Werewolf: Chapter 3 "Carolina Moon"

[LadyTevar]

Gnosis is the energy of Gaia, of Life. It was sucked into the ruins like dirt into a vacuum, vanishing, lost, with no sign the female shade knew it was a gift. The howl was answered only with another banshee scream that ignited the treeline in leaping blue-green flames that licked at the sky above. The scent of smoke filled the air chokingly, wood, oil, fabric, dirt, and the sweetish scent of burning flesh. The ruins rose up against the smoke, like a projection on a screen of a house aflame.

Then, the female shade stepped forward as if walking out of that picture frame, 2d to 3d. To eyes not seeing the Otherworld, a line formed in the air and unfolded into a serious looking woman in a soot-stained apron over a homesewn dress. Her hair was up in a untidy bun, the straggled hairs trailing off into smoke; the scent of burning hair joined the gagging smoke. Her eyes were focused on the visitors, and her right hand was held out demandingly towards the trio.

"It is mine mine mine. Give it to me to me give it to me."

[General Havoc]

"Sweet Jesus..."

Sophie wasn't even religious, but the words came out of their own accord. Much occurred of its own accord. It was everything Sophie could do to avoid shifting spontaneously into the nine foot wolf-thing that was her natural state, albeit not her most commonly adopted one. Given another five seconds, it might have been more than she could do.

"I really think we should do what she says," she said to Alex, who was the one with the fetish. "Right now." Had she had the fetish herself, she'd have thrown the thing at the ghost without so much as a word edgewise. Whatever else this thing was useful for and to, there was only one obvious solution here.

[rhoenix]

There were many things that those who had been born and raised with wolves took for granted. One of these things were being able to understand one's pack without thought.

A slight turn of his head towards Sophie, and a single sniff of his nose told Sees-Faces-In-Stars that she was scared - terrified, even. She wasn't so terrified that she had reverted to her breed form, but the stench of fear seemed to billow from her in waves.

This, coupled with the lack of response from the spirit, made Sees-Faces-In-Stars turn his full attention back to the lady, letting Gnosis fuel his nose to tell him more about her, and this place.

To his confusion, the stench of the Wyrm wasn't present here.

Even in his wolven form, Sees-Faces-In-Stars' eyebrows narrowed slightly before trying to speak to her again, in the same soft voice, still speaking in Garou. "Tell us what happened, noble spirit. We are here to help you."

[Cynical Cat]

Alex shifted to Crinos form, changing in a few heart beats from a tall young man to a killing machine that stood just under twelve feet tall. Storm Talon glinted in his hand, reflecting the fires that burned around him. "We can speak," he growled in English, "or we can fight. Speaking might get what you want. Fighting won't."

[LadyTevar]

The shift to Crinos did not seem to frighten the ghostly woman in the least. The blue-green fires rippled around the clearing, the heat from the flames making itself felt on fur and skin. Wind whipped the tops of the flame-lined trees, leaves and branches swaying dangerously. Yet the woman in her homespun did not move, calmly holding out her hand to the trio.

Give it to me to me give it to me. I must protect protect it protect.. Give me the Bone Bone Bone Bone BoneBone

[General Havoc]

The very instant that Alex shifted into his Crinos form, Sophie did the same, and with relief. Metis though she was, Sophie by necessity spent most of her time (certainly most of it while out and about) in Homid. Among the Glasswalkers, it was simply what one did, and she thought far more like a Homid than a Lupus after all. But no matter how comfortable she was as a human, she was not one, and never had been one. Even if most of the time she didn't notice it, even if she had long-since stopped regarding it as strange, there was always something just slightly alien to her Homid form, small and fragile as it was. She didn't resent it or anything, it was a part of her, as was everything else, but it wasn't her natural state, and in moment of extreme stress or fear or anything else, it began to feel confining, vulnerable, weak. Homid was second nature to her by now, but Crinos was first nature. And while normally that didn't matter, right now the distinction was about as subtle as a freight train bursting through the living room wall.

In the blink of an eye, Sophie was a ten foot monster, one glance at which would have sent an average human screaming into the night. This was not an average human before her, it was not a human at all, and it showed absolutely no inclination to run away, screaming or not. But that didn't matter right now. She was herself again, and the shotgun in her hands no longer felt bulky and heavy, but a light, agile weapon of mass death and destruction, a boomstick, a living engine of war, weaver-crafted and anchored in the tensile strength of walnut and steel, loaded and primed with eight mixed rounds of twelve-gauge, double-aught buckshot. The figures and gauge numbers she repeated to herself almost as a mantra, for they represented to her things that she knew and understood, and speaking their names and designations to herself gave her power over them, just as knowing the proper syntax of a complex root analysis gave her power over a computer or server farm. Whether the shotgun was of any use against a ghost was immaterial. It was a talisman of her own world in a place that suddenly made very little sense.

Alex called out to the ghost in his usual method, which was to demand that the ghost do what he said. Sophie could have shot him. This was not the time to demand anything. The spirit had made abundantly clear what it wanted, and what it could do were its demands not met. Whatever he thought that sword of his could do was not important right now. The song had been clear enough, as had Jack Diamond and the old man from before.

"Give her the bone," she said in Garou before repeating it in guttural English. "It's hers. Give it to her."

[Cynical Cat]

"Really?" Alex asked. "Protect it? That's not what I heard. I heard you were going to sell it. Why the change of heart?"

[LadyTevar]

The ring of fire drew inwards, the blue-green flames leaving the autumn-leaved trees and crawling two feet across the grassy lawn surrounding the house. The heat increased as the flames got closer to the trio of Garou, and the banshee wind outside the ring ruffled the autumn leaves on the trees.

Moriah the ghost-woman did not move as the circle shrank around the clearing.
I must protect the Bone protect protect the Bone. I promised to protect the Bone failed to protect promised to protect the Bone.

[Cynical Cat]

"The bone is safe now," said Alex. "Answer a few questions and your task will be finished. It'll have passed on safely to the right hands. Your obligation will be over."

[LadyTevar]

Right hands? the ghostwoman asked, finally looking startled, then angry. The Bone is mine. My Legacy My wedding gift! Give me the Bone! I must Protect it! Like I promised They took it

The ring of fire was now only a few feet away from the trio, the heat from the blue-green flames still stiffling. Yet, where the fire had been was untouched, unburnt, leaf and tree and grass. The immaterial house, however, was now starting to show flames licking at the base, spreading as only accelerant-fed flames do. Something moved, indistinctly, in a window as the ghost-flames caught.

[rhoenix]

Sees-Faces-In-Stars narrowed his eyes. This spirit wasn't responding anything like spirits he'd encountered before, and he was becoming impatient.

A ripple of wind ruffled his fur just as his shape began changing. Forelegs lengthened, grew, and widened into true arms, hindlegs lengthening, bulking up, and stretching into powerful legs that bore all his weight as he stood upright. His newly-articulated hands clenched once into fists before relaxing again at his sides, his eyes never leaving the spirit's face even during his transformation into crinos.

He spoke now in Homid; "Eengesh" he thought Galileo called it - taking the time to properly articulate the words within his jaws. "You answer questions, maybe you get back. You don't, you won't. Deal?"

[LadyTevar]

Asssk.
The word was spat with the venom of a snake as the blue-green flames rose dangerously.

[General Havoc]

Frankly, whether the fire was hot or not was completely secondary to Sophie, and she would prefer to simply get rid of the bone and get the hell out of here (preferably several states "out"). Even switching to Crinos form, which was her usual method of dealing with panic or stress (the fact that very few things failed to run screaming when presented with her natural form helped there) had done nothing to mitigate her intense desire to leave. Immediately.

But in this case, her opinion was plainly the minority one. What Sees-Faces and Alex wanted to ask was frankly beyond her, but they had held this spirit to questioning. She just hoped they would get it over and done with.

[Cynical Cat]

"What is it's origins? What does it do?" Alex asked.

[LadyTevar]

The spirit looked at the Garou blankly, and the fires around them lessened with Moriah's confusion.
It is Jacob's Legacy. legacy legacy His grandfather's, and his grandfather's and his grandfather's and his grandfather's. He made me swear to protect it made me swear by the moon swear to protect. Then, THEY came. thieves murderers They stole it from me thieves murderers. I must have it back. thieves murderers It must be returned my legacy mine

[Cynical Cat]

"It has been returned," said Alex. "It is in Garou hands, as it should be. Tell us about the bone and then rest."

[LadyTevar]

It is in YOUR hands thief's hands murderer's hands. But it is not Yours Yours YOURS The ghost woman frowned, the flames flickering about the grasses. Behind her, unnoticed, the ghost house sent up phantom flames as glass windows broke out. From the single upper window and young child's face can be seen, before black smoke swallowed all.

Return the Mammoth's Bone my Bone My Legacy. That is what He named the Bone Mammoth's Bone Legacy's Bone
I have said all I know know know

[Cynical Cat]

"I'm neither a thief nor a murderer," Alex said coldly. You dare, he raged, you dare call me a thief. I, who have been disposed by vultures who wish to steal all that my father wrought and who have driven me into exile by threatening the lives of my family.

He pushed down the anger. She died in torment and agony, binding her to this place for decades he reminded himself. She's accusing her killers, not you. Your pain is not an excuse for weakness. "It isn't mine but it has been given over into my keeping. I will not let it go to any hand that I am not sure of. Your time is over, this task has passed from you. It is in Garou hands now and is safe. You may rest."

[LadyTevar]

IT HAS NOT PASSED! MY LEGACY! MY DUTY!! The ghost wailed, banshee-like, fists clenched at her sides. The blue-green fires flared high, the heat around the trio of wolves rising yet again. They stole it took it took it! They stole it and took it and I could not find it! Must find it! Must Protect it! I must have the Bone back! my duty! my promise!

GIVE ME THE MAMMOTH'S BONE!

[Cynical Cat]

"No!" he said. "Your only duty is to pass knowledge of us! Then you may rest!"

[General Havoc]

"Enough!"

Sophie wasn't going to say anything. She didn't really trust herself to say anything in this place faced with this damned spirit and her on-again-off-again fire, but Sophie was a werewolf, and werewolves could hold their tongue only so long.

"Give her the bone," said Sophie, direct as always. "It doesn't belong in all Garou hands, it belongs in hers. Give it to her and be done with it."

[LadyTevar]

"Sophie is right," SeesFaces added softly. "The Promise binds her, the Bone was stole. To give it up, she has to have it back."

(((Posted for Rheonix, and to finally hopefully end this thing)))

[Cynical Cat]

"No shit, I give her the bone and she goes away," said Alex. "But what fucking happens to the bone then? The bone that is in my hands and is my responsibility? Just in case you haven't fucking noticed, she's not all there anymore. She's a fucking broken record who isn't engaging me in conversation and sure as hell isn't giving me any reason to expect that I'll get the "precious" back. I'm not taking a hit from those provincial and insecure locals on a maybe.

"We've done more for her in a fucking hour than the locals have in a century. She can cool her heels for a few more days while we find a theurge with enough juice to make sure we can find the bone again."

[LadyTevar]

"How can she pass on what she does not have?" Sees Faces asked, head tilted in curiosity.

[Cynical Cat]

"Pass on to who? Where? You don't fucking know," said Alex. "You have no fucking clue to where her ghost thinks the bone 'properly' belongs and she's far beyond rational. It's not leaving my hands until I'm satisfied I have a good shot at getting it back."