Smoke & Mirrors: Wrong Way's Dream
05/21/2006
Logfile from GarouMUSH.
[GMNote: Stacey GMed this dream sequence.]
[Somewhere in the Umbra...]
As Wrong Way stops for rest during her Umbral travels, a lethargy gradually creeps over her, tugging her mind deeper into the world of visions. As the dream mist clears, she sees a large city stretched out before her, all normal and quiet, cars busily driving back and forth along the highways. It is quickly recognizable as St. Claire by one who has spent much time among its streets. It would seem an average day, but the Gnawer sees a large cloud of smoke and dust rising into the air from somewhere near its center.
Wrong Way's attention focuses on the dustcloud, her body momentarily rigid.
The smoke continues to rise, clouding the air, spreading out over the city, drawing closer to the Gnawer's position. The red of flames can just barely be detected, and where the smoke spreads, sounds of violence can be heard. Crashes, gun shots, screams, explosions. Even before the cloud reaches her, Wrong Way can smell the stink of the city, the choking smoke, and sickness.
Wrong Way seeks out the source of the stink, snorting out the flavor of disease.
Wrong Way's view sweeps down, taking her past the site of the collapsed hospital, and then she is standing among the streets of St. Claire, not far from the Odeon. She can see chaos around her, while she herself is unnoticed by the humans. Some fight with fists, knives, guns, whatever they can get their hands on. Stores are raided, windows broken, doors smashed. There are others, though, that sit huddled, hugging themselves and sobbing, or staring out with a vacant, unnerving expression of despair.
Those who fight and thrash are given only cursory study, her focus favoring the long haired woman huddled under the patchwork blanket.
The woman rocks back and forth, shaking her head as tears stream down her face, her hands clutching the blanket tightly against her. As Wrong Way becomes more focused, the woman's desperate mumbling becomes audible over the din of battle that surrounds them. "Can't go on. No hope, no hope no hope no hope..."
Wrong Way takes another sweeping glance at the chaos, then focuses again on the woman, searching, though uncertain for what.
The scents from before are even more prevalent here, the smoke clouding the sky overhead, dimming the light. The sense of sickness is especially strong around the woman, and around any of the others that Wrong Way focuses upon, almost making the Gnawer nauseous.
Wrong Way takes a hobbling step backward, hacking as though about to vomit. Then, with more care, she again focuses her attention on the woman. She searches her over, intent on finding something, some source, or sign.
The woman remains a puzzle, nothing more than the despair and smell of sickness can be gleaned as the Gnawer tries to discover more. Yet while she is intent upon the woman, a warning begins to prick at the back of her mind, the sensation of being watched, stalked. Out of the corner of her eyes, she sees a dark figure, lupine, with eyes that glint like glass or mirrors.
Wrong Way hobbles backward, not yet looking directly at the odd figure, but accutely aware of it.
The figure remains within the edge of her vision, to her right, and as the Gnawer becomes more aware of its presence, she can see that darkness and smoke wrap about it like a shroud. It remains unmoving, mirror eyes unblinking, yet Wrong Way can almost feel the sense of dark amusement and malice that radiates from it.
Wrong Way moves a slow circle, always keeping the figure within her peripheral vision, still not attempting to challenge it by taking direct focus.
The shadowed wolf seems to move with Wrong Way as she circles, but either it loses interest or decides she is not a threat, for it turns its gaze away from her and instead steps toward the huddled woman, who begins to scream and thrash, eyes wide with terror, sobbing hopelessly between cries.
Wrong Way now looks directly at the creature, trying to suss out what it is.
It's hard to tell exactly /what/ it is. A wolf, perhaps, with black fur, so black it almost seems to absorb the light around it, and round, lidless eyes of mirrors. It seems to grow in strength and height, while the woman slumps weakly against the wall, still sobbing.
The time of complacent observation is over, and Wrong Way launches herself at the creature, nearly doubling in size as she slides into hispo form.
Well, the Gnawer certainly puts up a good fight, unlike the shadowed wolf. It bears its teeth at her in a threatening gesture, but otherwise fails to defend itself. She claws, she bites... and in turn she is clawed and bitten. She rips open his side, only to have her own side be opened instead.
Wrong Way halts her attack, backing off and growling. ~What are you?~
As if in answer, the dream shifts. Now Wrong Way stands upon the rock slab in the Hidden Walk's Caern. From her position, she can see several others nearby. One standing in the windy spot, another by the waterfall, yet another within the Heart's center, and there are other figures barely visible on the outskirts. All are black shadow-like figures of Crinos shape with eyes like mirrors. She can also tell that where the central boulder should be, there instead stands a stone tablet with written engraved upon it.
Wrong Way looks to each of the creatures before settling upon the tablet. She studies the writing carefully, as if forcing every detail into memory.
It's actually not hard for the Gnawer to tell what it says, whatever her reading level, for once she figures out some of it, the rest is easy to guess. It is the Litany. Listed out reverently... or perhaps was at one point, but now the tablet is crumbling, the words fading, and a few laws have even been clawed at, including the first and last.
Wrong Way's eyes narrow as she shrinks back into breed form. She begins walking the circle of the seasons, watching these mirror-people and looking now and again at the central tablet.
The three mirror-people within the Caern seem agitated as Wrong Way walks the seasons, growling and baring their teeth, claws flexing in badly controlled Rage, while most of the outer figures stand with their shoulders slumped, heads bowed in defeat. The Gnawer hears a hiss from the edge, and then a large horned serpent comes into view, also with eyes of mirrors, and it begins circling in the opposite direction, reaching the Windy Spot first and coiling about the shadowed Crinos there.
Wrong Way steels herself, and continues her forward circling.
The serpent watches as Wrong Way passes, its horned head turning with her, and then it lets out another hiss, mouth opening to reveal poison-dripping fangs. It bites into the leg of the shadow figure, and the Crinos' mirror-eyes turn a sickly shade of green before it roars out in rage and pain before it leaps forward to attack the central tablet.
Wrong Way watches without altering her route or further slowing her passage.
The Serpent once more begins to slither in its anti-circle, passing by the rock slab and heading toward the steam vents, while the Crinos continues to wildly attack the stone, biting and clawing in a definite frenzy.
Wrong Way contemplates the crinos mirror creature attacking stone, her gaze picking out the damage being done, even as she passes the Waterfall and heads on toward the traditional place of the Theurge.
The Litany tablet is holding out well, although the Crinos is slowly chipping away at it. The serpent passes the Rock Slap, entering the Steam Vents as Wrong Way does. It flicks out its forked tongue and heads toward her.
Wrong Way rises up onto two legs, sliding upward into Crinos. ~I know you. What are you doing, here?~
The serpent hisses, rising up and then lowering his head to look down at the Gnawer. "I was brought here." Its eyes continue to watch Wrong Way as it slowly begins to circle around her.
Wrong Way turns, careful not to be entwined by the coils of the snake. ~In what way?~
The horned serpent flicks out its tongue in an amused fashion as she avoids being completely encircled. It turns its head to regard the mirror-Crinos in a pointed fashion, then turns back to Wrong Way, slowly lowering its head until it is level with hers. In the mirrors of its eyes, she can see her own reflection. She, too, has eyes of mirrors.
Wrong Way's lips curl in a snarl. ~Who?~ she demands, ~Where does this begin?~
The smell of smoke and the feeling of sickness is the vague response, and then the serpent turns its head to regard the frenzied Crinos.
Wrong Way also looks upon the frenzied monster, still keeping part of her attention fixed on the Serpent beside her.
The serpent moves on to the waterfall, curling around the figure there, piercing its shoulder with his poisoned fangs, and then it, too, leaps forward to attack.
Wrong Way retreats to the edge of the chasm, watching as the Serpent continues its work, and the mirror Garou attack the Litany.
With a satisfied hiss, it moves into the center, biting into the neck of the figure there. It pauses to watch its own handiwork, then it moves to coil as though resting there in the Heart, and corruption spreads out from it, blackening the earth, killing all vegetation it touches, poisoning the waterfall.
Wrong Way grimaces and moves outward, up through the canyon to examine those watching beyond.
The air begins to get hotter, harder to breath, as time goes on. As the serpent and corruption grows, the outer figures sink further toward the ground, falling to their knees or collapsing completely. Some hold their heads as though in pain, some stare vacantly, hopelessly toward the center.
Wrong Way moves to one of the outer figures, her working arm forming a fist at its end. ~Why do you stand? Why allow this?~ she growls out.
One of them lets out a despairing cry and collapses further. "No hope..." it says, and as its hand touches the ground, Wrong Way sees corruption spread from it as well, although not as fast as from the serpent.
Wrong Way throws the balled up fist in and undercutting punch. ~You kill this caern.~ Though her words read of anger, her voice does not, and observation of her posture shows more calm curiosity than rage.
The figure is thrown back with the force of the punch, falling in a sobbing heap on the ground, while the serpent within the center hisses out a mocking laugh. It is then that the images begin to fade, colors blurring together, until all is black... And then Wrong Way awakens.
Back | Next | FS Index | Main