Jacob's Rite of Cleansing
1/10/2009
Logfile from GarouMUSH.
Currently the moon is in the waxing Full Moon phase (97% full).
It is currently 18:43 Pacific Time on Sat Jan 10 2009.
Currently in Saint Claire, it is raining lightly. The temperature is 40 degrees Fahrenheit (4 degrees Celsius). The wind is currently coming in from the southwest at 9 mph. The barometric pressure reading is 30.48 and falling, and the relative humidity is 89 percent. The dewpoint is 37 degrees Fahrenheit (2 degrees Celsius.)
WWNP Campground(#3292RAJ)
A well-tended dirt road, lined with neatly placed rocks winds a sinuous path amongst a pleasing array of camp sites. The tall trees and loamy forest floor provide a cathedral-like atmosphere for visitors to the park. Daytime, lancets of sunshine spike through the evergreen canopy to the russet ground. At night, gentle fingers of moonlight and the occasional glimmer of starlight navigate the maze of branches to the terra firma.
The sites are situated well apart from each other, each providing an illusion of isolation to the occupants. They are equipped with an upright barbequeue and a ring of fire-stones. The ground here is relatively level and smooth, providing a decent repose for the city-soft. Two well-maintained facilities at opposite end of the site provide showers, water faucets, and restrooms. Foot-trails extend into the forest, but return after short diversions of less than a couple of miles.
The grounds appear, more than anything, pristine. This will undoubtedly change.
The dirt road dead ends at the far end, near the restroom, but it continues out to the main park road at its other end.
Contents:
Lefty
Mouse
Stacey
Masao
Pizza
Jonathan
Kavi
Jacob
Obvious exits:
Out to the Main Road
A cold rainy day in Washington does not make for ideal camping weather, yet there is one vehicle in the parking lot of the campground area at Wolf Woods. A black Monte Carlo, currently running, sits parked with totally fogged up windows. Or. Maybe that's smoke.
Vehicles left behind, some distance away, Stacey, Kenneth, and Fidelity (or as many as could be gathered) follow along behind Mouse as she leads the way. Once they near the campground, the destination becomes clear, and Kavi pulls ahead of the others. He turns a worried glance back toward Masao and Pizza, and then rushes toward the car.
Pizza, in lupus, lopes ahead at Kavi's side, her bushy tail streaming out behind her. She leaps -- bouncing into the air as though there were springs on her paws -- and lands on the hood of the Monte Carlo.
Masao shivers a bit in the damp and returns the glance from Kavi with a determined reassurance. It doesn't do much to mask the concern she shows as she, too, heads for the car. Perhaps out of habit, she flanks the car and heads around its back for the other side.
Stacey sticks close to Kenneth, once they're out of the cars, following behind the others as they approach the car Jacob is supposedly within. "Thanks for comin'," she notes softly to her packmate.
Jonathan follows along behind the group, looking extremely ill at ease with the entire situation. He spares a quick glance around before following along in the sake of Kavi.
Mouse tucks the small green stone into the palm of her hand and brings up the rear. She's moving stiffly still, and overall she mostly looks very tired.
Kenneth stands at the ready for the bringing out of the one to be cleansed. Carried with him is a pouch of herbs for the ritual. The Shadow Lord stands beside Stacey, sticking beside his pack alpha as Fidelity goes to retrieve their own packmate. The philodox in his Glabro form rumbles in a lower tone from his painted face, "Are you kiddin', I wouldn't miss this for the world."
Inside the car, Jacob startles and the horn gets laid on. It's muffled, but clear enough to be understood. "What the fuck!? Get offa the fuckin' car are you stupid?" The door opens and the acrid smoke wafts out in a rush as if even /it/ wanted to escape that hotbox.
Pizza yelps, tauntingly, toenails scraping up the paint as she scrabbles on the hood and then makes another, more mundane, bounce onto the roof. You're out, you're out, and we're all here!
Kavi is almost at the door as it opens, right there as Jacob emerges. He coughs at the rush of smoke, but doesn't back up. "Jacob-rhya. We've... We found you."
Masao, mostly at the back of the car by this point, pauses dead and waits with tense posture. She watches hawklike to see what, if anything, Jacob is going to do while not saying a word as yet.
Jonathan says nothing, as per his usual. Instead, he merely waits to the back of the group, gaze on the ground and hands thrust into his pockets.
Stacey frowns as the rest near the car, and she nudges Kenneth, giving him a significant look before she strides forward, also shifting into Glabro. "Jacob, we've gotta talk. I've been hearing about you being stressed, and so we should work out how to make that better, you know?" She even reaches inside as the door opens, hand moving for his arm to pull him out.
Jacob seems one tracked as he comes out, though Kavi's voice almost halts him. Stacey gets a look and then he's moving to get past her, "Get off the fucking car Pizza, you're scratching the hell out of it. You want me to do that to /your/ paint job?"
Kenneth grunts as the horn blasts out of the car, and pushes forward to head to the driver's side. He motions for the Fidelity members to get in and surround the car. Waiting on Stacey's flank, his hands spread ready to receive any bolting Child galliards. The moment Jacob moves to pass, he moves to intercept. "Oh no you don't," growls the halfmoon.
Pizza's tail waves back and forth. I don't have a paint job! Besides, you can play with any of my toys, I don't mind!
Mouse's mouth thins considerably. She's an observer right now, though.
Jonathan hangs at the back of the circle surrounding his packmate, not meeting the Gaian's gaze for more than a moment. He winces at the sound of the horn. Pizza's rejoinder is almost enough to twitch a smile from the Theurge, though.
"Jacob-rhya," Kavi says with a little more force. "You're sick. We need to help you." He's right there at Jacob's side, Kenneth just a step behind him. "This isn't right." He doesn't put a hand on the other galliard, yet, but his hands rise before him in that small space, either a gesture of supplication, or a precuror to grabbing.
Masao moves at Kenneth's gesture, paying little heed to the car's exterior when she clambers up over the trunk towards the roof. There was the faintest wince at the horn, but she's focused on the Gaian like a cat on a mouse.
Well! Stacey lets Jacob move past her, keeping quiet as his attention is on the others. Instead, she attempts to approach from behind, rage speeding her movement as she moves to wrap her arm around his neck in a hold. "You're gonna be cleansed, damn it."
"Sick? Yeah, sick and tired of people abusing my stuff." It's then Jacob moves in attempt to aim himself at the wolf. "Th'fuck are you all out here? I told Kaz to tell people to give me goddamn space, and intead you come out to fucking surround me?" Then he's grabbed, and in a swift moment of panic and rage, there's now a Crinos erupting into frenzy. There's nowhere to go really, with Kenneth holding the door he just stepped out of and Kavi in front of him. ...but there are plenty of targets! The first of which, is Kenneth.
Mouse hisses several choice words. "Get him down /fast/, before someone sees." She's already moving forward, blurring up into crinos herself to aid in this endeavor.
Kenneth growls at Jacob's words, but the eruption into a frenzy makes the philodox take steps back. In response, the halfmoon shifts rapidly to a lupus form to dodge the wildly swiping claws of the galliard. Rather than attempt to attack, he dodges to a side to lure the frenzied Child away from the vehicle. Get him out into the open and hold him! calls out the Shadow Lord.
Twice in three days Kavi has witnessed his packmate fall into frenzy and been only inches or feet away. His own anger flashes as he pushes into Crinos. He uses everything he has to bring his fists down on the Gaian's skull with as much force as he can. He makes use of Jacob's focus on the Shadow Lord to get behind him, to get striks in where he can make them count.
Jonathan rises into his natural form, letting out an uncertain growl as his packmate erupts into a frenzy. Seeming at a loss for quite what to do, the Silver Fang is frozen where he stands.
Masao scrambles up to the roof of the car, bracing herself for a second and gritting her teeth. "I told you, bro, I ain't gonna let this shit stand. I fuckin' mean it." she growls before shifting to Crinos and launching herself at Jacob's head and neck. Her main aim is to use momentum and shove him away from the car.
Pizza scrabbles down from roof to hood to ground, her movements brisk and frisky -- though she's worried as heck underneath the obvious facade of glib ragabashery. She circles around and runs back and forth, anxious.
Stacey releases Jacob as he burst up into Crinos, backing away and letting the pack that moves in handle him. Her gaze shifts to Kenneth, checking to make sure he's okay. And ready.
Strong-Heart lets out a snarl as his target shrinks in size and his strike finds nothing but air. Not more than a flicker of an eyelid passes suddenly he's got a multi-sided assault on him. His frenzied rage turns then on Kavi, claws lashing out just once before Masao ninja-leaps him from behind. The sheer force of impact topples him forward, halting the offensive from it's course on Kavi and giving the Walker very clear shots to his head. It takes only a few more wallops before he goes down with a thud.
Lune-Calmer, by the time he thinks to react, finds the fight well in hand. So it is that he merely wrings his claws and moves to stand near the fallen Gaian. ~Poor brother.~
Ringtone howls at the pain, cutting it off after only a second. He drops to his knees in glabro once Jacob falls, and his gaze searches out the Shadow Lord.
Far-Cry waits on the outside of the pack for the galliard to be brought low. Once they've finished, he makes the shift back to Glabro to draw a loose circle using the herbs and ashes from his pouch. ~Put him in the circle without breaking the border, and take positions around the cardinal directions,~ instructs the halfmoon. He picks up the pace around the circle that he draws, growling out in a plaintive call, ~Spirits of the Mother, hear us! Bring the balance back to this one who is tainted by the Wyrm! Fire, Air, Earth, Water! Spirit of Gaia, drive out the demon and fill her with your strength!~
Pizza 'dances' agitatedly, then scrambles in close to lick Jacob's ear before joining in with the others to help the Galliard get cleansed. She shifts up to Crinos once she's taken a place at the border and stands alert, ears pricked, jaw gaping as she pants.
Masao growls under her breath as Jacob goes down and glances at Far-Cry. Mutely, she follows his instruction to place the Galliard before taking up one of the positions. She crouches, watching her downed packmate, and shivers a little for no obvious reason.
Lune-Calmer does as he's instructed, stepping carefully over the barriers before going to stand as indicated. The Silver Fang looks nervously back and forth until the ritual starts in earnest. At that point, he's all ears.
First-Strike takes up a position at the edge of the circle. She's tense, slightly hunched over.
Kavi grabs one arm, unmindful of the blood staining his clothes. He looks across at Masao as they move the Gaian within the circle, and then he, too, takes up his place around the circle.
Jacob twitches slightly once inside of the circle. A groan falls from his lips as his eyes flutter open, and then, after a moment of uncertainty he's awake and panicked. "No! Nooo!" he growls out and moves to try and break free of the circle.
~Hold him!~ Kenneth commands, stepping into the circle once he's completed it and getting amidst the group holding the galliard. It's like a forced exorcism with the Shadow Lord bodily kneeling over the struggling Child, holding him as well while chanting incessantly. ~Mother Gaia, feel the pain of your Child! Succor him with your purity, and drive away the taint of his madness! Wyrm! Hear me, you shall be Cleansed!~
Lune-Calmer is quick to react this time, and moves with alacrity to attempt to pin one of the the Galliard's arms to the ground. ~Be still, pack brother!~
Masao moves quickly, settling her warform-weight body as much as she can onto Jacob's legs to pin them to the ground. She says nothing that might disrupt the Shadow Lord's chanting.
Kavi is quick to jump back into the circle, holding Jacob down with all his strength. He doesn't look up, again, watching the galliard's limb, instead, intent on where he holds.
First-Strike also moves to hold one of Jacob's limbs, grimacing faintly.
Pizza joins in, all but pouncing to hold the Galliard down. ~It's going to be okay!~ she yelps.
If a wolf were ever to wonder what it is like to be the prey instead of the predator, then Jacob is getting a fine lesson on that. He lets out a sharp hiss, pulling and tugging to absolutely no avail as his body is pinned completely under his packmates and friends. Then there is a fierce crying out from the Gaian Galliard and his thrashing grows stronger. This cry, is born of pain, and he struggles now in attempt to roll over rather than to push the others off him.
Kenneth moves his large hand to hold down Jacob's forehead, chant intensifying to a climax. ~Strong Heart Stops the Fall, BE CLEANSED BY THE POWER OF THE GREAT GODDESS!~ The warpaint dedicated to his Glabro features creates a fierce mask from which the Shadow Lord's eyes burn with determination born of willpower. He brings his fearsome features face to face with the galliard's as he takes firmer hold of the head.
Kavi holds tight to the arm and shoulder, using his own body-weight to keep the galliard from squirming or rolling to far. He growls through a breath, voice tightly focused. ~Won't let you go.~
Masao growls and shifts her weight on the Galliard again, keeping him under as much control as is possible right now. ~Can't get rid of us that easily, brother.~
Lune-Calmer doesn't say anything, paying all his attention to the simple action of pinning his chosen limb to the ground.
Pizza keeps repeating, ~It's okay, it's going to be okay!~ as she helps keep Jacob pinned.
Stacey isn't one that's holding onto Jacob, but she watches the rite being performed keenly, ready nearby in case she's needed.
The Galliard being cleansed goes suddenly pale green and then his head thrusts back against the ground below in a grimace of total pain. He screams out again, thrashing with renewed effort as he begs the others to get off of him. "G-get off, ffuuuck, get offa me. Hurts..." The scent of blood becomes vaguely present and then, something odd. There's crawling. Lots of it. Crawling up over the Gaian, and crawling /out/ of the Gaian. And those who pin him seem to be the destination of this crawling swarm of small larvae sized leeches.
First-Strike's ears tip straight back, and she snarls. ~/Don't/ touch them.~ For her part, she draws back, and, if any leech should venture /off/ of the Gaian onto the dirt, they might suddenly have flames to contend with from the Walker Theurge.
Kenneth releases Jacob's head as the Child tenses up and the scent of blood becomes prevalent in the air. He pushes up to his feet as the swarm of larvae burrows out of the Gaian. ~Lift! Let him up!~ He helps in grabbing onto a shoulder, hoping to haul Jacob up out of the swarm. Spotting a few of the leeches on him, he swipes a hand down to knock them off as he can from his enlarged clothing.
Pizza's ears go flat against her skull, and her eyes widen with alarm. ~The sewer!~ She snaps out of her startlement when Kenneth starts pulling Jacob away and quickly moves to help.
Lune-Calmer takes First Strike at her word, pulling back as far as he can to avoid the swarming creatures. Then he, too, is attempting to lift the Galliard away from the leeches. He barely holds in the desire to burn the things, baring his teeth at them. ~Away!~
Kavi doesn't seem about to let Jacob go, but at the command from Kenneth, he obeys. The leeches that reach him are squished beneath massive fingers as the galliard pushes to his feet. Others are stomped beneath his boot.
There's a yelp out of the Gnawer as Masao first scrambles away from the swarm, staring at them wide-eyed for a second and shrinking to Glabro. Then Kenneth's words sink in and she moves to help lift Jacob as best she can. She doesn't need to say a thing more, her expression displays enough fear and disgust at the things to speak volumes.
Stacey blinks as the leeches start to come out of Jacob. She does move to go attack them as well, but halts at Mouse's words. Instead, she grabs a small rock and smashes the ones that near her with that instead.
As Jacob is hauled up, the source of that swarm can be guessed at. The small of his back is stained red and the maggot like juveniles are dropping from his body and scurrying toward whoever they can find. There's still that pale color to Jacob as his eyes close and he pants for air. While the Garou don't attack them, the swarm is madly dashing toward them. Kenneth feels the biting sting of one at his hand, though it's not just stinging the halfmoon but trying to burrow into him.
First-Strike unleashes fire now, as soon as the leeches begin touching ground, and as much as she can (safely) get away with. Her eyes are narrowed and her teeth clenched tightly as she gestures, focusing on the main bunch of them.
As soon as Jacob is lifted from the ground, Lune-Calmer wastes no time. Calling upon one of his gifts, the Silver Fang drops a gout of fire onto the thickest cluster of the leech-like creatures he can find. A weird, whining giggle escapes him. ~Burn, burn!~
Kenneth pulls off the larvae that crawl upon him, snarling with a smash of his hand against the other to kill the maggot. Then he spots the source of the Wyrm's taint and pulls Jacob aside with the others. ~Get the ones coming out of his back,~ says the Shadow Lord. The ones on the ground are left to the metis with their gift.
Kavi grabs at them, now, much like the pack did in the sewer, grab, smash, and squish. Teeth bared, he keeps going, keeps moving, just a low snarl in his throat.
Masao does much the same as Kavi, squishing the things under the soles of her sneakers violently and reaching for more. "Dammit, I fuckin' hate these things!"
Jacob is far more easily pulled now, the fight leaving him as the exhaustion of the cleansing weighs him down. He heaves and coughs in the tell tale sign of what's to come next while the others work to get him cleansed. His back, once the shirt is moved, shows off that 50-cent sized mark of discoloration with a single spiderlike vein reaching out from it. It's ruptured now, and what was apparently an egg sack is in the process of rapidly burrowing out of him in premature birth.
Pizza holds onto Jacob, meanwhile, while trying to help knock the leeches off him. She whimpers, not quietly.
First-Strike continues to make fire, her lips wrinkled. ~So glad I didn't /bite/ you,~ she mutters.
Lune-Calmer's laughter only increases in pitch as things become that much more disturbing. All the same, the metis' tail is tucked between his legs at the side of the egg. Another gout of flame flares up.
Kenneth continues to fight off the little leeches until all of them have been exterminated, but holds onto the galliard until it looks like his packmates have a good support frame. The Cleansing Rite he continues until the last of the Wyrm is destroyed. By the end, the remnants of the Wyrmspawn's guts burning, the philodox calls one last howl to Gaia to finalize the purifying process. Afterwards, he steps out of the circle of herb and ash, growling out. ~It is done,~ rumbles the tired halfmoon.
Kaz slips in to give Stacey a break, managing to burn a few Wyrm-things as she does. "Shee-yit," she mutters.
Stacey spots Kaz moving in and moves out to take up the watch, taking her rock along with her. Jacob's given one last concerned glance before the Ahroun slips off into the woods.
As the rite finishes and the festering larvae lies destroyed, Jacob slumps against his packmates. He looks down, then closes his eyes and brings a hand up to his forehead as a tremble comes over him.
Kavi moves in to help with the last of the leeches, turning a thankful gaze not to Kenneth, but to Stacey, as she steps away. He looks from one to another of his packmates, but even as his concerned gaze falls at last to Jacob, it turns more worried still. "Lefty." The name is a mere whisper under his breath and he swallows.
First-Strike takes a step back once all is done, and drops to a crouch a fair distance away from the leech killing field.
Pizza shrinks down into lupus and presses close to Jacob. Her muzzle sneaks toward his chin, and her tongue swipes out to lick his face.
Kaz kills some more leeches. While getting her cell phone out. "I ain't found her yet," she says, while dialing a number.
Masao moves up a bit once the leeches are dealth with and kneels, supporting Jacob against her side. One hand reaches out to rest against his side in an attempt at comfort. Her eyes sort of focus off in the air for a little bit.
Jacob leans against Masao and reaches a hand out to Pizza. Though there's nothing audible, there are tears that fall from his cheeks. "Sorry guys," he offers genuinely. A glance goes up to Kaz and Kavi. "She's- not where she can usually be found?"
Kavi looks down at Jacob and frowns, shaking his head. "She didn't answer her phone. And. And I had to find you. I... I /knew/ you were sick. I ... I needed to find you, first." There's something fierce in his gaze as it flickers up to Jacob's face and then back down. But he swallows again, and looks off in the direction of the bawn.
Kaz says, as if thinking about it, "Well, I ain't looked at the Fury place yet. But I been a lil' /busy/, you know?" And then, into the phone, she mutters something quiet.
First-Strike shrinks down into homid, though she doesn't change her position. Her expression is inscrutable, most of her attention on Jacob, but occasionally shifting from him to Kavi or Kaz.
Pizza licks away Jacob's tears -- some of them, anyway. It's okay, it's okay. We were stupid! Should have seen. Bad Wyrmthings.
Masao's focus back on the here and now and she growls under her breath, returning to homid almost as an afterthought. "She's out there, but I can't reach her. Dammit." she mutters, shaking her head and rubbing her hand gently against Jacob's side. "I got mad, I didn't help."
Jacob runs his fingers against Pizza's fur in gratitude for her words and affection, but Kavi's statement lifts his attention to his packbrother. "Kavi. I'm sorry." There's pain in those words and he can't hold the gaze of the other galliard for lone. "W-what can I do right /now/ to help?" Not that he looks in any condition to help.
Kavi swallows again, and he glances up at Mouse and Kaz before turning back to his three packmates. "You should go home. You should go home and... and rest, and get... get /really/ better." He pulls in a deeper breath and presses his hand against the blood stain on his chest. "I... I'm going to try to find her. I'll tell you. When I do? And if you're well enough... if you're really better, you should come, then. Because we have to do this, again."
Mouse looks, at Kavi's words, /utterly/ exhausted. She reaches up with one hand and runs it sharply through her hair, before standing up.
Kaz mutters into the phone.
"I'll come with you, Kavi." Masao says quietly, glancing around the campground slowly. She focuses on Mouse for a moment and looks concerned for the Walker Elder.
Jacob nods to Kavi and then moves to stand up. He's stiff and tired, but he manages. It's Mouse he goes to next, again, having a hard time looking up to her, "Mouse, I owe you an apology too. I'm sorry about the other night. I- thanks for, finding me." He looks toward Masao and Pizza then, "Someone able to drive the car back home?"
Mouse offers Jacob a half shrug. "We were both being assholes. Don't worry 'bout it."
Kaz calls, phone in one hand now, grinning just a touch, "Hey /Jacob/, you wanna talk t'your girlfriend?"
Kavi nods once to Masao, but then his gaze slides to Mouse, brow furrowing. "I... Mouse-rhya..." He lets the thought drop, looking to the others for the answer to Jacob's question.
Masao looks at the car blankly for a moment, as if having forgotten it was there. "Um, I don't know how to drive..." she says, quite matter-of-factly, running one hand across her hair.
Jacob blinks at Kaz and looks to the phone. "Does she, Yes. Please." He takes in a deep breath then and moves to get the phone from Kaz.
Kaz tosses it over, and then tells Kavi, "I /can/ drive. If you want."
As Kavi lets the thought drop, Mouse doesn't pursue it. Her attention shifts back to Jacob.
Kavi nods again at Kaz's offer. "Thank you, Kaz-rhya." Stepping in closer to the Adren, he adds quietly, "Make sure he's okay?" Then he looks to Masao with a nod, and takes a step away.
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