Smoke & Mirrors: Morgan's Dream
05/04/2006
Logfile from GarouMUSH.
[GMNote: Stacey GMed this dream sequence.]
[In the Fianna Grotto.]
The soothing roar of the waterfall within the grotto eventually lulls the Fianna Metis to sleep as she lays curled in her sleeping bag. The forgetful peace of slumber soon gives way to the realm of dreams and visions. Morgan now sits on the other side of a very different waterfall, the one within the Sacred Heart itself. She sits next to the pool into which it falls. It's even grander in her dream, sparkling as the Full Moon strikes it, as if little fair-folk were dancing within it. The Caern appears to be in a restful state, quiet. No one but the new Cliath around.
Song-of-Luna stretches a little, seemingly somewhat baffled by the change in location, but not much. It's the heart of the Caern, after all, and the waterfall itself is soothing. Her ears turn back, and she looks down at the sparkling pool with faint curiosity, sniffing.
The Fianna almost falls into the pool as an earthquake rocks the ground beneath her, the water splashing over the edge. The faint scent of smoke reaches her nose, as well as the recognizable stink of the city. All is still within an instant, but a feeling of disquiet settles over the Caern, a sense of grave expectation.
Song-of-Luna yelps, desperately trying to steady herself with all four limbs. She hugs the ground until the shaking stops, as if she might be flung off of it completely if she didn't hold tight enough. And the smell...ugh. Her nose wrinkles, and she twists her head from side to side, not looking so much as sniffing, trying to pinpoint where the sudden smell has come from.
The sense of being watched grows steadily as the Fianna looks from side to side, and it's not a good feeling either. As her gaze shifts back in the direction of the pool, she sees a figure standing on the other side. At first, all she can make out is smoke as it moves forward. Then a black paw, and as her gaze travels up, she sees a large black wolf, a menacing figure, with black and gray smoke curling around it like a shroud. And its eyes... There are mirrors where there should be eyes.
The fur all along the back of Song-of-Luna's neck rises as she sniffs in the strange wolf's direction. ~Who are you?~ she asks, not nearly as challenging as she might like. ~Are you metis?~
The Shadow Wolf gives no answer to the Fianna's questions, but instead continues its advance towards the pool. It stops at the edge, turning its mirror-gaze on Song-of-Luna in almost a challenge before it plunges its corrupted paw into the water.
Song-of-Luna stiffens at that, a moment of incredible uncertainty. ~Who are you?~ This time it's far more demand than not. ~You should not be here.~ And that one sentence seems to absolve her of her misgivings--she starts around the pool edge, trying to get to where the black wolf is.
Another paw is placed into the water, and then the silent wolf returns its gaze to the Metis, watching her as she makes her way toward it. Black tendrils begins to spread from its paws, mixing with and changing the pool's water. The stink of smoke and scab grows almost unbearable.
Once again, it's the smell, rather than the sight, that seems to spark the metis to action. She breaks into a run, a mad dash to reach the other wolf, suddenly snarling. ~Stop that!~
The black wolf doesn't stop, but almost seems to laugh as she dashes toward it. A cold, heartless laugh. It makes, however, no move to defend itself. The oily corruption continues to spread, moving faster even, soon about to spread throughout the pool.
Song-of-Luna lunges at the wolf. The smell is maddening. The silent laughter grates at a temper already far too large for her auspice. While she doesn't exactly lose control, not yet anyway, her attack comes as a fury that contrasts terribly sharply with the prior nervousness and fear.
The Galliard strikes with righteous anger at the Shadow Wolf, and still it makes no move to return the attack. She does manage to push him out of the water, but the corruption remains. Strangely, and painfully, each wound she causes to the wolf appears as a wound upon her own body.
Song-of-Luna yelps again, as with her fury it actually does take her a few strikes to realize this bit of unpleasantness. She draws back, just for a moment, panting at the sudden injuries. Then she lunges again, snarling, not with claws and teeth this time but sheer weight, attempting to push this wolf further and further away from the pool, if nothing else.
Well, that seems to work much better. The wolf is pushed farther and farther back, yet still the chilly laugh echoes in her ears. Behind her, the water ripples... And what appears to be the coil of a snake breaks the surface. Its ugly green scales shimmering in the faint light.
Song-of-Luna's battle cry is hardly terrifying. ~You need to go away!~ Her lips are peeled back from her teeth, however, and while she's not biting or clawing, she still looks as though she's only keeping from doing such by sheer force of will. Either she's oblivious to the coil, or she's more focused on the wolf--either way, she continues roughly trying to shove the latter away, further and further back.
The Wolf is being pushed farther back. It does its best to appear threatening, baring its teeth, but at the same time, does not seem worried or defeated. It's not long after this that the Fianna sees the large form of the snake slither past, circling both of the fighters within its coils. It seems to sap the life from the Caern, killing what plant-life is near it.
Song-of-Luna jerks toward the coil, changing targets without the conscious thought even entering her head. Once again her attack is full on, with teeth and claws, and even Touch Deer's obsidian knife in one of her lower, clawless hands striking out at the second intruder.
Once again, and it does not take the Fianna long to realize, what wounds she inflicts become her own wounds, to the point that she even stabs herself. The monstrous snake lowers its head, moving so that it is right in front of Song-of-Luna, forcing her to look into its gaze... It's eyes of mirrors. And to see her own refection. Her own mirror eyes.
Song-of-Luna stares in horror at that reflection for one long, time stopping moment. Then, with a wordless cry of outrage she strikes at the serpent's eyes, not with claws but fists, seeking to grapple rather than tear, trying to twist that awful look away from her.
As she strikes, the image fades, colors blurring together and then finally dulling into gray... She hears a voice calling, words that she cannot understand yet contain a sense of urgency, warning. And then nothing. The Fianna gradually awakens from her sleep, back within the grotto.
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