[Max] The message had been sent out over the totem link: Come to the packhouse. I found a theurge to check you guys out.
A few minutes later, Max and Adamidas pulled into the driveway, and the Modi hopped out of the truck and led the way in through the door in the back. If his pack-sisters weren’t there yet, they would be soon.
[Indira] Indira is already at the packhouse when they arrive, as is evidenced by the loud music coming from her room: it’s hard to tell if it’s techno, metal, or something in between. Either way, it’s loud and frightening and sung(?) by German men. She’s lying across her bed with a sketchpad open, doodling.
The music is, evidently, too loud for her to hear it when the car first pulls up and Max and Adamidas come into the house, but her door is open. It almost always is.
[Adamidas] When she arrives, she is not at all what one would expect. She is small in stature, but large in presenve. She holds her head high, her shulders back. She looks with comfort and confidence. She doesn’t press an issue, at least not yet. She has her nose pierced, but Adam looks young. Maybe sixteen or seventeen. However, the Fury does hop herself out of the truck and shut the door behind her.
there was something to be said about ahrouns and trucks.
[Max] Ahrouns and trucks with cattle-guards on the front, to take the stereotype even further. (One had to wonder precisely how that cattle-guard had been used, in the past.) They’d been through a lot together, he and his truck. Max was rather fond of it.
Compared to the intimidating size and physical strength of the Modi, Adamidas was practically diminutive, but she carried herself confidently. This was yet another point in her favor, where Spitfire’s alpha was concerned.
They came in through the back, which was near to both of the ground-floor bedrooms. Indira’s music was easy enough to pick up, even outside on the deck. It pulsed and hummed through the walls, and only grew louder as they came inside and approached the door to her room. Once there, Max stuck his head in and reached out to knock on the surface of her open door. It was a loud knock, forceful enough to carry over the music. When the other Ahroun looked up, Max greeted her with a grin and made a signal for her to turn the music off.
[Indira] The sharp rap against the door reaches her ears over the deep bass thrum, and Indira raises her ragged pink head. Seeing Max there, smiling and motioning, she pushes herself up off of her bed and heads over to the old stereo, silencing the CD player and then stepping out into the living room.
She has a wide smile for Max and Adamidas both, and as her friendly brown eyes meet the Theurge’s she extends hand forward. She’s in a dark green thermal shirt and a pair of jeans today, clothes that don’t appear new, but at least she’s managing a slightly wider wardrobe than she had when she first arrived in town. She does manage to scrape together some money, after all.
“Hi, nice ta meet you,” she says to Adamidas. “I’m Indira. Going Down, Cliath of the Bone Gnawers.”
[Spirits] (I was told there’d be boob groping, so I thought I’d log in to play voyeur)
to Adamidas, Indira, Marni, Max
[Marni] Marni… heard the call, and her returned sure thing, boss was decidedly distracted. She was clearly busy doing something, but she soon enough extracted herself from the… situation… and catches a bus in order to make it back home in a reasonable amount of time.
Down the block, she swings down from the top of the bus she was surfing on (what, you thought she rode INSIDE?) when it stops, grunting with the impact as it jars her injuries that have already been, uh, tortured, by earlier activities. The sent of blood is heavy around her now, the wounds seeping through the excellent bandaging job her packmates did on her last night, and turning her t-shirts a slow growing crimson along her left shoulder and back.
But she still walks with purpose – and when she hops up the steps of the packhouse, and slips inside, there’s a knowing little cat that got the cream smile lingering about her lips. She’s practically glowing, even – someone done got lucky.
[Max] [We’ll be sure to grope extra hard for you then]
to Adamidas, Indira, Marni, Spirits
[Adamidas] “Goin’ down,” she muses. The Fury then smiles, teeth bright and smile generous. She looks the other female in the eye and takes her hand. She gives it a shake; it’s the unspoken camaraderie that came in being female, “I like that name. It’s nice t’meet you. Rain of Brass Petals, Fury Theurge. Cliath.”
She beams at her, and once they’re done shaking hands she steps aside.
She takes a second to look at her again, and the Bone Gnawer gets the look of a more critical eye now. She raises a brow and spoke.
“I’m here to help, can you describe to me what happened last night?”
[Max] They moved into the living room, the three of them, and soon the final member of the pack made her way in to join them. Max looked up at Marni and eyed the Ragabash shrewdly for a long moment, taking in both the state of her bandages and that smug, delighted expression. One eyebrow lifted slowly, as if in question. Then he chuckled and shook his head.
“Get laid recently, did you?”
Oh, he knew that look. He’d seen it plenty enough times before. Hell, he’d probably had it on his own face once or twice, lately. But this wasn’t really the moment for congratulations. Not with the potential for serious complications from last night’s outing still looming in the air.
“Must have been good. You’re bleeding again. Try not to get any on the furniture.”
His attention refocused itself on Indira and Adamidas as the two spoke, and he crossed his arms loosely across his chest. There was a large black sectional by the front window, but as of yet he hadn’t made a move to sit down on it.
[Indira] “I’m glad you like it. Didn’ realize until after somebody gave it to me that it was supposed ta be a joke,” Indira tells Adam, with a grin that’s a little sheepish. Affected, likely, since the Ahroun doesn’t seem like someone that embarrasses easily, and probably derives a sort of amusement out of her deedname and what the purebreds must think of it.
Indira, too, takes in the bandages on her packmate and the smug expression, and she can’t help but smirk in response. “Might wanna tell Ray ta go a little easier on you nex’ time you’re hurt, yeah?”
Then she’s turning her attention to Adam’s question. “Well, there were these, like…okay. So face huggers? Like Aliens? And the little…pipe thing…went down my throat.”
[Marni] Of course he comments on it. And Marni? Just grins, brightly, as she peels out of her hoodie with a hiss that tells of the pain it takes to do so, pulling it over her back and left shoulder. When she left this morning, she wasn’t wearing a tie either – but now, added to the two t-shirts (long sleeved under a short sleeved, both tattered and worn, and bloody now) is a slim navy blue tie.
She gives it a little tug as she grins at Max. “Good enough to collect a souvenir.” She winks at Indira, laughing out loud as she figures out who the cad was that made her bleed again. “He tried to be careful. It was totally worth it. You should see the view from his office…”
She wiggles her brows (PUBLIC sex. oh my.) and the dimples into a smile for Adamidas. “Hi. I’m Marni – Sticky Fingers to the nation, and yeah, ya probably don’t wanna know why.” There’s that knowing little grin again. “Cliath BG Raggie, and overall pain in the ass.”
She settles to the floor, instead of the couch, so she doesn’t get blood on the furniture as ordered. Then listens as Indira tells Adam what happened. “Yeah, me too – could taste that shit for HOURS…”
[Adamidas] She’s not condemning her for the sex. On the contrary, she seems to outright pleased at the idea. Go Marni, her look said, you rock that shit. She waggled her fingers for a second, but then was taking her time to look over where things were.
“You and your alpha are both ahrouns,” she said, “Gaia smiled on you guys, and the spirits gave you access to better band aids than most.”
She grins a little more and shakes her head again. She is listening, and her expression fades. She introduces herself with a distracted tone, “Rain of Brass Petals. Fury Theurge, cliath.”
Finally, she nods.
“If my suspicions are correct, there might be something inside of both of you,” she said as she poked her a little, “And Sticky Fingers, I need to heal you before I try to cleanse either of you, aaaaand you might not want to let me do this to you while you’re in homid… just…. Yeah.”
[Indira] Adamidas thinks that the little pipe things implanted something, and Indira does not look surprised. That’s how horror movies work, after all, that’s how the alien had its babies and made more horrible little facehuggers, and she did see the chestbursters coming out of both the Spirals and the people in the bar.
“…How are you gonna check?” she asks Adam, looking just a little cautious. Not nervous, but unsure of what the proceedings are goin to be.
[Max] True to form, Indira described their encounter in brief but amusingly accurate terminology. Likewise true to form, Marni introduced herself with a sly innuendo, and Max glanced at her again. Perhaps he considered a sarcastic remark, but whatever it was he was thinking, he kept it to himself. They could argue over who had the most sexual bragging rights later, and probably would, though Max was unlikely to cop to the specific details of his own.
When Adamidas agreed with his suspicions, the expression on the Modi’s features became noticeably more intense. Almost a glower. (Ah yes, there was that patented Ahroun scowl.) “Do whatever you need to do. If there’s something inside of them, I want it out – now.” He considered the possibilities of what was likely to occur, then set about pushing the furniture as much out of the way as possible, clearing a nice open space of hardwood floor. Then he grabbed the curtains that covered the large front windows and pulled them completely shut.
[Adamidas] “Just a Rite of Cleansing,” she told her. The Fury was, soon enough, digging through her pockets to try and find something for her.
A pause. Silence.
“This could hurt,” but you’ll be fine.
[Marni] She nods, and tugs the tie from around her neck – it’s not dedicated, so she sets it aside for now. Then she nods – she’ll do whatever necessary.
((Dashing to get the kids. back in a few!))
[Indira] Indira nods toward Adam, straightening to her full (and somewhat imposing) height as the Theurge tells them it could hurt. “That’s okay. Like Max says…we ought ta get it out, huh? I mean, I don’ want a fuckin’ bug rippin’ outta my chest, so…”
Indira sucks thoughtfully at the piercing through her lower lip for a moment, and then adds, “I know the Rite a Cleansing. Maybe I can help you?”
[Max] [Go ahead and skip me for now, if anyone’s waiting on me. Max is watching. ^^]
to Adamidas, Indira, Marni
[Adamidas] “I think you should be able to, I don’t see why not. It will definitely help with your packmate,” she says. The Fury nods again, and stops to take a bag off of her shoulder. It’s small, purse sized, and she carries all the essentials that a girl needs in it. Namely, a twig and some pure water.
She takes a second, and the Fury inhales slowly.
“Okay,” she exhales, “let’s do this.”
[Indira] Indira looks toward the materials, noting for a moment the pure water. It’s something she hadn’t thought to start carrying around…but now that she thinks about it, it would be a lot easier than hunting all over the place trying to find pure snow and then taking the time to melt it.
“Okay. I’ll…jus’ help you, yeah?”
[Adamidas] She nods, solemn, and hands her the vial. It’s as much about the teaching as the learning. As much about the helping as the process. A spiritual experience, a ritual, this is what they did. This is what she did. it was not her strength, but healing, cleansing damages? That was hers. The Fury took her time, and she started on with her work. How hard could this be?
[cleansiiiiing!]
Dice Rolled:[ 7 d10 ] 1, 2, 6, 7, 8, 9, 9, 10 (Success x 4 at target 7) Re-rolls: 1
[Max] Once he’d gotten the furniture moved out of the way, Max hung to the side, leaning back against the wall as he watched the theurge begin her ritual. There was little he could do to assist in this. His skills and knowledge lay in other areas – mostly those that involved a certain amount of physical brutality. So until he was needed, he remained out of the way, observing with a quietly intense expression on his face.
[Marni] (back)
[Indira] Indira takes the vial from Adamidas, and watches as the Theurge binds her friend’s wounds, seals them shut. It’s the first time she’s ever seen it done, though she’s heard of such Gifts, and she can’t keep the look of quiet wonder off of her face.
Dice Rolled:[ 4 d10 ] 3, 6, 6, 7 (Success x 3 at target 6)
[Indira] ((oops, ignore that roll.))
[Adamidas] (aaaaand mother’s touch!)
Dice Rolled:[ 6 d10 ] 1, 2, 4, 5, 7, 10 (Success x 4 at target 3) [WP]
[Spirits] [aaaaaaaaaaand, they’ll burp from really bad indigestion… but! No alien babies]
to Adamidas, Indira, Marni, Max
[Max] [Woohoo!]
to Adamidas, Indira, Marni, Spirits
[Marni] Marni, for her part, watches and listens, and learns the basics as she does so. She smiles at Adam as she lays her hands on her shoulder, and closes her eyes as she feels the Mother’s touch weave through her, healing her wounds until skin is as good as new, muscles and ligaments pulled back together, blood vessels once again working as they should.
Then, as the cleansing happens, Marni waits, and waits, in case something happens… but all that comes up is one wicked belch. No alien babies.
Whew.
She grins at Adam, and nods. “Thanks.” For all of it.
[Indira] Indira assists with the cleansing ritual where she can, contributing her own meager knowledge of the rite and how it works. She’s sincere, genuine in what she offers to Gaia, but it’s clear that her understanding of how it works is not very extensive or very thorough, and she might have forgotten bits here and there.
When it’s all done it leaves her guts roiling, but thankfully, hideous little infant face huggers don’t come up. She just grips her stomach and grimaces and burps every now and again, trying to keep her mouth shut in case she throws up. If Max didn’t want blood all over the furniture he most definitely won’t want vomit.
“Thanks, Rain a Brass Petals. You’re okay.”
[Adamidas] She waits, and the Fury looks like she might be ready for anything. Eyes wide, muscles tense, the young theurge waits. She waits like she’s waiting for the final seconds of an NBA game. She waits like this is one of the most important things that has happened to her in some time.
Then?
… Marni burps. Then Indira burps.
“Ohh, that is rancid,” she says with a little bit of a half sneer, “don’t let things get on your face like that again, you’re going to be brushing your teeth for weeks.”
… sometimes it’s quite clear she’s a teenage girl.
“It’s no problem, it’s what I’m here for,” a quiet pleasure in duty.
[Max] It was possible that had this been left up to Max himself to handle alone, he may very well have decided to do something a bit more drastic and painful. Luckily it had not been left up to him, and someone with the proper skills to deal with the situation had been found.
All told, it really couldn’t have gone more smoothly, and Max gave a little snort of laughter as both of his pack-mates were suddenly afflicted with a serious case of indigestion.
He pushed away from the wall, then, pacing back to stand beside the Fury. She was small, and he loomed over her. After a moment of consideration, the Modi reached out to offer her his hand in gratitude. It was more than a simple thanks. This was a gesture, and made all the more meaningful considering who it was coming from, and who it was given to.
(Gaia forbid, a Fenrir with something resembling courtesy. A Fenrir Ahroun, no less.)
“That was good work. I agree. Thank you.”
[Marni] She makes a face as she belches again, and nods to the Fury’s assessment. “Ugh. I may brush my teeth right out of my head.. god that’s gross…”
She scrubs her face, and the grins as she grabs up her new tie again and pulls it down over her curls, before standing and stretches, testing her newly healed shoulder. Hm, maybe she’ll have to give Ray another go now that she’s full form.
If he’s lucky.
She climbs up on the arm of the couch, and watches as Max offers his hand to Adam – and grins. A fenrir with courtesy. Teach him to cuddle and he’s the total package.
[Indira] Indira is rubbing at her stomach, grimacing as another burp comes up, as her efforts to keep her mouth closed simply make it reach her nostrils all the faster. Unlike Marni, she can’t find words for how disgusting the taste is; she just shakes her head a few times rapidly.
Trying to forget the taste left on the back of her tongue, she watches Adam and Max, grinning for a few seconds. She doesn’t know about (forgot, wasn’t paying attention to) how the Fenrir and the Furies regard each other, but she recognizes the politeness inherent in the gesture and approves anyway.
[Adamidas] There is a difference between being anti-male and being pro-female. The Fury reaches forward to take his hand, and when she grips it, one almost expects her to be soft and delicate. She’s of a medium build, yes, but her hands aren’t soft. She said she was an archer. Her hands are rough in the expected ways.
She looks him in the eyes, and she takes his hand.
“Don’t worry about it,” she tells him, “it’s my job. Don’t be a stranger.”
[Max] Stands in Defiance was a golden boy, plain and simple. His breeding screamed warrior right down to the marrow in his bones, and if he’d managed to survive amongst the Fenrir for 6 years with his limbs and his ego intact, then there must have been genuine strength and ability there. But he was more than a mindless berserker – more than the sum of his parts. He was a natural leader. A born alpha. And this… this was his home, and his family. Indira and Marni were not only soldiers to him. They were sisters.
Maybe somewhere along the line, a strong female influence had shaped him into the person that he was. One could only speculate.
The Fury’s grip was rough and firm. Not as delicate as she looked. Max’s own had a kind of iron strength to it, of the kind one might expect from someone who could pick up cars, given the right motivation. After a moment he released the theurge’s hand.
“You didn’t have a pack at the moot. Are you looking for one?”
[Max] Totemlink: What do you guys think of her?
to Indira, Marni
[Marni] There it is. Marni’s grin widens as she winks at Indira. She’d been hoping Max would ask – at least to put the feelers out for the Theurge and see if she bit.
Marni doesn’t interrupt, just listen in wait for the answer.
[Marni] I like her. She’s smart – a capable Theurge – which we need, and clearly doesn’t automatically follow stereotypes and Tribal line bullshit. I’m betting she kicks 19 different kinds of ass too.
to Indira, Max
[Indira] There’s something about Adam that is appealing to Indira. Where she grew up, she was the only girl of her kind, rough and skilled with knives and able to hold her own when she’d roughhouse with the boys she knew. Adamidas…is like that, but there’s an elegance to her that Indira lacks. Something a bit more refined, more educated.
It’s different and similar and that makes it interesting.
The tall Gnawer folds her arms across her chest, looking Adamidas up and down after Max asks whether she has a pack. The look she’s giving implies that she has questions, but she’s waiting to hear the answer Adam gives Max, first.
[Indira] She seems real smart. I wanna see more of what she’s like first, though, I guess. If that’s okay with you two.
to Marni, Max
[Adamidas] “I’m looking, seeing where I might fit. I’ve been extended a few invitations… pack is as much family as spiritual imperative. Its recently been brought to my attention that I’m effectively the only Fury here now. It’s… it’s much, much different than I’m used to, that’s all.”
Articulate, she is. Inspiring… yes, inspiring is the word for her. Young, but refined. Wherever she grew up, or whatever good experiences she brought with her pre-change, they seemed to have made her socially graceful.
[Max] It didn’t seem to surprise him that she’d been approached already, and Max took in her response and nodded. He seemed thoughtful, and the brief silence that followed may very well have indicated some silent conversation between pack-mates.
“We’d like to see more of you, Rain of Brass Petals. As you can see, a theurge would be… welcome here. The people of this part of town, they need someone to look out for them. We’re their guardians. And family’s a big deal. I didn’t used to think about it so much, but I do now.” Thing change. “Anyway, we like you. So if you ever want to join us on a hunt or just… hang out. The invitation’s open.”
[Max] [Bah. Things change, plural.]
[Marni] She grins at Max when he says Family is a big deal – its no surprise to her as it’s a very big reason that she packed with him to begin with. Nothing is so important to Marni than family – it’s the Gnawer way. Their most respected elders are called Mama, Papa – both kin and Trueborn alike. There’s nothing that comes before that, comes between that bond.
Her smile is warm, her eyes shining with pride as she looks at the Alpha she chose to follow.
[Indira] “I’d like ta talk more, if you’re aroun’ sometime,” Indira says, grinning in Adamidas’ direction. She still stands with her arms folded, but her posture is relaxed: leaning to the side on one leg, hip cocked out, shoulders loose. As though she were leaning against an invisible wall. A smile toward Max when he mentions family, and it’s just as warm as Marni’s: he’s different than the big brother that led her before, but there are a lot of similarities to the one she left behind.
“I wanna see if there’s things we can do aroun’ here, good things…like try ta get rid of the Blight aroun’ here, maybe. An’ a good Theurge would be real helpful, ’cause, I mean, I ain’t that good at the whole cleanin’ part. An’…we are family, here.”
[Adamidas] “Maya Angelou said that she didn’t believe that blood made one brothers or sisters, that it made them siblings. Brotherhood and sisterhood is something that has to be worked toward,” she tells them, “so… hearing that you guys are a family makes me feel warm. Like you’re doing it right.”
The sort of pleasure that came from knowing the spirits were pleased. She nods, and observes them for the time being. The way they are comfortable, the way they interact.
“I’m staying either at the brotherhood or with one of my kin, I’m pretty easy to find, though. I’m the only person who lives there with a facial piercing. No matter what happens, though, don’t hesitate to call on me. You guys are alright.”
[Max] Two years ago, would Stands in Defiance ever have predicted that he would be the head guard dog for a Chicago slum, packed with a couple of female Bone Gnawers and talking about things like family and… Maya Angelou? No. In fact, if someone had told him this, he would have burst out laughing. He who had once been the leader of a Fenrir war-pack that followed Wolverine.
But then, that version of Max Brenner had been a product of his fostering. Maybe it was this one (the one who gave half a shit) that was the more genuine version. The Spitfire pack members laid out their invitation (such that it was), and the Fury gave it due consideration. Max grinned at her response, then gave the theurge a hearty pat on the back.
“We’ll remember that.”
And then, because it was getting late and Max was due in the fighting ring in about an hour, he led the way to the door and held it open for Adamidas. “I should get going. Need a ride home? I can drop you off on the way.”
[Indira] Indira doesn’t know who Maya Angelou was. But the words sound pretty and deep and that makes her smile. As Max offers to drive Adamidas home, she holds up a hand (smeared on one side with charcoal, one might notice) to wave goodbye to the Black Fury.
“I’ll see you aroun’. Maybe we can go an’ get a drink sometime soon,” she says.
[Marni] “Later Rain a Brass Petals.” She lifts her hand and waggles her fingers in goodbye, before she is moving toward her room, and peeling out of her bloody clothes as she goes.
“I got dibs on the shower!”
This called out to Indira, with a grin. Maybe she’ll go collect a Dress Shirt to go along with her tie…
[Adamidas] “take me home, Stands in Defiance, I need a nap.”
She grins a little at that.
“See you around, Goin’ Down. Later Sticky Fingers! It was nice meeting you both,” polite, this one.
[Max] “We’ll need to work on your stamina if you hang around with us much,” Max teased lightly. And there was a wry, predatory smirk there that most teenage girls might find attractive in a dangerous sort of way. That comment could have been taken in more than one way, but… all things considered, he probably meant working out together, or sparring, or something else thoroughly Fenrir.
In any case, the two of them were out the door and on their way, and Max would drop Adamidas off at the Brotherhood before turning around and heading off to go participate in the illegal bloodsport that brought in the bulk of the pack’s income.
[Adamidas] “No amount of push ups, sit ups, or crunches fortifies one against the ravages of indigestion. In the end, we are slaves to our GI tracts.”
[Max] [*fives everyone* Great scene guys! Thanks for playing Mindy! You are all awesome. ^^]
[Marni] (ditto all the way around! :) )
[Indira] ((Thanks for the play, guys. :D And good night!))