again, more around the legs than anything. At Kaz,
she nods. "To quote what I told Brigid, 'Did you switch you brain with a
-brick-?'." Kristine, Subtle as a Chainsaw sometimes.
Salem is, obviously, also quite interested in Brittany's answer to this
vital question.
Reggie looks riveted on Brittany. What will the princess do next? Call for
her Royal Seal?
Leonard slides down the wall, resting his arms on his knees, water glass
dangling between them as he watches the floor show.
One of the back bedroom doors opens and Tobin comes out in his sweats and
plain black t-shirt. He blinks owlishly at all of the people here. He
especially stares at Leonard, looking very confused.
Leonard glances over and up at Tobin, and stares right back. He narrows his
eyes.
Brittany manages to slide up out of the chair, now, pealing the velcro along
her leg cast as she leans against a wall. "Stupidity, really. I didn't even
know where I was until Alec offered a helping hand and got my dosage turned
down." She pulls the cast off, draping it over the back of the chair before
bringing her robe back into a more demure position, adding, "I was
intercepted by a joyriding teen and her friends. Fortunately, my seat belt
held, else I'd have suffered the same fate as Edward Shoemaker, so many
years ago."
Kaz blinks. "You got fuckin' hit by a /car/?"
"Who?", Reggie blinks, unfamiliar with the name. "You were in a car?"
Leonard nods sagely to himself. "S'why I don't wear a seatbelt."
Tobin blinks once more at Leonard before nodding once, apparently to
himself. He then turns to stare blankly at Brittany. He's obviously not
awake yet.
Eamon rolls his eyes. "Jesus Christ, we all thought you got jumped by
Dancers or something."
Brittany takes another long drink of her water, then nods at Kaz. "While
driving to meet with Robert, for the distraction raid. A fluke, in terms of
percentages. I fail to be so trusting."
Reggie tilts his head, then asks, "Why don't you shift? Finish up the
healing?", blunting, to Brittany.
Pardon me while I look stupidly at you for a moment, Brit. Kristine just has
this -look- on her face. "I don't know whether to laugh at you or beat you
senseless!" Or both.
Leonard tries very hard to hide a smile, ducking his head. His shoulder
start shaking silently.
Salem's expression changes into something almost wry, then turns chilly and
tight again.
Kaz blinks again. "Oh, /man/," she says, sympathetically, "That /sucks/.
Though at least you ain't off in some where place somewhere, healing, like
he apparently is."
Brittany headtilts at Kaz, there. "Did it work, then? Did we ... he ... draw
them out?"
Tobin finally seems to be gathering his wits about him and he takes a few
steps forward, just enough so that he can be seen by Brittany around
everyone else. He leans against the arm of a couch and folds his arms across
his chest. He watches the Fang Elder with a neutral expression, more waiting
to see how she'll react to him.
"Yeah, boy howdy did he. An' three of the four assholes apparently are all
burnin' in silver now." Kaz pops her Coke open, then adds, enthusiastically,
"Tobin! Hey. How's tricks?"
Leonard keeps his head down, face hidden. His shoulders shake
uncontrollably, and occasionally a strangled snort can be heard from his
vicinity.
Kristine nods at Brittany, "It worked. Like Kaz said. Three of them are
having silver baths." With any luck that is. A bemused look is turned
towards Leonard.
Brittany casts a glance at Leo, with a scowl, which softens as she spies
Tobin. Back to Kaz, she asks, "And our losses?"
"Ah, don't look so cross at him, Brittany. Laughter is truly a blessed
thing." And the fact that she got whacked by something MUNDANE is
just..well..Kris herself is struggling to keep that smile from breaking up
into a laugh. Though, that does drop a bit, at the losses, "I believe Kyle
fell. I can't recall any others." She looks to the gathered.
Since the other newshound is too busy laughing, Kaz answers, "Lots of
spirits. And, well, Kyle. This darkness spirit that's called
Trichlorotrifluoroethaneous /melted/ him." She adds, a bit grimly,
"Andrea-rhya says it's the second strongest bane she's ever seen."
Reggie finishes his beer, and lets it roll underneath the love seat.
"Forget-not the spirits. He there's doing the Gathering for them", he
indicates Leonard.
Tobin yawns at Kaz by way of greeting and also an answer as to how he's
doing. At Reggie's news he looks first at Reggie, then Leonard, and says
quietly. "I want to be there, at the Gathering for the spirits."
Kristine's head bows, "Yes, the spirits.." She stands up to collect the beer
container from underneath the love seat. She stands up, and waves it a
little at the man, "We do have trash cans in the kitchen. Just to let you
know." And then she goes to deal with it.
Leonard clears his throat harshly, looking up. He's got tears in his eyes
and is trying very hard to compose himself, but loses it again when Kaz just
spits out the name of the bane. He rests his forehead on his knees, choking
back uncontrollable giggles. All you can make out is "...drain cleaner..."
Brittany blinks at Kaz. "Kaz, do be a dear and write that name down for me
before you leave? I'm afraid I'm swimming a bit just yet." She glances to
Reggie, then Kristine with a soft smile, then back to Reggie.
Kaz says, fairly wryly, "It'll be a phonetic interpretation, Brittany, but
sure thing."
Eamon stands. "Well, I'd love to stay and chat, but I gotta go. Night,
folks." Before he leaves, he goes over to whisper something to Kaz.
"Do you", Reggie replies. "What, no recycle bins?"
Kaz nods, once.
Eamon nods. "Okay, seeya, guys." he waves and heads out the door.
"Hey, Smiley." Kris tilts her head back with a nod, "Don't be stranger." To
Reggie, "More'n likely, but, I'm a lazy ass bitch and just toss it all in
the garbage chan." Hands move to hook thumbs in her beltloops, before Leo
just gets this perplexed look. Drain cleaner? Oh dear.
Tobin stares at Leonard for a second, then looks back at Brittany as he's
ignored. "I wrote it down already, Rhyas," he says, again quietly. "I
already looked it up, too. Oddly enough, it's a relatively harmless
chemical, to humans anyway. It's related to freon, of all things."
That truly was the sleep of the dead, as Brigid finally stirs completely
from her Rip Van Winkle-like snooze and blinks at the myriad voices. "Oh,
lovely, I slept through the convention of the century...on the living room
couch. How refined." she mutters in audible annoyance before starting to sit
up.
Brittany lifts a hand to Eamon. "Be well, Eamon. May Falcon guide you safely
home."
Salem tilts a look over toward Tobin, eyes narrowed. "I _thought_ that it
sounded like a chemical compound. But... freon?"
Kaz shrugs. "May just be coincidence."
Brittany ties her robe a bit more, brushing off the hem, as she adds, "That
would be the Weaver aspects, then, although likely with a tint of Wyrm
energies."
Leonard has apparently just totally lost it, and the room fills with the
utterly unfamiliar sound of the young Wendigo's laughter. He just throws his
head back and lets loose, tears streaming down his cheeks.
Reggie calls to Kristine while she's in the kitchen anyway, "Bring me
another?", and to the room at large, "Freon?", he echoes. "Sounds
familiar--but what is it? Refrigerant?"
Salem gives the Wendigo an irritated look, then makes a visible effort to
ignore him.
Kaz looks at Brittany as if she just grew a third head, rather ignoring
Leonard in the process. "/Tint/?"
Reggie breaks off a stare at Brittany to stare at Leonard. Hm, which one to
stare at more?
A cold one is handed to Reggie, and then, the Fang walks over, grabs Leo by
the elbow and begins ushering him towards the front door. "Pardon me, but
me'n him's gonna have a little talk. Be back in a few. Brigid, be a dear,
fill me in later? Thanks."
Brittany casts an eye to Leonard, looking not at all pleased, but then back
to Kaz with a wince. "Tint? I meant taint. Damn these medications." She
manages a short sigh, adding, "Valium tolerance means little when faced with
coedine, at the day's end. Must remember this."
Tobin looks over towards Salem and continues explaining. "It /is/ Freon,
basically. It's a chloroflourocarbon. One of those things that's so bad for
the ozone layer. If you monkey with it, you can make a really nasty acid
gas, but it takes some unbonding of the...er, well, it's chemicals." He
shrugs. "I just went to the library and found a high school chemistry book."
He stares again at Leonard.
Kaz waves her hands. "We're all wasicu and morons, don't mind him. Anyways,
yeah, ok, cool, just makin' sure you get it's /fucked up Wyrmy/."
Brigid blinkblinks and nods quietly, sitting up all the way and working at
being completely alert enough to keep track. "Ooog." is all she says,
rubbing at her eyes.
Leonard sniffles harshly, clears his throat, and wipes at his face with the
back of one hand, attempting to frown. "M'fine. M..." He slowly smiles
again, looking at Kristine's face. "She got hit by a car..." He buries his
face in Kristine's shoulder. Damn, so close. He's making that choking noise
again.
Leonard heads outside.
Leonard has left.
Kristine heads outside.
Kristine has left.
Brittany says "Any other spiritual accompli that were out of place? Spiders?
Geodic patterns or mathematical formulae? Crystaline forms or mechanical in
a way?"
Tobin answers Brittany quietly. "There were webs, and crystal banes." He
pulls down his shirt a bit to show the nearly-healed cuts from the shards.
Salem listens intently to Tobin's explanation, nodding soberly.
"Interesting." He looks at Brittany. "There were some crystalline spirits,
yes. Along with tainted nature spirits, and the usual scrags and et cetera."
Reggie starts in on the beer, as he spreads grey wolf hair on the beige
loveseat, and, after Leonard leaves, listening intently to the spirit chat.
Kaz tilts her head, looking at Brittany intently. "And your theory is...?"
Brittany frowns, and makes her way, with a scant limp, to a chair, for a
sit. "Looks like we're getting confirmation, then. Lovely." To Kaz, she
asks, "What can you share about the name Saul bin Isaac, if I might ask?"
Kaz shakes her head. "I'm butt ugly ignorant on this. It's before my time
and most of the folks as was in on it are kinda closed mouthed. Fucked up
mage, fucked the Caern up, all that shit. Had a spirit named Marbuel that
wanted a soul and we didn't give it one. Or did you mean, what his name
/means/?"
Brigid tucks herself securely against one arm of the couch, drawing her
knees up close to her chest and combing a few tangles out of her hair with
her fingers. The conversation has quickly garnered her attention, eyes
switching from sleepy to awake with a snap.
Brittany lets her gaze fall to Brigid, then, with a bruised, rather than
arched, brow. "Brigid? Has a bell been rung?"
Brigid pauses with her left hand knuckle-deep in her hair, then drops it to
look back at Brittany. "Well, it wouldn't do me any good at all to be dopey
at the moment. Nothing's come to mind yet, but I'm certainly more than awake
now."
Reggie stands up, beer in hand rather than under love seat. "Think I'll go
check in Leonard", he announces. "But you know the real tragedy of all
this?", he asks rhetorically. "That car", he sobs. "That lovely car. All its
horsepower--gone."
Kaz grins faintly, tersely. "Catch you later, Reggie."
Brittany nods. "Very well, then." To Kaz, she continues, "Marbuel was a
'demon', a type of spirit from some outter plane I'd be disrespectful to
even attempt to name, who had a pet mage, at one point. While the mage, bin
Isaac, was dealt with, I'm to understand that the demon made good his
escape. Something of a terror, that one. We've caught word from scouting
missions of a name that's a near enough match to give Sepdet pause.
Moreover, his last visitation was unusual, due to his merging of the Triat,
using Wyld, Weaver, and Wyrm energies and spirits in concert. This newest
attack, too, matches his modis operandi." To Reggie, she shakes her head. "I
have others, and that one was insured. Worry not." She passes her own, now
empty, glass to Tobin, quietly asking him for a water refill, before going
on. "We have reason to believe that either the demon, or a mage in its
service, is behind this."
"Be seeing you," Salem says to the Uktena, in farewell, quite coolly.
The Uktena departs the house.
Salem then turns his attention onto Brittany. "An outer plane?" His lips
thin, pulling into a grimace.
Tobin quietly slips off into the kitchen to refill the water. After he
returns and hands the glass back to Brittany he sinks down onto the couch
next to Brigid and listens attentively.
Kaz says, "Yeah, there's been news from the Uktena, Cyllan. You ain't just
whistlin' up a tree, now. They's sure it ain't Ben Isaac's, though. But
honestly, they don' really know /what/ the fuck it is. 'Cept, you know, all
these echoes of past events... It ain't logical for it /not/ to have some
connection. But, yeah. Th' mage is kaploey."
Brittany thanks the cub-on-the-cusp, and sips a bit, before going on. First
to Salem, she nods. "You'd have to ask Andrea, or a theurge of equal
knowledge, such as Elan. They'd know better than I. Nasty enough, from what
I could infer." To Kaz, she adds, "Why he uses the Triat is unknown.
Harvesting thw wyld, directing it through weaver forces, into forms of
destruction? I confess to not being sure. Regardless, this isn't a simple
matter of a Black Spiral hive wanting to turn us from home and hearth, but
the schemes of a madman ... or madthing ... to tap the energies. Unable to
do it alone, it has enlisted the services of the hive, either by lies or by
mastery of the mind, as mages are wont to do. Influencing the mind of the
leaders of the Hive with his magic, he could make the rest do as he wished
for a minimal investment of power. What he plans to *do* with it is beyond
me. Quite the vexsome thing, this."
Salem mutters something curt and irritable-sounding in Serbian and continues
to pace, back and forth, with arms folded across his chest.
Tobin tells Salem absently to watch his language, but otherwise keeps his
attention on Brittany.
Brigid frowns a little, curling over enough to rest her chin on her knees
and look thoughtful.
Kaz pauses. "Yeah," she eventually agrees. "So given the intent and the mind
behind this, is focusing on the Dancers the best of ideas?" Mmm. Heresy.
Salem stops short, turning a very sharp eye on Tobin.
Tobin, no longer paying any attention to Salem, asks aloud, "I wonder if
there's a way to track a demon. Like one can track Wyrm creatures by their
taint. Perhaps we can forge something to detect the combined energies of the
Triat..."
Brittany shakes her head. "In truth? No. They're a rabble, on their own.
It's the central figure, whomever, or whatever, he might be, that has shaped
them into a mechanical force. The planning they display is far more than
they are capable of. His death is, I dare to say, more vital than retaking
the Caern." She knows how well *that* will go over, and raises her hand,
quickly, to call for quiet, so she can add, "We lost our home, but, in time,
can win it back. Should this 'Marubel' escape, however, he may well cause
several others to fall. Our one versus several of others. It's hardly a good
choice, but, in my personal opinion, he takes precedence."
Kaz snorts. "Did you get the news about Western Eye already?"
Brigid's head comes up from contemplation at Kaz' question, frowning. "News?
What's happened?"
Salem continues to stare at Tobin for a moment longer, simmering rage under
tight control. With effort, he pulls his attention away from the cub, and
his possible desire to smack said cub upside the head, and back toward more
productive modes of thought. Focussing on Kaz and Brit, he relays the news.
"It's under seige. Their pathstone is broken."
Tobin looks around at Salem, the expression on his face making it clear that
he's getting that sinking feeling in his stomach.
Brittany sighs a bit. "Lovely. We'll be getting no more aid from that front,
nor can Liberty spare any hands. This one will be bloody, unless we can
somehow convince those of the Spiral that their lord has his own intrests in
mind, rather than theirs. They're little more than cannon fodder in this."
Brigid briefly looks as though somebody socked her in the stomach. "Damn."
she murmurs, slipping back into preoccupied thoughtfulness, hand loosely
covering her mouth.
Kaz says, "If /you/ wanna try and talk to them, feel free. Anyways, I'll
perfectly happily let the folks who'er good at lookin' for answers look for
answers, but /while/ they're doin' that, I'm gonna /keep/ trying to retake
this damn Caern. I accept the necessity of splitting attention; I don't
accept the necessity of ignoring /our/ Caern entirely."
Brittany shakes her head. "The Wheel fell twice, Seattle burned on my watch,
and Hanford, over which I spilled blood and tears, is gone as well. I'm
tired of losing our sacred places, Kaz. This one, I take back."
Salem mutters, utterly deadpan, "Hear, hear."
"Bloody damn right." growls Brigid lowly, eyes flicking up to look around.
There's a smile, if only slight. "Sounds like a plan, stan."
Brittany says "That being said, we do have a few situations. Fog has been
broken, his essence drawn from. As a repository of our secrets, its safe to
assume that they're aware of our safe places, such as the former safehouse,
as well as this very home. Needless to say, these are not to be gathered at
until the problem is discharged. There is another meeting place, now, where
we can gather. Contact Kaz for information, later, when details are
available. If there's anything you've told Fog in the meantime. Anything
personal or ... private ... it's safe to assume that they are now in
possession of same. If at all possible, let someone know, so that we can
prepare. In addition, the Earthquake is ... problematic.""
Kaz makes one of those 'do go on' gestures. "Problematic?"
Brigid raises an eyebrow at Brittany in a similar gesture.
Salem's face twists at mention of the safehouse; he wipes at his mouth, then
goes rigid and cold again, or some semblence thereof, anyway.
Brittany says "You might have noted that it fell on the new moon. For those
without history, you may or may not know that the Dancers of the Black
Spiral like to parody us, and, as such, do their strongest rites under the
new, not full, moon. They did ... something ... to produce the effect, or,
more likely, it was a side effect of something that they did. Fog being of
air, I'd be willing to presume that they used Earth forces to drive it away,
leaving the Caern hollow, in a sense, and ready for impregnation with
whatever bane they wish. This, mind you, is only theory."
Kaz says, "Yadda yadda yadda Trichlorotrifluoroethaneous. But you know,
they've pushed their fucker of a Rite back to the half moon, accordin' to
Andrea an' her Totem, an' also, it ain't Fog they got the Safehouse from."
Brittany's turn to look surprised, now. "It wasn't?"
"No," says Salem, quietly. "It wasn't."
Brigid continues to look curious, as information is passed around, eyes
bright and alert.
Kaz swallows, and explains, "Kin. Glissa Nicholson. She got... taken, see.
But the only places she knew abojt were the Safehouse and the Rialto."
Brittany nods. "I knew her. Bought the land parcel below my own. Remind me
to check into her will, afterwards. We might be able to leverage it for the
future." She manages a half-hearted 'lemons to lemonade' smile, adding, "No
sense in giving more of teh Bawn away to a stranger."
Kaz shakes her head. "She sold that, awhile ago. To another Kin. But
anyways, so as far as /I/ know, they ain't gotten any secrets from /Fog/.
An' given fuckin' Glissa, I ain't assumin' /anyone's/ not suspicious. Reggie
there smells a little, an' so do you. /You/ been in the Hospital, though, so
that makes sense. Reggie... Less so. I'm gonna be /watchin'/ him."
Salem intently studies a house plant, listening to the others without
looking at them, fingers digging into his arms.
Brittany asks, of Salem, "Care for any of my pills?"
Salem, after a moment, turns his eye onto the Fang. "Pardon?"
Brittany nods towards Salem's arms. "You seem a bit stressed. I've got
Valium, if you need a bit of release."
Salem glances down, then unfolds his arms and clasps his hands behind his
back instead. "Thank you," he says, all civil but cold, "but no. In fact, I
should be heading back."
Kaz seems to find Salem's reaction to this vaguely fascinating.
Brittany nods, then.
Salem looks over toward the Bone Gnawer. "You know how to reach me, if
anything more should come up."
Kaz nods, once. "Surely do. You have a good trip back."
Salem nods. "Likewise." He dips his head in a slight bow toward the Fang
elder, then turns on his heel and heads for the door.![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
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