Taco Hell and Hope-Star
2/12/2006
03:07 PM
Logfile from GarouMUSH.
Currently the moon is in the waxing Full Moon phase (97% full).
It is currently 14:59 Pacific Time on Sun Feb 12 2006.
Currently in Saint Claire, it is a cloudy day. The temperature is 33 degrees Fahrenheit (0 degrees Celsius). The wind is calm today. The barometric pressure reading is 30.51 and rising, and the relative humidity is 89 percent. The dewpoint is 30 degrees Fahrenheit (-1 degrees Celsius.)
Umbra: Bridge Street (100-400)
Bridge Street, like most of the rest of the city, is even more disgusting in the Umbra than in Realm. The power plant here is a travesty -- black filth belches into the sky, creating a dark cloud that hangs over the entire street like a sign of impending doom. The webs of the weaver are old and decayed to an extent here, running in haphazard, entropic patterns. The dim aura of despair and base negative emotion pervades the area, much as it does in the rest of the south end of the Umbral cityscape.
The devastation surrounding the vile blight of the factory lies southward. The city becomes darker and more decayed further to the southwest, where another street can be seen. A building nearby has the gleam of mirrored doors visible through the window. The one ray of hope comes from the Glade visible to the northeast.
Contents:
Wrong Way
Savages-Enemy
Say-Prayers
Kaz
Red
Obvious exits:
Southwest Power Plant Northeast
From the Odeon, the band of Gnawers have taken it on themselves to rid of the plague in their neighborhood. O this very night they enter the shadow and make their way towards their destination via the Umbra. The young Ahroun is out in front, but leaves the real orders to his esteemed elders of his tribe. All of the members know the area like the back of their hand and there is no such thing as getting lost except for what unknown things might be lurking in the dangerous city streets.
It smells like Shit. Litterally.
Barely outside the Odeon, the street to the south is still umbrally flooded with sewage, leaving an odour most foul to waft through the air. There's no sign of spiritual life on 13th Street outside the wyrm, now, with even the rats having abandoned their holes in the area. A few sludge banes roll along through the street, minding their own business of spreading even more sewage about rather merrily along their way. Well, at least they look merry. You really can't tell with Banes, can you?
Luckily, that isn't the way to their destination at all. Westward, along Bridge street is the the way. But the umbra's reflection of Bridge Street is so much like that of the rest of the city in being two hundred times worse than the actual street. And considering how bad Bridge Street is, that's pretty bad. Towering buildings line either side of the street, cracked and decayed despite the pattern spider's attempts to solidify this stretch, and signs of rancid filth pool in the streets from the factories and the power-plant to the south. Lord only knows what horrors actual lurks inside the other buildings.
Runner takes up a spot beside the ahroun, near the front. After notifying the others of her gift to blur her form, she drops down to the hispo form for travel in the Shadow, helping lead the way towards the appointed area. It isn't until they get nearer that she does away with the hispo form and switches for Crinos. ~Try not to step in anything unpleasant,~ she says with faked lightheartedness. Her hackles tell different.
Kaz shifted to hispo the moment they got into the Umbra, and has been limping along as rear-guard the entire way.
Like Kaz, Wrong Way also took to hispo the moment she was in the Umbra. Also like Kaz, she limps her way along at the back of the group.
Though she may prefer glabro, Christine is, in more ways than one, a follower rather than a leader. She keeps to hispo and lopes after Runner, swinging her nose pendularly to sniff at the foul air.
Pools of filth feel slick underfoot as the two walk through, squishing uncomfortably under the bare foot. The small food stand, the purple and yellow of it's facade seeming faded beyond colour, is wedged between cracked monolith-like buildings. The alley leading to it's rear is no more than a foot thick in the Umbra.
Rats can be heard skittering through the walls as they pass, but none can be seen out in the open. There is, however, a roach clinging to the leaning power lines, feelers twitching wildly as the large spirit somehow manages to balance on the smaller cable.
Kaz mutters, -Hi,- at the roach, as she limps warily in back.
The Garou are about a block away, at this point.
Christine glances towards the object of Kaz's interest and squints uncuriously. Her nose twitches. Then she looks back, pointedly, to the door of the destination, and does not remove her eyes from it, though her ears twitch this way and that, rapidfire.
Wrong Way doesn't slow further, hard enough for her to keep up with her hop-hobbling gait, but again like Kaz, she mutters her greeting to the cockroach spirit. *Hello.*
Runner points out the food stand. ~That's it,~ she notes aloud, making note of the roach and wall-inhabiting rats, but paying them less mind. She's focused on the taco joint. ~Last time, Leaves-None and I entered from the back. But, it looks like a squeeze going through there.~ Her eyes look to the thin space between building shadows.
Savages-Enemy pauses for a moment as he shifts into crinos and continues along at a slow pace towards the front of the building. He licks his lips, peeling them back into a silent snarl. He looks back to see that the older Theurge is trying to communicate with the cockroach, meanwhile he tries his best to communicate to Runner that one of them needs to try to look through the window without being seen to see if there is going to be a problem getting to the fridge in the back of the restaurant.
The Roach rotates around, upside down and hanging to the power line by curling it's legs around it. It chitters at the Theurge and the Metis, waving it's antenna about like whips. Dropping down to the lower line, it scuttles out of sight.
As they draw near, more of the small details become apparent. The cracks through the front, the mildew creeping up each pane of glass, the chipped and broken sign. Once again, what is groady in the real world takes that dishevellednes to a new height in the near umbra. The mildew on the windows makes it hard to see inside to the dark, dimly lit building. They can smell the rot even from down the street.
Then again, that might just be the sewage on 13th.
Kaz mutters to Yi, ~I could try'n burn th' stuff off the windows so we can check stuff?~
Runner glances back at Kaz, shaking her head. ~Save your energy. There might be something inside that we will need it for. Say-Prayers, you and Fat-Ripper scouted the Shadow for this place before, didn't you? What did you see inside?~
Christine slows up when the other Theurge also takes an interest in the spirit. She backtracks a few feet to watch the conversation. Did you understand? she asks of Wrong Way. Then: ~The front room was not dangerous when I was here. The smell was so bad we went glabro. In the back is the refrigerator. Olga seemed to think that was the place where the spirit was, or went to often.~
Wrong Way hobbles on until she is abreast of the group. Her ears flick backward then out briefly. Nothing important she explains to Christine, focusing then on what the others say of the battle to come.
Runner defers to the cliath theurge, for the moment. ~The refrigerator is in the Shadow as well? Where was the ice-spirit's position?~
Savages-Enemy listens with his ears perked, although he continiously shifts his wait as he looks across to he building which isnot too far away from them now.
Say-Prayers says, ~We didn't see it. Fat-Runner turned back, before we could tell if it was there or not. She had a bad feeling. We saw a bane in the front room--nothing big.~
Runner narrows her eyes, looks to the others and then looks back at the younger theurge somewhat impatiently. ~What kind of bane? Was there anything else?~
Wrong Way listens still, but her eyes and ears begin surveying the area around them more than watching the others.
Kaz remains as a guard, as well-- She seems willing to let Runs-the-Gauntlet make the main decision.
Savages-Enemy looks towards the building, on-guard and with his total attention for now on the building. He is, however, still listening in for runner's final decision on what to do.
~I don't know. There was just...mould. Rot. The shadow of someone behind the counter. It was cold near the refigerator.~ Say-Prayers flattens her ears at Runners' displeasure, and speaks the more quickly for it.
Runner rumbles mildly, and then turns to the others. ~Well, Savages, we better get in there and do what we do best.~ She flexes her claws, looking back towards the two fostern. ~Take care of us,~ she says to them, before noting to both cliath, ~Stick close. Try not to breathe too much.~ To Aaron, she nods for them to go ahead.
Kaz flicks an oversized ear in acknowledgement.
Savages-Enemy makes his ways slowly towards the door, sometimes droppping into a crawl as he gets closer and looking back at the others to see if they are ready to enter the building. He places up three fingers to begin a countdown. Once he is down to the last digit, he swings open the door and rushes inside. He's realy to launch an attack on anything that might outright attack him once he is inside.
Wrong Way's jaw snaps shut and she shifts her weight, hobbling to the side to keep her balance.
Runner is in right after Aaron, acting backup and exhaling roughly when she enters, looking for that bane noted in the front rooms.
Say-Prayers shifts reflexively to crinos. Then she's in after Runner, tensed with anticipation.
Aaron boldly charges inside only to find... the advantage of the modern boot tread over bare feet. The Crinos slips on the rather slick floor and falls on his tail painfully. Yi proceeds to trip over the downed Gnawer Ahroun and sprawl face first on the slime covered floor, clawed feet draped over top Aaron. Aaron reflexively breaths in with the hit, and is greeted by the most foul, rotten stench. Christine gets a similar whiff of the familiar mildew stench, and starts to gag. In fact, even Wrong Way can smell it, with the door now open; only Yi, holding her breath, is spared.
Inside, there is no bane. It's dark. It's mouldy, it's damp and foul smelling. What little light trickles through trickles through the plastered windows. Moulded tables, and a filthy counter can be seen, with the the set up being very reminiscent of it's real world counter part with the dining area in the front, and counter and kitchen in back. The kitchen is too far to see, though.
Kaz, hearing gagging, reluctantly but swiftly shifts to glabro and follows as rearguard. Then she hisses, ~I can make fire in an instant.~
Savages-Enemy gives a silent yelp and gives a hurt look as he lands on his tail but he shifts down a form, into hipso, and tries to carefully get back up onto his paws. He curls up his lip to the smell and tucks back his ears. He looks towards the three Fosterns, pondering their plan of actions and wondering if they will be sucessful.
Wrong Way follows after Kaz, hobbling forward despite the stench that awaits her.
Runner bites back a snarl, slamming a fist into the ground as she works herself off the ahroun, shifting to glabro form as if on impulse alone, seeking traction and balance. ~Watch your feet!~ she barks out with her remaining breath, taking care when she breathes through the filth. ~Keep going,~ she tells the ahroun.
Say-Prayers's jaw drops; she breathes deeply from her mouth to still her gag reflex. She comes up short of Savages-Enemy and reaches a claw out to help him find his footing and his balance.
It's olfactorally much less oppressive to those who have taken Glabro, and the footware and four legged stance helps the respective people retain their balance as they get up. There's a deep grumbling from the back, much akin to the sound of a large length of wood groaning.
Savages-Enemy gives a groan and follows the rest up into Glabro as soon as he gets his footing back. The Ahroun is now more cautious of his feet as he continues to progress his way towards the back of the building.
Wrong Way growls unhappily, snorting out the unpleasantness as she rises upward into Glabro as well. She clutches her ruined arm to her chest, struggling to keep her balance in the mire.
Yi continues to keep the line as well, glancing behind her and waving the others forward with a muck-ridden hand. She wipes what she can off onto her dedicated clothing.
Kaz grunts unhappily and stays abreast with Wrong Way.
Christine herself slips down into Glabro and lumbers after the others.
The Avocado door stands larger than life in the back, the air growing increasingly cold as they make their way into the kitchen and past the emanation chained to the cash register. Another emanation is starting to become visible in the cooking area, no where near as distinct as the one chained the the register. But the door, that heavy metal thing used for walk in freezers, looks half again as large as it must be, the gleaming latch handle spotted with rust.
Yi makes her way up to the door, eyeing the shadows, then the door. ~Savages, stand on the other side. Everyone else... ready yourselves. This door should be it.~ She puts a hand on the latch, testing it at first.
Kaz grunts less unhappily and gets onto her metaphorical mark.
Aaron blurrs once again as he gets a little chilled by the coldness of the room. He waits on the other side of the freezer door, flexing his claws and huffing in anticipation. His muscles tightened, ready to be on guard of anything that might be lurking behind the large metal door.
Cody's fingers of her good hand flex as though they had the claws of her crinos form. A frown lingers on her face and she wrinkles her nose at the stench that still buffets her.
Yi, finding the door unlocked, opens it up. Pandora's Box be damned.
Christine braces herself behind Yi, eyes round and shoulders squared.
The door swings open, and a flood of comparatively bright light streams out. It also becomes bitterly cold, the air forming an icy rolling fog as the air from the depths of the freezer. With no one standing in a place to get a particularly good look inside, that's about all the changes one can see occur. Hell has, as of yet, to flood out of the door.
Savages-Enemy narrows his eyes as he flexes his claws and is epecting the worse as he take position and waits a split second for his eyes to adjust before he begins to make his way into the freezer. His lips are curled up along his muzzle, revealing a silent snarl as he braves what may be lurking within. He takes a defensive position, waiting to strike.
Yi does a quick check around, and feeling the cold drop, anticipates. ~Come on,~ she indicates to the others, making sure the door is rightly left open. She follows after Aaron.
Kaz drifts over to the center, to try and see something, anything. As planned, she waits until she's strictly needed.
From her side, Wrong Way moves closer, like Kaz, waing to be back-up.
Christine obeys Yi hesitantly. Never a particularly curious person, her body seems downright opposed to learning what's inside that freezer. She hangs behind Yi, tensed to the last bristly hair.
The inside is what you would get if someone took a freezer and stretched it out to church like preparations. Shelves of frozen foods soar two stories, and the thing stretches back easily 20 feet. The whole thing is warped umbral in strange ways, sheets of ice building up the sides of the thing in bizarre ways. To the side of the hatch like gate to this frozen kingdom is an indistinct frozen body, kneeling with one fist raised as if to pound the wall. The high priestess of the palace is probably about 10 feet tall, and maybe larger, a statue of a woman made of pure ice. She's covered in all manner of rot and mildew, and looks like she's started to melt. This has done nothing, though, to stop her from ripping out chunks of her body to throw at the arriving Garou.
Those with the poor fortune to be the first in find a shower of shards of ice spraying their direction. Jagged chunks embed themselves in the kitchen area behind, some burying themselves quite deep in the floor, counters and ceiling. Aaron finds himself lacerated at multiple points from the sharp projectiles, and Yi, while faring significantly better, also finds herself with chunks of ice in her flesh. Christine, if only due to her location behind the the other two, only gets a chunk of ice to the leg. Kaz and Wrong Way are able to pull their heads back just in the nick of time to avoid getting a face of the frozen blast.
[Red pages to the room: She's roughly 15 /feet/ away. And if I can correct my set, that should be about 60 feet long. 20 metres. Stupid metric/imperial; I got my units mixed.]
Savages-Enemy ducks what projectiles he can before be snatches at an article from off the shelf to use a shield against attack. The icicles lodging into his flesh are quickly ignored. Without delay, he continues his assault, using up his rage to get close enough to openly attack the enemy. As he moves, he attempts to pick up other articles from the shelf and throw them at the target.
Yi snarls in pain, rippling up to her Crinos form in an instant. Looking around for Kaz, the ragabash howls out, ~Ears, turn that Thing into a puddle! Prayers, Wrong Way, lend your claws!~ She takes left, using shelving for cover.
Kaz slams into the freezer, even before Yi issues her order, and gallops toward the woman. Once she's close enough, she gouts out a cubic foot of fire, /in/ the creature rather than on its surface.
Cody shifts even as she moves, sliding upward into a form with claws with which to strike. On two legs, she is as fast as any other, and though only one of her hands can come into play, she strikes with power against the target of ice.
Christine yelps and, after the initial shock, reaches to pull the shard of ice from her flesh. The thing is slippery, though, and she leaves it to melt of its own accord. At Yi's call to arms, she waits for Kaz's fire to die, and launches into Crinos before throwing herself, claws extended, at the thing.
Aaron's impromptu projectile takes some wrestling to yank it free free from the ice encrusted shelves. It smashes against the ice elemental in a shower of frozen tomatoes, turning the ground red with the diced vegetable. He's not able to wrest the next box off the shelf, though, to continue the pummelling. The Metis' gift causes a bright light to flare to life inside of the ice elemental, but without fuel, it flashes out just as fast as the ball erupted. It seems to cause it considerable pain, though. The one armed theurge is considerably more effective, ripping off chunks of ice wholesale at first, but unable to get her claws under the frozen surface the second time. Christine's claws fail to penetrate the icy crust to any real damage, leaving mere scratches across the surface. The Icy Woman grabs the youngest theurge with either lith yet mildewed arm, holding her in place as she leans her head forward to blow an arctic blast of air at her. Christine's arm and chest are frozen solid, ice building around around them until they form a thick, neigh impossibly cold freeze that reaches deep into her body.
Savages-Enemy drops his shield as he sees Christine being grabbed and lifted. This stirs up the Ahroun a great deal as he charges towards the enemy, claws bared and ready for attack against the creature that equals to him in height. He drives on rage, bearing his teeth in a snarl.
Runner roars out a defying cry, seeing the cliath get attacked. Blurring into action, she levels a furious attack upon the very face of the ice spirit, trying to free her.
Kaz aims /away/ from Christine with her next gout of flame, again melting it from within.
Wrong Way only redoubles her efforts, drawing her focus into a narrow point where claw meets ice.
Christine's mouth works wordlessly for a moment. Her eyes roll up, and it looks as though she's going in and out of focus. "Shit," she says, in a voice that lacks the sense of anguish her face conveys. "Oh shit, help."
The Spirit quickly reels about to take a chunk of flesh and blood out of Cody, scoring a icy-burning hit across her face, over her eye with a long arm. It's hard to tell how much is blood, though, and how much is diced tomatoes. Wrong Way's claws rend a large chunk of ice off with her good arm. Kaz's flame once more bursts into being inside of the tainted elemental, illuminating it with an eery light from within, and for just a moment it's almost like some unnatural ice sculpture at a show. Yi's blows tear the thing to pieces, there being just too little of the spirit left to hold it together. It collapses into a pile of icy rubble, covered in mildew, before even that begins to dissipate into the umbra. Aaron, not as quick on his feet, only arrives to a place where he can attack it as it starts to vanish; his claws meet only air.
[Hope-Star comes down the dark road from Harbor Park, visible in the distance to the northeast.
Hope-Star has arrived.]
Kaz glares around. ~Anything /else/ in here?~ she growls in clear challenge.
Savages-Enemy tries to catch Christine before she falls to the floor. The boy silently snarling under his breath.
Runner glances about wildly, claws up and leveled once more as if the dissolving spirit would have one more attack. When none comes, the ragabash's quickpaced, rage-fueled heartbeat abates ever so slowly. Runner takes a step back, taking stock, looking at the others and their injuries.
Wrong Way falls to three legs, growling as the the spirit dissipates beneath her claws. Blood coats the side of her face, her eye closed under the matted fur. It's not clear whether the eye itself is injured, or just the area around it.
Christine's face flinches as she falls. She cranes her neck in anticipation, squinching her eyes shut, more reflexively than sensibly.
Snorting once, Runner takes a look at Christine, and then nods to the other two fostern. ~We will need to clean this place. Suggestions?~
Wrong Way licks at the blood dripping from her muzzle. ~That Rite I do not know.~
Kaz kicks a piece of ice. ~My suggestion is taht we come back later with someone who /does/ know the Rite.~
Savages-Enemy catches Christine just in time and places her upright carefully on the ground. His ears twitch and he replies that he thinks that they should burn the place down. The male apparently as trouble with speaking in Mother's Tounge since he is mute.
Runner wrinkles her muzzle, half-agreeing with the ahroun. ~I mean, Burn it. There is nothing to save here. Not even on the other side of the wall. I only worry for the rats.~ She gives her coat a shake, before looking to the fridge door. ~Let us get outside. I don't want to be stuck in here if some bane decides it likes its nest warmer.~
Wrong Way growls up at the Ahroun, rising up onto two legs. ~No. Do not bring fire into the blight.~
Kaz tilts her head at Wrong Way. ~Ah. The spirit could be corrupted?"
Christine plants her feet soundly and says nothing, breathing raggedly while she wathes the others.
Wrong Way huffs agreement with Kaz. ~Would. Blight would grow. Spread. More damage done, more harm before containment.~ Her gaze seems to be somewhere beyond Kaz, just a bit unfocused.
Runner looks torn for the moment, listening to the lupus. ~Fine,~ she rumbles concession. ~Let's just go, find safety. And someone to cleanse... if that is even possible at this point.~
Kaz nods. ~OK. Find someone with Cleansing then, and come back soonest. C'mon, people, let's blow this popsicle stand. Presumin',~ she adds, looking around again, ~There's no more to get?~
Savages-Enemy points towards the door authoritively just as Runner is about to speak. The Ahroun turns to Christine, making sure that the younger of the two Theurges can walk, otherwise he offers to carry her to safety.
Wrong Way drops down to three legs again, snorting out the horrid stench and following the others out onto the street.
Runner grunts, seeming out of fight, but fully determined to get the others back to safety. Leading the way, the ragabash takes it somewhat slow, and carefully moves through the muck in the front rooms so as not to slip again.
Christine licks her lips carefully and nods assent to Savages' offer.
A dark figure is standing in the corner of the kitchen that wasn't there a short time ago. Arms folded, eyes distant, it might be a spirit...but twolegged, if so. And familiar to at least one there.
Savages-Enemy scoops up Christine into his arms and gingerly makes his way across the floor, careful to watch his footing as he follows Runner towards the front entrance. The Ahroun has his ears flattened back, although he is watchful of any other concerns or threats. He narrows his eyes suddenly as he catches sight of the figure. He points out the figure silently to the others.
Runner isn't unalert. The figure in the corner of the kitchen sparks reflexive whirling, and the ragabash's teeth are bared in a snarl. ~Who's the--..re...~ That same snarl fades, her nose works in vain, but still she Stares at the figure. One could only assume it is a deep paralysis that overcomes the ragabash, seeing who is standing in the corner.
[look Tewet (glabro)]
With her tapered ears, tilted dark eyes, and slightly elongated face, the metis makes no effort to hide her otherworldly nature in the shape she wears most often. Even in this guise she is a small slip of a woman, lean and lithe and less than most humans in height, commanding attention by will not weight. Her dusky brown skin is dusted with a faint velvet sheen of black fur, and the uneven line of cornrows betrays the ghost of an old burn across her forehead. She carries a road map of faint scars; the white tooth-shaped mark at the side of her neck and the slightly paler patch of skin on her forehead are the most obvious.
She wears a pale gold deerskin gown that reaches to mid-thigh, fringed and travel-stained. Her bare feet bear the callouses of many long roads. Waterskin and beltpouch hold her worldly belongings, and a handful of charms around her neck speak of friendships' gifts: a wooden cartouche, small curved blade, beaded medicine wheel.
Carrying:
Stone slab
TarotDeck(#2414Vep$)
Kaz took a breath, before coming out of the locker, evidently intending to hold it until they left the building entirely. But her breath expells, and she just stares. ~Holy shit,~ is what she eventually says.
Christine cranes her head to see where Savages is pointing, the figure that has impressed Kaz and Runner so deeply. A pained confusion settles onto her features.
Savages-Enemy has a mask of confusion and tilts his head as he remains holding Christine. An innocent look forms over the husky-patterned crinos' face as he looks like he is saying, 'What?'
Wrong Way hop-hobbles forward, her attitude is mixed. A rush of curiosity fills her, but there's still the blood across her muzzle, and the tension of the combat just ended. Her one open eye peers at the strange figure, ears cupped forward.
Tewet tilts her head towards the Ahroun bearing the injured Christine, but apart from narrowed eyes flicking towards Kaz, she doesn't seem to show any sign of recognition. Quietly she uncorks the waterskin she carries and starts to amble towards the ghastly carnage of the meat locker, as if she were simply a groundskeeper going about the daily sweep of the caern.
Kaz says, with wry, fond, exasperation, ~This here's Sepdet. She's this Adren chick who wanders in and out occasionally.~ Information. Why yes.
~Hope-Star... Rhya,~ Runner breathes out slowly, stuck in place and seemingly slowed in time. Then she forces herself to turn, eyes locked on the figure. The ragabash has all but stopped in her progression out of the thoroughly mucked up area. Her jaw gapes.
Tewet wrinkles her nose emphatically and waves a hand at all of them. ~ Shoo. Stinks in here.~ Without another word of explanation, she heads into the room they just vacated.
Wrong Way doesn't seem to have the awe that the other Fostern do for this stranger, though she does show recognition, not necessarily of the individual, or her name as spoken by the others, more of her actions. She hobbles backward, awkwardly, getting out of the Adren's way and says, ~Help you? If want.~
Kaz says, wryness still there, ~Yeah, I noticed. When you're done in there, we've got one or two who could use some healing help.~
To Savages-Enemy, Christine evinces an unmistakeable desire to get the hell out of here. By the look on her face, she seems to be in strong agreement with Kaz's statement.
Savages-Enemy blinks his eyes and unhinges his jaw for a moment before it snaps back shut. He begins to carry Christine towards the door. He carries her as if she were weightless.
~Help.~ That is about all they get out of the rather laconic Strider. If Wrong Way follows the adren into meat locker hell, she will find the little woman puttering about the mess, sprinkling water about and muttering to herself. And get roped in for what is certainly a reeking challenge, even for someone who has been cleansing since her cub-days.
Runner continues to stare for some time. When the other speaks, shooing them away, her breath catches. A blink later, the ragabash turns and heads out after the cliaths, though not without constantly looking back over her shoulder.
Wrong Way does follow, shrinking back down into Glabro to avoid the worst of the stench. She offers her one good hand to do whatever it is that needs done. Though she's seen this rite enacted before, never by this woman, and never in this place. She is quick to understand, and quick to follow directions.
Kaz jerks a thumb back toward the freezer, as she wanders back out with the cliaths. ~Give 'em a few, she'll get the Cleansing done.~
Savages-Enemy opens the doors and exits the building. He gives a little cringe as he walks aways from the building before setting the other cliath down carefully. The Ahroun shifting to lupus. He suddenly begins speaking, using his body language, expressing that he feels dirty.
It is a good thing Wrong Way is able to pick up on cues, because the Adren seems more than a little sparing of speech. Mostly by gestures, she indicates what she is doing, circling the area slowly and sprinkling water, giving a soft, eerie, insistent, rolling chant in an old tongue that sounds like a lullabye. /Hio lahe inye, lahelahe./ After Wrong Way indicates her understanding, the metis passes the waterskin across to Wrong Way, letting her do it, and circles, still humming. The Strider comes back frequently to the same area of the wall, setting her hand against the ice, a tightening in her eyes.
Christine listens intently to Savages. Almost non sequitur, she rasps, "Olga's gonna teach me that rite when this is all through." She shifts finally, jerkily, to glabro and eases herself against the wall of the taco joint, mildew be damned.
Runner remains outside with the cliaths, turned and facing the food joint, looking like the wind got knocked out of her. She says nothing, still.
Christine's going to need to clean her clothes. Ick.
Kaz suggests, casually, to Yi, ~You could, uh, go help.~
Cody picks up the chant readily, taking up Sepdet's role. It's a little awkward at first, and she has to balance the waterskin against the knuckles of her twisted arm, but she manages to get things settled and goes on with her task.
Savages-Enemy remains standing, his ears alert as the Ahroun remains fully on guard. He appears as though he is on some type of narcotic the way that he shifts uneasily as the rage seeps from his body. He breaths in deeply, and while the air is still bad, its not as bad as inside.
Tewet eventually exhales and gives Cody a curt nod, holding out her hand for the now-depleted skin. Circling inwards, she halts in the center of the room, takes a cautious breath, and wrinkles her nose again, clearly not entirely happy with the place. She bows her head. *Back later,* she promises nothing visible, gruff voice turning gentle. *Help you find your way, maybe.* Then she slips back out, trailing after the others.
Christine too remains quiet, for the most part, and only the sound of the ragged breath out of her thawing body takes the edge off the silence.
Runner blinks again, looking towards Kaz for that moment. She starts for the door once it registers in her mind. Of course, Help. The ragabash steps forward to the door again, filling the entryway with her form, looking around on the inside.
Cody licks her lips, staring at the point to which Tewet was speaking, though try as she might, she doesn't seem to be able to find what it was. A second or two after the Adren, she follows outside once more.
Kaz falls back into hispo, and watches the door.
Savages-Enemy paces up and down the street, watching the building and then turning to watch everything else around him.
Christine follows Savages with her eyes until she tires of his pacing. Then she takes to watching the doorway expectantly.
Tewet finds a rather large ragabash in the doorway barring her escape. She peers at the Garou absently, as if she were just another spirit, and then blinks. Quietly she reaches out and splays a brown hand over the no-moon's forehead, as if refamiliarizing herself. ~Stinks in here,~ she repeats quietly. ~Outside?~
Runner at first doesn't move, staring at the glabro close up. When she touches her, it's enough to make the ragabash almost flinch. Her ears sweep back and she gives way, focused on the smaller one. ~Does.. Wrong Way need help?~ she asks still, daring a look back inside.
Cody's face is rather a mess on the right side, and though she doesn't seem overall in great shape, she also doesn't look as though she's in immediate danger of death, or even falling over. ~Help? No? Finished, now. Yes?~
Kaz calls, ~C'mon, people, let's get a move on.~
Savages-Enemy is restless, now wondering who this woman is and why her elders are paying her so much respect. The Ahroun fidgets and continues pacing until he sees Runnar move away from the door to reveal the sight of the woman. he whines softly, but it only comes out as a silent inhale of air.
Tewet inclines her head. ~Finished. Outside. Tend to living now.~ She strokes Runner's jawline absently. ~Glad you're alive.~
Savages-Enemy pages to the room: Sorry, that was a silent kind, but he does sort of show his interest/curiousity in his expression.
Christine looks to Savages, and then tries fruitlessly to scoot forward in order to see who stands in the doorway. need a cigarette," she says sullenly, when she finds herself unable to force her battered body even to that degree.
~Always,~ Runner replies, swallowing roughly with her head still kept low, body hunched. It's a moment after that she jerks her head up, blurting out, ~Come with us? We are Bone Gnawers, all.~ she indicates the others now. ~We have a safe place. Please...?~
Tewet's face goes blank for a split-second, but she shakes off whatever memory it was that tugged at her. She nods. ~Lead. I follow this time.~ She looked towards the other theurge and whispered something in her own tongue that seemed approving.
Savages-Enemy shifts up once more to carry Christine, he is looking as though he does need a cigerette. He turns to the others and silently obeys.
Kaz says laconically, ~You sure you don't want to heal Prayer, there, now, 'steada later? She's kinda stiff.~
Runner takes another step back and shifts, down and down to the lupus form. Her ears stand up, and she looks back to Christine. There's definitely a regret that ruffles up in the ragabash upon seeing the young theurge. She's sorry she couldn't protect her.
Christine brings her working hand up to fend off Savages. "Ice bitch froze me up," she says ruefully, to Tewet. She glances at Runner. "Not your fault."
Tewet steps out behind the no-moon and glances towards the mangled crinos. Her brows knit. Cleansing, she has done plenty of times in her recent wandering, but healing? Well. But she nods and slips towards the other theurge. ~Young ones learn,~ she murmurs sadly. ~Except when they don't. Still alive, nothing to worry about.~ She looks Christine over, and lowers her hands gently.
Cody moves out of the building behind the Silent Strider. She seems somewhat hesitant around the others, hanging back at the edge of the group.
Kaz pads around and leans, briefest of brief moments, into Yi. ~It's ok. /You/ didn't freeze her.~ Then she's moving again, padding off toward Wrong Way.
Savages-Enemy skip-steps away from the other cliath and watches in silence. She looks between Yi and Kaz, giving them questioning looks.
Tewet grunts. ~This hurt.~ She closes her eyes and begins to hum the same lullabye as before, but more lightly, soothingly. The pain eases quickly... healing, that will take longer, for she truly is out of practice. However, old instincts being what they are, Christine fines the cold stiffness and ache is gone, and she can move her limbs freely.
Kaz explains to Aaron, glancing at Sepdet, ~Relax, kid. She's Adren Silent Strider, theurge, hero of this Sept, been gone awhile. She sometimes hangs out with us.~
Christine gives Tewet a skeptical sideays look as she approaches. Her expression says plainly: yeah, sure, hurry up! Still, one of her shoulders droops deferentially and her eyes drop. She grits her teeth through the process, sneaking a few sharp looks at the woman, until her mobility is returned to her. Only then does her tight expression laxen. "OK," she says, in a thankful sort of way.
Runner still keeps her ears back, watching carefully, not taking her eyes from the Strider for very long. When Christine can move again, her tail starts a vague wag. Come! she barks out, briefly yipping as her own injuries decide to make themselves known. But, still ignoring them, the ragabash is suddenly dancing on her paws and almost too eager to get out of here with the whole group. Back to safe-den, come, come.
Tewet gives Christine a gentle pat. ~You dream well tonight, okay?~ she commands in a low voice. She turns back to Wrong-way, cocking an eyebrow. ~Heal now? Or back at den?~
Savages-Enemy stops his fretting, although he still doesn't keep very still. His tail begins to wag behind him as he takes note of their sucess. The husky-looking wolf gives a little dance on his feet too, getting himself moving, following after the Ragabash.
Cody's single useful hand reaches up to her wounded face, wincing slightly at the touch. ~Den,~ she answers, dropping her hand to her side.
Kaz ambles along, limping, behind the others.
Christine shifts immediately to lupus and limps eagerly after Savages. ~/Later/~ she insists, vehemently, using Mother's Tongue to emphasize the strength of her inclination.
Tewet slips down small and practically vanishes into the pavement as she lopes after the others.
Tewet slides into lupus.
Cody drops into Hispo once the smell is abated, and hop-hobbles after the rest, somewhat slower even than before.
Odeon - Lobby(#4049RJ)
The Odeon's lobby is testament to a faded and perverted glory. The deep crimson carpet is thick in places but in others stubbly as velveteen, and the rich pattern of tangling flowers is everywhere marred by dark stains. The walls are clothed in kingly purple tatters of wallpaper, and covered with faded posters featuring women and men in various states of undress, posing with various degrees of tastelessness, and screaming out titles like "Male Service", "Bang Bang: a Sexual Explosion", and "A Slip of Her Tongue" in garish lettering. There's no light in the room but what comes in from the street, and during the day the actresses look grey and ghoulish, and the bright reds and purples of the room faded and dusky; and at night, the place might as well be covered in thick black paint.
Immediately in front of the entrance is dull matte turnstyle which no longer turns, where once tickets were taken. To the right are a pair of doors which some joker has labelled "Pimps" and "Hos" with red spraypaint: these are the washrooms. To the left are a pair of doorways which lack actual doors, and opposite is a grand set of boarded doors which lead into the theatre proper.
Please check +view for further description.
Obvious exits:
Upstairs THeatre Street
Runner spearheads the trip back, and the whole way it's like they can't get there fast enough. But everyone is required to go ahead, sidestepping through the help of a grungy set of mirrors in the women's bathroom of the Odeon's Shadow. Once back across the thick Gauntlet, Yi slips into Glabro and is making sure all are accounted for.
Tewet is a long, long, long time coming through after the rest of the party...long enough to make Runner extremely antsy indeed. The Strider is back in glabro again, and blinks owlishly at their surroundings as if she had just landed in the middle of Disneyland during the Electric Light Parade.
Kaz falls back into homid once they're back through, and flops against one of the walls.
The moment that they are back in the Odeon, the Ahroun heads over to his pack of cigarettes. He lights one and silently grunts as he looks around to see if there are any other takers. For instance, to Kaz.
Wrong Way drops the rest of the way into her birth form, breathing in and out deeply as she waits for Sepdet to cross the gauntlet. Once the Adren is through, Wrong Way settles onto her side.
Kaz shakes her head. "Nah, they don' taste so good. Thanks, though."
Despite her injuries, Say-Prayers makes it through the gauntlet with relative ease. She too goes homid, and after that, seeks the solace of her own cigarettes. She declines Aaron's, though she does hold it out for a light.
Yi paces and paces, impatient and worrying the whole time. There's no taking of cigarettes on her part either. When Tewet's finally across, though, her demeanor changes and she relaxes. "Sepdet-rhya," she manages quietly, keeping her grin down to level that isn't ridiculously joyous. "You've come back to us. Gaia, tell me this isn't just one long, cruel dream."
Kaz rises to her feet and pads off to the bathroom.
Tewet peers at the cigarettes, gives a resigned sigh, and pads over to the side of Wrong Way. She looks up at Yi's exuberant words and blinks slowly. ~It is /all/ a dream,~ she repeats. ~That is why.~ Maddeningly, she settles down on her heels in a crouch by the other theurge and begins to work her over. Her hands never quite touch the injuries, hovering over mangled flesh an inch or two above, moving slowly, feeling and sensing her way until most of the work is done.
Savages-Enemy blinks at Christine a few times and paints an expression on his face of puzzlement towards Christine. He shakes it off and nods his head, taking the cigatette from her and liting his cigarette. The Ahroun turns and speaks to the Stider using sign-language, not expecting her to understand. 'Welcome home.'
Wrong Way lies still as Tewet's hands run over her, a small twitch in her hind-paw her only movement other than the rise and fall of her ribs with her breath. Slowly the swelling of the eye fades, the open wound begins to close. When she is done, there is still an angry, red heat to the area, but it is clear that the lupus born can see.
Christine sits on the turnstile and watches Tewet's work with Wrong Way with a scholarly interest. "Huh," she says, sucking on her cigarette.
Aaron takes a seat with his back against the wall and watches in silence.
Tewet exhales when she's finished, apparently somewhat drained. She strokes the mottled fur gently. ~Good fight, sounded like.~ She tips up her head and nods to Aaron. ~Not home anymore. But thank you.~
Yi dares not interrupt, though she takes a few steps closer while she shadows the Strider. As the wounds are healed, she watches like a sentinel. "Where have you been," she asks softly, trying hard not to sound childish in the question, but inevitably so.
Wrong Way rolls onto her stomach, adjusting until her useless forleg is comfortable beneath her. She watches the Silent Strider, ears cupped forward and eyes intense in their focus on her.
So long as Tewet isn't looking her way, Christine keeps her haggard gaze on the stranger. Her smoke seems to hang in the air around her instead of dissipating; perhaps the Odeon is past its saturation point.
Tewet waves a hand vaguely. ~Back and forth.~ She moves away from the lupus to let her rest, slipping towards the wall and setting her back to it, wrapping her arms around her knees. ~Blackrabbit's daughter big now. Snow in her hair.~ She cocks a head. ~Caern still there, I saw.~
Aaron appears surprised that the unfamiliar woman can understand him, but he keeps quiet as he knows his plance among his elders.
Yi nods slowly, seeing that she's the only one left standing. "The Hidden Walk still lives. So do you." She chews on her lip lightly, another sense of worrying rising. "Are you staying long, this time?"
Wrong Way scootches herself forward, pushing with her hind legs while remaining mostly prone. She looks quite hopeful at Yi's question, waiting for Tewet's reply.
Christine watches for a while. Then she slips off the turnstile and joins Aaron. "What did you say?" she asks quietly.
Tewet exhales and wipes her forehead. ~Sorry.~ She chewed her lip. ~I feel blind...this side. Lost spirits need me to be their guide, their eyes. You don't need me.~ She grins lopsidedly at the expected retort. ~Much. Is Tatiana alive?~
Aaron gives a shake of his head as if it didn't matter and gives an annoyed look to Christine. 'One who wishes to know, learns how to understand sign...' he replies with a frustrated look to his tribemate, knowing well that she is not going to understand.
Need, Wrong Way states emphatically. Teach. She pushes upward, hobbling forward. Her manner is one of awe, moreso than typical respect. Need you teach, things I must do here, for them. Need you teach me.
Yi swallows down a whine. The Gnawer looks reluctant to start, but then she starts to blurb everything out that she can think of in a nonstop waterfall. "Tatt has left, long since when Grey-- when Salem, dissolved Synthesis. It wasn't long. Then Leonard, he challenged for Fostern and he left to go on his challenge, but never returned. And Touch Deer came back from Erebus, and he was Sept Alpha until Vera came. The Wendigo had power in this caern! Jacinta, she's Groundskeeper and Master of the Challenge now, with Circle Keeper as her second and Gatekeeper, and Alicia and Dakota, they finally left to the Western Eye, and..."
Christine gives Aaron's irritation a blank look, and hunches against the wall beside him, letting her ashes scatter on the tacky carpet. "We really need more galliards," she says gruffly. She's barely even listening to Yi.
Tewet listens carefully. ~Wendigo had power in caern.~ Her eyes flash at Touch Deer's name. ~Washte, that is right, that is what I dreamed, back at the beginning. I tried to make Blackrabbit alpha, but I could not. I could not make change happen, it had to find its own way, as he did, as Touch Deer did.~ She nods to Christine. ~Yes, you need storytellers.~ To the lupus she says gently, ~My ways...old. Sideways. I am sorry, but if I stay... there are spirits who need me. And I have a cub to look after, whose father calls her Hope.~
Aaron gets to the end of his cigarette and stands up from the wall. He gives a yip of his chin and bows to all of those off higher rank than himself before making his way to the restroom, hopefully to wash up and change clothes.
"They did," Yi nods sharply, "And then the /Shadow Lord/ took it from.. no, he /gave/ it to her. And Jeremy, they call him dangerous, and they call my sisters cowards who run from punishment..." The history turns to recent events, dark, and the ragabash starts to get worked up until she bites down on the anger starting to bubble once more. That is, until things cut off all at the talk of cubs. "H- Hope? Cub?" She looks bewildered.
Wrong Way's gaze drifts off, beyond or through Sepdet. She appears to still be listening, and even watching, but not necessarily anything that can be seen or heard by the others here.
Tewet grimaces at Yi's brimming rage. ~Always blame Rats. I am sorry. Owl eats mice, but I try to make her leave rats alone when I can.~ At Yi's bewilderment, she smiles and shakes her head. ~Her father is Blackrabbit. Her mother is Lightfeather. They are in the Black Hills where Joseph is Warder.~
Christine says, "Night, Aaron." She herself stays hunched by the wall a little longer to observe.
Yi tilts her head a bit, before realizing. "Soulcatcher? He is Warder?!" The ragabash crashes down to a sit, like this were the final thing to stun her down. "Of course," she says afterwards. "Of coures he is. And everyone is still alive, just journeying on different paths." She wets her lips, settling and looking intently upon the Strider. "So, you are not staying."
Tewet ducks her head. ~I am sorry, kola.~ That last word is Lakota, not mothertongue. ~But perhaps I stop by to scare Shadow Lords with thunder, they should have better things to do than bother rat.~
Christine stands, stamping out the butt of her cig under her sneaker, and heads for the theatre. As she opens the door, she's greeted by the eager Squeaks. "Hey baby doll," she drawls, reaching to close the door behind her and contain the metis.
Yi exhales with obvious disappointment. Still, she shakes her head slowly. "There is little reason to, unless you wanted to find Coyote and work with him to teach Thunder's children lessons," she replies. "But we have others still. The Wendigo keep the old ways, and there are cubs who bring in new." Squeaks' brief appearance seems to add to that statement. She swallows down again more words, and looks up to the Strider. "You know, this is the best night I have had in a long time. It is a night I could tell you that I finally reached fostern. I challenged Jamethon, and won. He named me Runs-the-Gauntlet. Maybe the spirits even whispered my new name to you."
Tewet smiles and taps the side of her nose. ~Maybe.~ She gives Yi a fond look. ~Past time, you were a bright spirit. I am proud to have run with you for a little ways on your journey. Perhaps next time I come, you will be alpha.~ She cocks her head. ~Coyote is an old friend; he might.~
Yi laughs at the notion. "If you come back soon, maybe I will be. It depends how many wish to pack with me," she murmurs. "Will you... be going to the caern tonight? I am sure Chimera also misses you."
Tewet closes her eyes. ~I still miss Magpie,~ she murmurs softly, an old ache that the Hidden Walk's transformation has never managed to erase. ~No, I must go back where you were tonight. There was a ghost. His pain was in the wall. I must sing him home.~ She rises to her feet stiffly.
Wrong Way sniffs toward Tewet. Man you smelled?
Tewet nods slowly. ~I think it was a man. Something... chained. In ice. It was a bad death.~
Yi starts in surprise. "Ghost?" And what more, she starts to rise to her feet as well, but stops halfway. Something, perhaps, holds her back. "Then... you will going now?"
[In case people wondered what was it that Tewet and Wrong Way were referring to: Red pages: Not a meat locker. Just a walk in freezer at a taco joint. As Sep enters, something would catch her attention: There's a frozen emination, an umbral echo of a guy who froze to death in the freezer. The emination is on his knees, covered in ice, one fist raised as if to pound on the wall.]
Wrong Way's ears twitch backward then fore again. I come. I help howl.
Wrong Way hops forward a step. I come. I learn.
Tewet finally really seems to hear Yi's desperation, and steps towards the ragabash. The slight theurge touches her cheek with two fingers. ~Yes, I must go see. My duty is on the other side.~ She holds Yi's gaze for a long moment. ~I dreamed of coyote,~ she whispered, ~And a Glasswalker named Toxic, the greatest Galliard this caern has ever known. I dreamed of coyote, and there was blood on the walls of our own home on Regan Street, where the rats run now. I dreamed of Coyote, and he had stars in his fur again, like he used to when I was a cub, when I ran in the city on two legs or on four. He misses his old games. Go look for him. He might like you, Yi. He might like you a lot.~ She dropped her hand and turned away. ~I go now, yes. Three-legs, if you wish, come with me, but it is a bad place for one with your good nose.~
Yi remains half-stood, eyes meeting, yearning to go further. After a long silence on her part, she bows her head slightly and nods. "I will try," she says softly, looking over the two theurges. "Go sing the poor man to final rest. I... stay here, and watch over the others." She manages a faint smile, one nostalgic. "It was good to see you again, Hope-Star-rhya."
Wrong Way rises up onto two legs, slowly reaching Glabro. ~I follow,~ she rumbles out, voice and manner sincere.
Tewet nods slowly. ~It was good to see you, kola. Like waking up, except it didn't hurt this time.~ She winks. ~I'll see you. Watch over the cubs.~ With that, and a curt nod to Wrong Way, she slips back across... with a shimmer, a flicker, and the ease of a salmon leaping out of the water for a brief moment, then back again.
And as she says, she does. Wrong Way slips across the Gauntlet with far more ease than should be possible this deep in the heart of the city.
Yi waits until the two theurges have crossed. When they have, she stands, wiping off a tear that finally finds its way out of her. The ragabash turns towards the theater, and opens the doors to go inside.
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