Smoke & Mirrors: Anji's Dream
04/12/2006
Logfile from GarouMUSH.
[GMNote: Stacey GMed this dream sequence.]
[Setting: Inside Anji's mind...]
It's a bright, clear, cold New Hampshire morning and all is quiet around the ostensibly derelict hotel which serves as cub-house and general off-bawn gathering point for the Sept of Three Times Three. Anji's little car, the Goddessmobile, putters quietly up the old highway, deserted but for her, all the long distance traffic now on the new interstate over to the west. In one corner of her mind she knows she shouldn't be here; that she should be at her new home in Washington where she's been living, now, for almost a year. But she's been here so many times that it's second nature for her to park up in the lot, grass pushing through the hardtop surface, and climb out of the car to go see who's in the motel.
A lazy, chill breeze brushes past Anji as she steps out of the car. She doesn't have to look far before she spots her mother, Vanessa, standing in the doorway. Her arms are crossed, and she appears to be speaking with someone inside. As the kin approaches, the Adren turns to look at her, smiling in welcome.
Anji smiles as she recognises her mother and walks over towards the building. "Mom. How's it all fixed?" she asks, opening her arms as she gets near in expectation of a hug.
Vanessa steps forward, uncrossing her arms to hug her daughter. "Just fine, dear, just fine." She steps back, smiling, and reaches out to push back a wayward strand of Anji's hair in a motherly fashion. "What of you? I did not expect you here."
Anji frowns a moment as the duality of the situation again impinges on her consciousness. "Uh... I didn't either, Mom... I guess I'm here anyways though...?" She shakes her head as though trying to clear it.
Vanessa smiles and carries on as if nothing was out of the ordinary about her being here, as only dream figures can. "Well, that's nice. Come on inside. Everyone will be happy to see you." She reaches for Anji's hand, taking a step toward the door of the hotel.
Anji lets her hand slip into the comforting hand of her mother's as she's done countless times throughout her twenty-two years, and moves with her towards the door.
Vanessa squeezes Anji's hand and then leads her into the lobby of the hotel. This room has definitely seen better days, but it is the usual, familiar place. Chairs and couches are abundant, and many are occupied. The only thing that seems to be noticeably different are the numerous mirrors that hang from the walls. Recognizable figures from Anji's past occupy most of the seats or stand leaning against the wall with crossed arms. Most in homid, some in other forms. They turn to look at the kin as she enters, greeting her.
Anji looks around. Many of the sept members she remembers seem to be gathered here; it would be very rare to see so many garou together, but somehow it doesn't seem unusual right now. Neither do the clusters of mirrors that have appeared here seem odd -- even though the motel is entirely free of mirrors by deliberate choice normally, for fear of cubs escaping to the Umbra before they're fit to go there. "Hi!" she says, giving the Black Furies around her a little wave.
Most return to whatever discussions they were having after that first greeting, almost as if Anji were not present. One of the smaller lupus cubs approaches her, however, sniffing at her, tail wagging slightly as it looks up. "We have so many good cubs now," Vanessa comments proudly, then gives a sad sigh as she pats Anji's shoulder. "It's a shame you are not truly one of us. We could have used the help."
"Mom..." Anji says, troubled lines appearing on her brow. "Mom, you... you always said you loved me just as much whether I was or wasn't..." She reaches out to pet the cub, though distractedly.
Vanessa looks at her, smiling sweetly. "Of course I did, Anji. We needed you to think that so that you would be of some use - little as it is - and keep quiet." She loses the smile, looking away. "But it's my greatest shame, that none of my children bred true. Deep down, I hate that you were not born a Garou. That you're a failure."
Tears form in Anji's eyes. She tries desperately to keep them back. "But... but Mom... you hate me... you hate all of us?" She stands there, conscious of all the other garou present, feeling suddenly as though most of them are simply and deliberately ignoring her.
The other Garou have stopped talking to watch now, eyes on the kin, all of their gazes containing the same contempt, disgust. Even the small cub sniffs as though smelling something bad, growling as he backs away, tail held high. "Oh, especially you, Anji," Vanessa continues, shuddering. "You could have at least mated with a decent male Garou and had children to make up for your inadequacy. Instead, you fool around, wasting precious time, not caring about our need for more warriors."
Anji feels blood rushing to her face. "You always said," she protests shrilly, "you always said the reason we were better than the other tribes was that we were the only ones who appreciated the true power of women and gave them the freedom to choose their own lifestyle!" She's trembling angrily. "How can you say that now?"
Vanessa growls at the protest, and the other Garou mimic her snarl, their lips pulling back to reveal extremely sharp fangs. Now Vanessa is the only one still in homid, the others in the towering war form. "Oh, Anji, that freedom is fine up to a point. In the end, we need what we need to win this war, and you're not pulling your weight." She then smiles. "But it's okay. We've taken care of her. You won't have to worry about being distracted from your duty anymore."
The realisation hits Anji like a blow that raising her voice in that way may not have been the most appropriate way to deal with the matter. Panic rises within her as the other crinos, black-furred every one, loom around her. "She..." She swallows hard. "You taught me... you taught me we were all sisters..."
The Crinos seem to crowd around her, fierce and deadly as they loom over her. Voices whisper around her, words that can't quite be made out, but are assuredly about her, pressing in around her. "You're such a weak, useless fool," Vanessa says, then throws back her head and laughs, seeming to move away from her until she is hidden from sight by dark furred figures.
"I'm not weak!" Anji shouts out desperately, but the noise of the garou speaking in some tongue unknown to her drowns out the sound of her own voice, as they press in towards her and Vanessa Kyriacou disappears from view behind their huge, muscular, menacing bodies.
Anji is pressed back against the wall as they come toward her, reaching for her with their clawed hands. If Anji tries to move, she finds it difficult and slow, as if her limbs had been weighed down. The walls around her run thick with blood as the threatening figures come closer, almost reaching her...
Anji raises one arm. The movement is slow, as though the air around her has become as thick as molasses. Slowly she clutches the nearest mirror on the wall she's been backed against, pulling it to her as though she were a true Garou after all and could step sideways to escape. The mirror comes away easily, and she's holding it in front of her face now. And... there's nothing. No reflection. No Anji. Only the grinning teeth and the raised claws of the Black Furies. The mirror drops to the floor and smashes, and Anji jerks awake with a stifled cry, thrashing about so wildly that she all but throws herself out of bed.
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