Archive World of Darkness: The Academy - Chapter 9: Everyone's Dirty Underwear

[Tatiana di Jadzian]

Sean followed Ravi with his eyes until he disappeared out of sight then looked back at the Chiderans, trying to affect a cool demeanor while gauging their reactions to the attack. But his face was pale and inside, he shuddered at their casual nonchalance concerning the death of one of their own. It certainly explained Vena's hard personality. And though the amazon seemed to have chosen her encounter willingly, it didn't make Sean feel any better. Seeing a woman, dead on the floor, eyes glazed and expression slack, felt like failure.

He was an athletic (wo)man, he trained hard to develop his skills and physique. But he, and all his classmates, had just received an explicit lesson on just how hard and dangerous life was on the other side of the Door. And the danger didn't just come from outside either, it came from within and amongst them as well. He caught the eyes of the others, seeing the same thing reflected in their eyes, then swallowed to work moisture back in his mouth.

"Uh, guys, I have to go to HeartStone so I don't... er, implode or go cra...crazy..." That's to close to home for comfort, considering Ravi's actions, "But if anyone wantsa head back to Dalton instead of comin' with me, I completely understand. It... might be for the best."

[SalmonMax]

They weren't going to kill them. We aren't going to die.

Blood rushed into Renata's cheeks as her brain wrapped itself around those facts, and relief mingled with mortification. She'd been a hair away from a pre-mortum confession to Mari. Wouldn't THAT have been awkward?

But a second later her familiar lifelong companion anger was bubbling up again.

"So...thats it?" she asked the amazons. "She's dead and...that's it? You don't even..." Ren stopped before finishing that. She saw their expressions. They cared. "I don't get it. You're saying this is basically her fault because she lost...but this was a BAR BRAWL." She let go of Mari and stood up, refusing to be looked down on by these women. "This wasn't a fight to the death! It'd be like...knifing someone who'd just punched you! She might have been looking for a fight, but...but..." Not like this.

She looked away, at Sean, not wanting to see their faces for a second.

"What the hell's a Hearthstone, and why are you going there?" Renata asked, self-consciously dragging a sleeve over her eyes.

[Ryan Jackson]

Ryan sat with his eyes closed. While it didn't really help with Rydar, it was easier to focus on it exclusively without visual input confusing the situation. Ryan grunted, "I guess it does help," he muttered to himself. He sat and he watched the guards as they went about their duty, oblivious to his presence, hidden as he was in a corner that they patrolled only infrequently. He watched them intently, studying how the texture of their skin differed from the leather and fur of their clothing, from the stone underfoot, from the bark of a nearby tree. He kept an "eye" on the time, which was easy because his watch was analog, and the hands were as clear as day to him. After a while he found boredom creeping upon him and he turned his attention to the door. There was a frame of stone and wood, with skins hanging over the aperture and then nothing. It was like a hole. "That's not right," he mumbled. It was more like an absence of anything at all. He likened it to feeling about with your hand and finding open space; to the perception there was simply nothing. Except instead of being no wall or no floor, there was no space.

He shook his head; that wasn't right either, because it was like there was every possibility of space. He frowned. "I don't get it." When the door opened again Ryan thought for a second he could see how it was done, but it slipped away, infiinite-not-space being replace by somewhere else. Another world.

Ryan was starting to wonder if he'd been stood up. Then the Door 'opened' again and two forms stepped out. Ryan watched them with Rydar as they tracked across the snow, not seeming to leave a footprint. They reached the wall he was perched upon and walked up it, sitting down when they neared Ryan's seat. Joram and his companion wavered into his visual perception as well. Joram's friend was like him, only taller and skinnier. He was well over seven feet, and even sitting sideways on the wall, he made Ryan feel tiny. "Greetings. I am Becor. I am here to observe you."

Ryan peeked, his eyes blinking in the sudden light after having been shut for so long. "Umm, you don' have to do that, I can see you fine without ... umm .. looking." Ryan shrugged and closed his eyes, "Plus that way the Cimmerean chicks won' see you." He checked to make sure that the guards hadn't spotted the suddenly visible gravity defying men-things, and then said, "I'm Ryan. I was hoping you could do more than observe me. I want to try an' learn how to use the doors like you do."

[Tatiana di Jadzian]

Sean glanced away for a moment, his gaze falling somewhere between the floor and the fallen Chideran, giving Renata a bit of privacy as she wiped her eyes, before replying. "Whadday mean, what's HeartStone? It's - oh, right, we were on our way here to tell you guys 'bout it, when, well, y'know." With his finely shaped chin, he indicated the eviscerated Selih and the fled Ravi without taking his blue eyes of Renata. "It's, um, it's a place 'bout three days away. That's where Vaness - Vena - my mother and my other sister are and I want to tell them about… me."

Making sure Frida, Lucia, and the other girls were okay - at least, as okay as they could be, witnessing a classmate rip a woman to shreds - Sean approached Renata and Mari, righting the table they had taken cover behind and giving Mari a hand to help her to her feet.

"I have to go there, like all Chiderans do, for a, er, coming of age ceremony or ritual or something. There, their powers awaken... if they pass. If they don't go, or they fail, well, Yaiza made it sound pretty bad,.." Sean's distant frown indicated 'pretty bad' meant something closer to 'really bad,' "and that's besides being a gimped amazon. They said others could come too, if not where the... thing actually happens. It would give us a chance to learn more about the Chiderans and find out what my mother knows about what happened years ago. Ms. Dorn said it was okay, she’d cover for us, and it’s not like I can really go back to school lookin’ like this, now can I, eh?"

Sean took a step back, his lips twisted in a tight and wry grin as he gestured at himself and his ostentatiously feminine figure, his sapphire eyes hard with bitterness, fighting against the rising self-pity.

[SalmonMax]

Renata shrugged and managed a wry smirk. "Look fine to me." She quickly went on to mention, "Besides, you were a guy before on our side. Maybe you'll change back. Maybe that's your 'power.' Anyway...how long do you have to stay there?"

[Atomicweasel]

Mari was dazed and scared and her huge hazel eyes were first fixed on Selih’s body being lifted and carried from the hall, and then distantly on Sean, her gaze glazed and unfocused. She took Sean’s offered hand mechanically, by reflex, letting Sean bring her to her feet and around the edge of the now righted table.

Renata’s face was still tight with controlled emotion and Mari automatically went to her friend and placed her hand lightly on Renata’s shoulder. The touch lasted only a moment; Mari’s hand soon slipped away as the little freshman felt the biting cold and hurriedly went to recover her discarded furs. But that brief and fleeting contact was enough to fill Renata with calming warmth. While Mari stood shivering, trying to re-wrap herself into a Mari-burrito, Renata, for an instant at least, had the sensation of being suffused with energy and strength and peace...

...and then Mari said, “We have to find Ravi.”

__________________

Height: 5'1", Weight: 102 lbs, Hair: Dark brown, Eyes: Hazel, Striking looks 4, Dexterity 4, Presence 4

[Jeremy]

"It varies." Ray stepped forward, surveying the scene, but aside from a thin line where his mouth was, seemed shockingly un-phased by the blood and gore and carcass of Selih- even to himself. A year ago, he'd have been throwing up and overwhelmed at the sight. "I've heard of examples taking anywhere from a day... to six years." He sighed and then focused on Renata. "As for your questions? This is an Amazon society in every sense of the word. It's brutal, harsh, unyielding and as I well know, anyone who lives here must be prepared to kill or be killed when it comes down to a fight. I think that was Selih. If she could do it all over again and knew she would die, she'd do it anyway. That's their ethos."

Then Mari spoke up and he shook his head. "Let him come to without anyone else getting hurt. He'll come back soon enough." What would be done after that he decided not to try answering.

[Dawn OOC]

Outside, the shifted Sylvia took off at a run, chasing after the fleeing form that was Ravi FitzCoventry. She wouldn't catch him, she knew, but she would be able to follow.

"Actually," Yithaja said dryly, "had she known that Ravi was Beast-Skinned, she probably would have attacked him before claiming his woman. But I daresay she would still try. But Ray is right." Both of the men's names were pronounced oddly; Yithaja hardened the names with a slight n-sound, more a hint of noise than an actual addition of a letter. "Chasing him before he returns to himself will only lead to a long walk in the snow ended by your death. If you would bind yourself to a Beast-Skinned, you must give them room to be the wild beings that they are. To do otherwise is to court disaster. And when some Beast-Skinned slay their mates in unknowing rage, they end their own lives. Ravi's people are far too few to allow one to die thusly."

[Atomicweasel]

And if a woman approach unto any beast, and lie down thereto, thou shalt kill the woman, and the beast: they shall surely be put to death; their blood shall be upon them. The words came unbidden, springing up in Mari’s head as Yithaja spoke. Beast-Skinned. She hated that name. Ravi is not an animal, and I’m not...

“I’m not his mate,” Mari answered, blushing beet red. “I’m,” his girlfriend, no matter what Leviticus says! “worried about him.” She could not stop blushing. It felt like all the blood in her body had decided to move into her cheeks and stay there. “If we go to Heart Stone, or whatever, with Sean and leave Ravi here alone, how will he find us? He’ll think we abandoned him. What if something happens to him...what if something happens to us? We need Ravi.” Mari protested quietly. And he needs us.

__________________

Height: 5'1", Weight: 102 lbs, Hair: Dark brown, Eyes: Hazel, Striking looks 4, Dexterity 4, Presence 4

[Dawn OOC]

Yithaja looked at Mari with mingled irritation and pity. "I do not say to leave him behind. I say to leave him alone and let him come back in his own time," she said, speaking a little more slowly than before. Her tone suggested she was speaking to a child. "Sean is the only one who needs go to Heartstone. You may stay and wait for your Beast-skinned. And mate, boyfriend, it is all the same. You bound your heart to his."

"Do not speak so harshly to her," another Chideran said to Yithaja. The flame-haired woman rolled her eyes in reply, looking more annoyed. Ignoring the one that had just spoken, she asked Sean, "Will you wait for Ravi, or go?"

[Jeremy]

"Don't worry about us." Ray responded to Sean. "Take care of yourself, we'll take care of Ravi." And he turned to Mari and looked her in the eye. "Just give him time. If a while has passed and he's still missing, I'll have Fortune give us a hand. In all likelihood, he won't go too far."

[SalmonMax]

"Sylvia went after him," Renata said, giving Mari's shoulder an awkward pat. "He'll be fine."

...mate, boyfriend, it makes no difference. You have bound your heart to his. Yeah, well, what does she know? Maybe once these guys get 'the wheel' down, then I'll start taking them seriously.

"Sean, why don't you go on ahead? We'll catch up. Sounds like we'll have plenty of time, and Ravi shouldn't be gone too long with the professor after him."

[Ravi FitzCoventry]

The massive panther shrank to it's normal, though still large proportions as it continued to run, losing the extra mass granted by it's rage and bloodlust. Under the sleek hide and rolling muscles, the Hon. Ravi FitzCoventry's heart still burned with savage frustration and self-hate, though of a more reasoned and sane sort. As sane as any young man who was also a natural-born killer could be, at least. The lion-sized beast crested a snowy rise and leaped across the iced-over stream, landing easily on the other side in a puff of white powdery snow before disappearing once again into the woods, it's loping gait the beat of Ravi's thoughts.

I killed her. In front of everyone, in front of Sean and Frida and... and Mari. I became the beast and I murdered. No! I didn't murder her. She wanted a damn fight, and bit off more than she could chew. Oh fucking hell... If the others hadn't been there I'd have eaten her. And Renata's going to be all smugly 'See, I told you he was dangerous' and they're going to start to discuss ways to 'contain' and 'handle' me. And Mari... If she even looks at me again it'll be with pity for the crazy guy - I'll be just like Hector or something. Don't they get it? Selih wanted a fight, wanted to start something. She challenged me. What was I supposed to do? Put 'em up and fist-fight with a warrior-woman holding a sword bigger than Mari? Pssh. Not a chance.

He wanted to keep going. This was the same as the morning after his first Change, but worse. This time everyone had seen him shift, everyone had seen, in glorious Technicolor, what happened when he got angry. He could live here, in the woods. No Dalton, no rules or strictures, no Mari looking at him with a dumb fearful expression in her lovely eyes. Forget the Caramine. To hell with all of them - they'd only be judging him the whole time anyway. He didn't regret killing Selih, that was the real problem. The ease with which he killed and accepted it disturbed a phantom human part of him, and he knew that the others would be horrified at that. They'd call him a sociopath or a psycho, when he wasn't: he was a panther. A panther with a man's brain and capacity for thought, which was even scarier. What did people call a predator with human intelligence? Right: a sociopath or a psycho. To hell with them and their judgements and presuppositions. Even Mari. Even her, with her 'you're not a beast, Ravi' and 'Its okay'. Well it wasn't 'okay'. It was a long bloody distance from 'okay'. She wouldn't accept him as he was, would expect him to change with all the faith of young love.

Ravi slowed from a flat run to a trot, his breath steaming in the cold air as he continued in a straight line away from Doorhold. He didn't know what he was going to do next, but there was only one way to find out.

[z022]

Lucia had let herself be pushed back by Sean to allow Ravi to leave the tavern; she'd entered only in time enough to see a small slice of the fighting and then a large panther eviscerate an Amazon apparently called Selih for something. Her mind hadn't been able to hold on to that much of what was going on around her. He'd killed three times now; The guard on the quad, Paladin at the stables, and now this Chideran in a tavern brawl. Lucia had been horrified over the first two deaths, she'd had nightmares. They'd had as much to do with the darkness she could evoke - Admit it. The Darkness that's inside me. But this time was different. She watched the little bit of the fight, watched the woman strike at the panther and then the panther rip the Chideran open like taking razors to a ragdoll.

And all I feel is a sense of completion. Like it's okay that that woman is dead.

I'm not upset with Ravi. I feel like...I don't know....like I should give him something for winning. Or someone should. How fucked up is that? Am I going insane?

She looked down at her hands, the tendrils of darkness curling contentedly around them just as they did around the rest of her body. Or maybe I'm just going evil. What the hell were you keeping from me, Mother? What am I?

The Chiderans saw to Selih's body, which felt....fine...to her, she supposed. She wasn't repulsed by the gore like she would have been a few months ago, so her new - wrong! - emotions gave the entire honor and burial process an ambivalent mental shrug. By the time she came out of her thoughts, the others were arguing about going to HeartStone and waiting for Ravi, and Sylvia apparently.

"They're huge were-panthers and I don't think we'll be taking AmTrak to get to this sacred site. Won't they probably be able to catch up once he cools off?"

[Atomicweasel]

“He won’t be fine!” Mari answered Renata, in hushed but urgent tones. “He just killed that woman because he couldn’t control himself and he couldn’t stop himself from turning into the beast and he thinks the beast and him are the same thing and this is just going to make it worse!” she blurted in a rush. If I don’t do something the beast will win. “Everybody’s acting like nothing happened, like it’s no big deal, but it is a big deal. Ravi’s losing,” Mari struggled to make sense of the jumble of thoughts and emotions that threatened to overwhelm her. “he’s losing to this...this panther thing inside of him.” she shuddered inside her furs, hitching them higher around her shoulders.

“We need to track him. Can’t...can’t we track him somehow?” she asked, looking to the Amazon who had defended her against Yithaja’s rebuke, and then turning to Sean. “I mean, Sean if you have to go, then, I get it, but...Ravi’s your friend.” her eyes shone with unshed tears. “And he’s turning into an animal...” she glanced sharply at Yithaja, “and I don’t just mean his skin. We need to help him.” Before it’s way too late. Mari bit her lip to fight back the growing urge to just break down and bawl her eyes out; the amazons would definitely not respect a cry-baby.

__________________

Height: 5'1", Weight: 102 lbs, Hair: Dark brown, Eyes: Hazel, Striking looks 4, Dexterity 4, Presence 4

[Dawn OOC]

The Chideran who had stood up for her frowned. "We could probably track him. But I will not chase a Beast-Skinned into the night, when he is running from us in a rage. He will return. I am sure he will return to a mate such as you."

"If it is in heart to return," Yithaja said brutally. "Man and animal twine in his heart, and who is to say what he will do. I will help you look, but in the morning. Not now, when the fire in his beast's heart is still hot."

"No one will help me?" Mari asked, her eyes going wide.

"Oh, some fool will fall into your pretty eyes and agree to go," Yithaja said, "but you should make arrangements for someone to follow and claim your bodies before they are eaten by true beasts."

[SalmonMax]

It's already too late...don't you get it? It was too late from the start. He's never been what you want him to be.

But even as down as she was, Renata wasn't ready to break Mari's heart. Not like that. Not yet.

"It's snowing outside," she said after a second. "Doesn't take Tonto to track in snow. Come on." She left the 'bar' tent, but outside turned to face Mari.

"You know," she said, "I may fight with Ravi, but I do care. He's...a friend. Mostly. I do want to help him. I just...I don't know what I can do, is all. Sylvia's like him, but she's managed to stay human. Maybe she can give him tips or somehing. But you? Me? What are we going to do? That's all I meant. Anyway..."

She pointed at the giant cat tracks with deep boot-prints running through them.

"...figure it's that way. Lets go."

[Atomicweasel]

They hadn’t taken more than ten steps together before Mari reached for Renata’s hand. “Wait...Ren, hold up.” Mari said in a tiny voice. Outside the sky was darkening fast, deep black clouds smeared across a pale moon. There was barely light enough to see the tracks in the snow. In the forest the darkness would be heavier still. What am I doing? Mari thought. Yithaja’s words still rang in her ears. "Oh, some fool will fall into your pretty eyes and agree to go, but you should make arrangements for someone to follow and claim your bodies before they are eaten by true beasts."

“You’re a real good friend,” better than I deserve, cuz here I am trying to get you killed “but…but maybe Yithaja’s right.” Mari shook her head and the tears she’d been fighting back spilled silently down her cheeks, wet and shining in the faint moonlight. “This, this is stupid. It’s dark already and Ravi’s acting crazy and we don’t know what he’ll do and…if something happened to you…” Mari trailed off, took a deep, hitching breath and tried again. “We can go in the morning. Yithaja and that other Chider…Chidry…um, that other amazon lady, they both said they’d help.”

__________________

Height: 5'1", Weight: 102 lbs, Hair: Dark brown, Eyes: Hazel, Striking looks 4, Dexterity 4, Presence 4

[Dawn OOC]

The two ‘men’ glanced at one another and then faded from view. Becor was silent for a moment. “I would be willing to consent to teach you what I can,” he said softly. “Indeed, seeing what you can learn will be an interesting study in itself.”

He shifted on the wall and Ryan wondered if he felt the cold. “There are conditions.”

“Rules?! Aw, man!” Ryan sighed.

“You do not tell the other Daltonites of me, or the Walkers,” Becor said. “We are a solitary race and we do not wish to be known.”

“Uh,” Ryan said, but he wasn’t done.

“What you learn cannot be passed on to just anyone. Only someone else who already seems to have the powers may be taught them.”

“Though it might be interesting to see if they can learn,” Joran said speculatively. At Becor’s look, he fell silent.

“You must do as I say, regarding instruction,” Becor finished. “These are the three things I require of you.”

[Ryan Jackson]

Ryan made a face, "Soooo ... we don't talk about awesome space club, I can't teach other people my awesome space powers, and you are the Yoda and I am the Luke?" Joran and Becor tilted their heads in near unison, a faint puzzled, look on their faces. "I won't talk about you guys, or teach people, an' I'll do what you say," Ryan repeated petulantly.

"Yes, that will do."

Ryan heaved a put upon sigh, "I never get to tell anybody about the fun stuff." He realized with a sudden stark clarity that he had all but volunteered for a class, "Aww, man, it's practically school!"

"That is what you wanted," Joram pointed out. Becor merely looked on at Ryan curiously.

"No, I wanted somebody to teach me! I didn't want more school!"

The two Walkers looked at each other, confused. Joram faced Ryan again, the puzzled look deepening. "But those requests are concurrent, interchangeable, indistinguishable."

"Inextinguishable? Are you going to set me on fire?"

"Fascinating," Becor said.

"He is a most unusual human from what I know of them," Joram replied.

"I am not! Oh, wait, no I guess I probably am. Nobody else has Rydar."

"You are certain of his ability?" Becor asked Joram.

"He with me with wadded projectiles improvised from ambient snow. Twice. While I was veiled."

"Yeah I totally beaned him," Ryan crowed, exuberant, "then he went up the wall and I was all like ... woah."

Becor shook his head slightly, a barely discernible indication of bemusement, "As you say, he is most unusual."

"I'm mostly here too, and I can see you ... well, whatever it's called when you can see without your eyes. It's like all Daredevil style. An' I can hear you."

Becor inclined his head in a gesture of apology, "You are correct."

Ryan rolled his eye, "Duh." The three stared at each other for a moment before Ryan twitched, "OK, what's first?"

[Tatiana di Jadzian]

That's stupid - I'm a dude on one side a' the door, and a chick on th'other? Riiiiiight.

"Girls, wait! Ravi will be able to..." Sean trailed off with a sigh as Renata and Mari left the Drinking Hall in search of Ravi, feeling a tense knot building up between his shoulder blades and running a hand through his raven locks in frustration. "Shit."

Taking a deep breath, Sean turned to face the remaining people, though his deep blue eyes focused on Yithaja. Swan gave him a reassuring smile, and he felt a slight twinge race up his spine, seeing how easily the former Caramine woman had taken the incident. "Well... it's dark now, Ms. Dorn's chasin' after Ravi, and God knows where Ryan is right now - he doesn't even know what's happenin.' How 'bout we wait 'til light, see who shows up, then leave for HeartStone? If Ravi and Ryan haven't shown up by then, they can catch up later if they want. Sound good? We're a team, despite everything, let's not split up if we don't hafta, eh?"

One side of his lips tugged up in a crooked grin, his gaze dancing between Yithaja to the Yaiza and the other Chiderans sharing his Line. "Is there a Guest Hall or someplace where we can crash - er, rest, for a few hours. Uh... here, night doesn't last for sixteen hours or something right, or stay dark for months at a time, does it?"

[Jeremy]

Ray looked a little relieved at Sean's words. There was no point in going out there- despite the insistence of the two girls. "Aside from the ones missing, any other guys are welcome to sleep at the place I have." His lip furrowed as he looked outside. "Still, I think the girls may not get the memo- I'm going to bring them back before they go too far." He walked out the door and into the cold, windy night. Fortunately, the two hadn't gone far, standing in the snow. "I hope you're having second thoughts about this." He told them as he came up from behind them. "No one else is going, and you're better off getting some shut-eye. And I don't want to have to drag you both back."

Correct me if I'm wrong...

I think Ray would have his own small place, simply because the Chiderans would not have a man bunking with them... I'll edit if need be.

[Dawn OOC]

"The sun will rise in mere hours," Yithaja said. Her expression was still annoyed; it was an emotina that seemed to come easily to her face. "And if you wish to rest, there are guest accomidations. I will show you." Snatching her heavy fur off the floor where it had fallen during the fight, she snapped it sharply to knock off the dirt and debris on it. Striding out the door, she tossed it into place over her shoulders. "Those who are coming to bed, should follow me." Turning, she stalked into the darkness, her feminine form resplendent with muscles.

[SalmonMax]

They hadn’t taken more than ten steps together before Mari reached for Renata’s hand. “Wait...Ren, hold up.” Mari said in a tiny voice. Outside the sky was darkening fast, deep black clouds smeared across a pale moon. There was barely light enough to see the tracks in the snow. In the forest the darkness would be heavier still. What am I doing? Mari thought. Yithaja’s words still rang in her ears. "Oh, some fool will fall into your pretty eyes and agree to go, but you should make arrangements for someone to follow and claim your bodies before they are eaten by true beasts."

“You’re a real good friend,” better than I deserve, cuz here I am trying to get you killed “but…but maybe Yithaja’s right.” Mari shook her head and the tears she’d been fighting back spilled silently down her cheeks, wet and shining in the faint moonlight. “This, this is stupid. It’s dark already and Ravi’s acting crazy and we don’t know what he’ll do and…if something happened to you…” Mari trailed off, took a deep, hitching breath and tried again. “We can go in the morning. Yithaja and that other Chider…Chidry…um, that other amazon lady, they both said they’d help.”

Renata hesitated, torn between wanting to assuage the misery brimming in Mari's tears, and relief that the girl was seeing reason in spite of that misery. She knew damn well going after Ravi now was dumb. She just wasn't willing to let Mari go off and do it alone. And she'd taken her hand, which now tingled and felt warm. But she'd called her 'a real good friend.' But then, what did she expect?

You can't have it both ways, Ren. You can't bend over backwards to hide who you are from her, and then expect her to just magically see through it all. That's as crazy as Ravi-hunting at night in the snow when he's deeply fucked up. If you want her stop thinking of you as a friend, then you have to take the big chance, even if it risks it all.

"Mari," she said, honestly not sure what she was going to say next...when the moment was spoiled by Ray barging out of the tent. She whirled around, embarrassment flowering on her cheeks even as anger sculpted her face to a murderous expression aimed right at Ray's eyes.

"The only dragging you're gonna be doing is your own sorry ass back to your tent," she snarled. "What we do, or don't do, isn't any of your business."

She looked back at Mari, her expression softening. "So what's the word? We going, or staying?"

[Tatiana di Jadzian]

Sean gave Ray a nod, hoping he'd be able to talk some sense into Mari and Renata, and waffling between wishing him luck and wanting to watch him suffer the wrath of Renata's tongue. Sean gestured after Yithaja - Swan's dark eyes narrowed, seeing his eyes linger on the athletic woman's ass, who then gave her a sheepish shrug - and nodded at the others.

"Even if it ain't late fer us, guys, I think we should take a few hours before headin' out when the sun comes up," Sean suggested, a furrow appearing between his finely arched brows, puzzled by the irritation radiating off Autumn. "Uh, I've gotta feelin' when the amazons say HeartStone is three days away, it's a rough three days at a fast pace. Shall we?"

Wrapping an arm around Swan, Sean followed after the Chideran, picking up him backpack in passing, unaware he was presenting a firm and shapely silhouette remarkably similar to Yithaja's.

[Atomicweasel]

"Staying." Mari answered Renata. For his troubles Ray got an apologetic look from Mari, the faint suggestion of a sweet little smile probably meant to take the edge off Renata's harsh words, and then Mari turned as Yithaja stomped out of the hall and into the snow, stalking resolutely past the trio with Sean and Swan in tow. Mari's breath rose from her lips in white plumes that drifted up and disappeared into the cold black sky. The svelte little freshman hesitated, looking up at Renata as if to say 'what now?'

__________________

Height: 5'1", Weight: 102 lbs, Hair: Dark brown, Eyes: Hazel, Striking looks 4, Dexterity 4, Presence 4

[Jeremy]

The sudden burst of vitriol surprised Ray, but his face quickly morphed into a clear 'could care less' shield against Renata's barbs. Then he seemed more relieved when Mari had admitted to changing her mind. Ray did not want to have to drag them back- but he would have if necessary. He smiled at Mari when she offered her non-verbal apologies and threw a head gesture to Sean and the group coming out. "That's the trip to the guest halls, the consensus is turn in for the night. Oh and by the way..." he couldn't help but fire back at Renata, "Cute bluster."

Then he strode off, seeing as the guest halls were not far from the small domicile he'd been given for his own personal use in the Doorhold. And considering the situation, he needed a few moments to prepare for the oncoming response.

[SalmonMax]

Renata actually took a step after Ray as he walked off, but a glance back at Mari stopped her. Ravi flashed through her mind, and while she wasn't able to rip grown warriors apart with one stroke of her claws...the last thing she needed was to get into a stupid fight in front of Mari. That would put her in the same hole Ravi was in, even if not quite as deep. With effort she unclenched her fists. Some other time.

"Lets go with Sean and them and see what they're up to," she said, pointing in the direction Yithaja had gone. Still holding Mari's hand, Ren started walking briskly after them

[Dawn OOC]

Ray was walking along, still patting himself on the back for his sly come-back to Renata. Something coiled around his legs and yanked. For a fraction of a second, he was upside down, one leg trapped in the air above him. Then he was dropped into a snowdrift. Sputtering and spitting snow, Ray came out of the drift with his sword drawn. But there was nothing with him on the empty street.

[Jeremy]

It couldn't have been Renata, Ray realized, and he kept his knife at the ready as he strained his ears and looked for tracks- the two recommendations given by his Chideran instructors. But the wind was too loud for him to make out any abnormal sounds and there were no tracks he spotted. Finally, he forced himself to look at the snowy wind and see if it impacted with anything it shouldn't. And yet... still nothing, as if whatever it was vanished away without a trace, no longer present.

Still, if- whatever it was came back... "Watch yourself if you decide to pull this again." Ray warned out loud, as if it could hear him. He kept the knife ready in his hand, but slowly began to continue onward to his destination.

What's That?

[Jeremy] 4:40 pm: Hearing Perception roll

Jeremy *rolls* 5d10: 4+2+4+8+3 = 1 sux

[Jeremy] 4:40 pm: and Tracking Perception roll

Jeremy *rolls* 5d10: 7+8+4+8+7 = 2 sux

[Jeremy] 4:45 pm: Snow Wind Observation roll with 1 WP

Jeremy *rolls* 8d10: 1+9+10+1+7+5+10+8

Jeremy *rolls* 2d10: 4+9

5 sux. 3/4 WP

[Dawn OOC]

Yithaja led them to another lodge, but this one wasn't one great internal room. Instead, it had been divided into smaller rooms. "You two here," the woman grunted to Sean and Swan, tapping a door. Swiftly, she divided the Daltonites up, seemingly pairing them by sexes - Frida and Autumn, Micah with Ryan and so on - until she came to Mari and Renata. To them, she said, "Here is the room for the three of you."

"Three?" Renata asked.

"If your Beast-Skinned returns tonight," Yithaja said as if that explained everything. "Your other Beast-Skinned, the older one, can have the last room."

Renata peered inside the room. It was not large and there were two items of interest - the wardrobe in the corner and the bed against the far wall.

The single bed, but, she noted abstractly, it was large enough for three people.

[SalmonMax]

"Wait," Ren said. "Why can't Mari and I have this room, and then Ravi and Sylvia have the last if they come back?"

[Dawn OOC]

Yithaja blinked at her. "If you wish to separate the Beast-Skinned from his mate, you are welcome to the consequences." Turning, she addressed Frida, who had come up to her.

"Where are the restrooms?" the ghostly girl asked. At Yithaja's frown, she clarified, "Where can we relieve ourselves?"

"Oh, pissing." Yithaja went to the far door, which the guests had assumed led outside. Instead, it went to a small kitchen and eating area; the door beyond it went out to an outhouse. "There. The closest bathhouse is two doors to the right."

[Jeremy]

Ray arrived to the vicinity of the guest house and a short distance away, his one room lodge that combined the limited aspects of a bedroom, kitchen and living room. By now he had grown very used to those living conditions, though back on Earth, only homeless squatters would consider living in such a domicile. He had not detected any more sign of the 'attacker.' All things considered, the best option was to pass the word on.

Seeing the open door and Yithaja leaning out of the entryway for a moment, he started to jog quickly over. "Yithaja!" His face looked parts wary and a little worried. "We have an intruder... a rather ghostly sort that seems to make no sound or leave tracks... unless it's an actual ghost."

[SalmonMax]

"Mari's not his mate," Renata retorted irritably. Ray's call though caught her ear. "Ghost? Hey, Frida...you can see those right? Talk to them?"

[Ravi FitzCoventry]

Roughly twenty miles away, Ravi trotted through the tall, ice-rimed trees, a mixture of firs and silver birch - or at least, trees that looked like firs and silver birch, he amended to himself. The flurries of the snowstorm still gusted around him, coating his whiskers and midnight pelt in frost that glinted and shimmered as it melted, then refroze. Despite the flurries the night was magical, almost: a fantasy winter wood like something from a fairy tale. No smell of pollution, no sense of mankind's despoiling ways. Narnia, the boy in a panther's shape thought with a faint nostalgia. How wonderful and mysterious a frozen forest at night seemed when you were a seven-year old boy reading after lights-out in a prep-school dorm, where your toes were warm and tomorrow promised nothing more exciting than Latin. But now he wasn't just in the fairy tale: he was the fairy tale, too.

Still, C.S. Lewis did get one thing right: it was bitter cold out here. Though it wasn't unduly affecting him through his sleek pelt, Ravi could feel the cold seep into him when he breathed and through his toes as they padded over the cold ground. He wasn't a snow-leopard, after all. If he stayed out in the open, unnatural vitality or not, he'd at the very least be painfully uncomfortable by morning. At worst, he'd be dead. For a moment, he considered turning back, but only for a moment. Even if the Chideran's didn't stuff and mount him, he'd still be the stray slinking back to seek shelter and succor with people who, at best, felt sorry for him. More likely they'd lecture and judge him, condemning him for his nature.

Not bloody likely. I'll live or die on my own damn merits. I'm not going to ask a soul for a bloody thing, least of all understanding. I'm 300 plus pounds of carnivore, my senses are keen, my claws are sharp. I can survive on my own. A line from another story came to him and he would have smiled, if he were capable. 'For I am Cat Who Walks By Himself, and all places are alike to me'.

He started to veer hither and thither, seeking a cave, or a natural overhang, or a fallen tree than might serve as shelter. It didn't take too long: some time ago a large tree had fallen over a rise in the ground, creating a natural lean-to of sorts that was sheltered from the worst of the wind and snow. It wasn't much, but it would suffice for shelter until the storm was over. The lion-sized panther belly-crawled into the hollow and turned around to face outwards, curling up with his chin resting on his forepaws as he watched the snow and wind.

[Tatiana di Jadzian]

Peeking into the room, Sean felt his cheeks redden upon seeing the lone bed and being somehow aware of the faint, feminine grin on Swan's lips. Sure, they had shared an air mattress and a sleeping bag last night, but for some reason, this time, it wouldn't quite be the same, not the least that he wasn't tired. He'd be sharing a bed... with a girl, a woman... who was if anything, even more interested in his, uh, 'new' figure... and neither of them were needing sleep. This is gonna be awkward...

Hearing Yithaja's comment about Ravi, Mari, and Renata sharing a room, he shot them a teasing smirk, glad the awkwardness was being spread around, though there was a subtext of concern in it too - taking two girls to bed might have been very Ravi, but at the moment, Ravi was very dangerous and it was hard to predict how he would react to certain situations. He might have reconsidered the grin if he had known just how feminine it looked.

"Where are the restrooms?" the ghostly girl asked. At Yithaja's frown, she clarified, "Where can we relieve ourselves?"

"Oh, pissing." Yithaja went to the far door, which the guests had assumed led outside. Instead, it went to a small kitchen and eating area; the door beyond it went out to an outhouse. "There. The closest bathhouse is two doors to the right."

Shit! No, this is gonna be awkward, the boy-turned-amazon thought, feeling a familiar - and yet not familiar - pressure on his bladder. He set down his pack in the room and gave Swan a self-conscious shrug. "I'll be right back, Swan."

"I understand, Sean," Swan said, her enigmatic smile widening a trifle. "Are you needing any help with your new-"

"No, I - just... no." And with that, Sean spun around and stalked towards the outhouse as it was a gallows.

The outhouse was chill, if not right out-and-out cold, with the walls blocking out the worst of the wind. Sean stared down at the hole cut into the stone over the latrine, a supportive hand-hold bracketing each side of the hole. There were two 'stalls', though the wall between them was short, seeming to only be there to support the hand-holds. No peein' standin' up anymore. Can't even sit as if I'm taking a shit, I gotta fuckin' squat. There wasn't a lock on the door either, only a simple latch that would stop it from swinging open in the wind. Surprisingly, the outhouse didn't smell bad. Huh, guess girl-crap doesn't smell bad. I wonder if they really don't fart? And...

The pressure kept on building and finally, Sean couldn't delay anymore. He spun around, unbuttoned his jeans and tugged them down pass his flaring hips, followed by his boxer-briefs. Then he straddled the hole and gripped the brackets, hissing at the cold iron. It took a moment to finally relax, then the stream came in fits and starts. It was odd, with the bulk of his shirt, sweater, and furs on top of the bulk of his jutting chest, he couldn't even see his parts down below. Finally, he was down and was about to pull up his underwear and pants when he felt the... wetness remaining down below. A second later, he noticed the spike holding a stack of pliant leaves, their tops soft and almost... fuzzy, sort of like suede. Ah, right, that... He wiped, almost squirming and tried to ignore the sensation coming from his nether regions, then zipped up and stiffly walked back to the room she was sharing with Swan.

To find her already under the covers, probably naked, judging by the neatly folded clothes on the wardrobe and her bare shoulders. Sean sighed and pulled off his furs and sweater, noticing just how well he filled out his shirt. Swan noticed too, but arched a brow and shook her head when he went to slide into bed with her.

"Come now, Sean. If you wish proper rest and relaxation, you should remove just constrictive clothing." Her solid black eyes narrowed and Sean wondered how he could see the amusement in their endless depths. "And further, it is how you say, you have seen mine, so I am wishing to see yours."

Sean's blush blossomed anew, partly due to Swan, the rest due to the fact that he had to admit, if only to himself, he wanted to see what he looked like now. He pulled off his boots, slipped off his jeans, but left on the boxer-briefs, stretched tightly across his taut behind. Then he took a deep breath and yanked off his shirt before he could think about it any longer and looked down.

He inhaled sharply, whistling through his teeth. What he saw was as impressive a sight of female anatomy as he had ever seen in real life, sitting high and proud despite their fullness. And it was all him.

"Come, you are too tense, Sean. Allow me to give you a massage to relieve the tightness in your muscles," Swan offered, sounding cool and collected, but her eyes glowed darkly with interest. "This must be a very strange experience Sean, I am sure, but it is not the worse thing that could happen. You are in control of yourself, which the beast-skinned cannot always claim, and the Chiderans, they are powerful warriors and worthy opponents. Appropriate for you."

Sean snorted, but he still twisted this way and that, taking a good look at himself, even stealing a peek inside his boxers. He gave Swan a suspicious look, then walked over and slid into bed, feeling the sway and bounce of his bare breasts even more acutely. He couldn't ever imagine getting used to the alien sensations of his body. "Okay, I'll try that massage, but nothing funny Swan, I'm... er, I'm not... used to... this."

Not yet... "As you wish, Sean. Now turn over," Swan said, prodding him with a firm, but gentle hand. Sean turned over, breasts pressing firmly against the mattress, and stretched out as Swan straddled his hips and began kneading his shoulders. Despite himself, a groan escape his lips.

[Sylvia Dorn]

Bounding through the starlit snow, Sylvia felt something. It wasn't a familiar sensation, and it took a while, watching ahead for the deep tracks of (the male) her student and chasing after, before she realized it. Indeed, it was only when she came upon a vista at the edge of what was very much like a birch grove, looking out across a valley with new eyes, strength in her feline limbs and hot breath huffing from her lungs, that she comprehended what it was.

For all her life, she'd been rigidly bound to one thing or another. The strong will of her scientist mother and disapproving father; the rigors of school and college, of the master's program and then the doctorate; of the implacable politics of academe; of regent boards and tight-fisted administrators.

But now, for this moment, in this winter land beyond an impossible gate, beneath the trees, she was free.

It would have been terribly easy for her to just keep going, to leave the trail and venture off through the deep woods without return. But a nagging need looped silently around her brief freedom and pulled her back to heel. Ravi is out there, and I need to find him. I need to protect my cubs.

It wasn't long after that when a pair of shining eyes peered beneath an outcropping to see another such pair. He was bigger than she was, even crouched in the small cave. But determination burned in her eyes.

She growled, tossing her head back in the direction from which they'd come. The meaning was clear: return.

[Ravi FitzCoventry]

Of course Sylvia would have come after him - the only person who could have stood a chance of tracking him down this fast, actually. Ravi would've felt sure she would be more concerned with her 'good' cubs - the ones that needed and wanted her protection. But there she was crouched at the edge of his lean-to, peering in at him with eyes like his own, and trying to be a den-mother to him.

Ravi didn't feel the need for a den-mother right now.

His response was quick, and it was non-lethal. Gleaming eyes narrowed with a hint of promised menace, there was a glint of white teeth the size of knives in the gloom and a loud rumbling growl which clearly translated as *Go away!* The cub, it appeared, didn't want to return to the nest.

Sylvia-panther was also aware that the cub outweighed her by a goodly amount, and Ravi's capacity for mayhem when roused was fast becoming one of her greatest concerns on this trip. But she was responsible for him, dammit. She couldn't - wouldn't - just abandon him. And under the menace and anger, it was evident enough that the young panther was dealing with emotional turmoil. If the weather had been a little more clement, she might have tried cajoling or coaxing him from his lair, but the sharp bite of the wind was as keen a reminder to Sylvia as it had been to Ravi that panthers were many things, but Arctic creatures was not one of their descriptors.

A huff of breath snorted pointedly at Ravi's sulk, and the she-panther's stance shifted to one a bit more aggressive. Black lips drew back from her own sharp teeth, and growls made the rest of the point: "Get out or I'll pull you out."

Ravi's reaction to that was immediate - his eyes became slits of green-gold truculent malice, his lips pulled back to reveal all of his teeth, and his rumbling growl became a full-fledged snarl with all the decorum of a sawblade through steel. The message was loud and clear: "Try it, and suffer."

[Sylvia Dorn]

As it turned out, panthers could - and did, in this case - sigh in a way that was pure Sylvia Dorn. Dropping the aggresssive stance, she made to enter the small outcropping: not making a beeline for the snarling maw, but slightly to the side.

Ravi's snarl died to a warning rumble, but when it became obvious that the teacher merely wanted to get in from the cold he hesitated, then shuffled over slightly to allow her more room. Evidently something of the manners of his upbringing remained in the young FitzCoventry.

Getting in from the cold was in fact one objective. But only as a means to an end. Once within the shelter of the small outcropping, Sylvia embarked upon settling the tramuatized nerves of her wayward cub in the only real way open to her in this place, in this form. With rasp-like tongue, she set to work on his shoulders, grooming him.