Deep Vengeance..., ...is the Daughter of Deep Silence Options

[Fenris]

"Anyone else want any of the rest of this stuff? And if not, anybody know anyone that would be interested in taking it off our hands?" He reaches out a toe to nudge the pile of equipment, gathered near the rear entrance of the clinic, carefully moved to a space clear of the various pools of blood surrounding the corpses of the clinic workers.

"I think it's time we take our stuff and bail, right? We've turned the place over to our employer, so work-time is done?"

[JxJxA]

"Um...I will take one of the medkits if you do not mind. This one has served me well, but I think the ones here are a bit more effective. I'll just transfer my kit's personality program into it once I get back home."

He glances over at Widget and fidgets a bit.

"I...uh...have another question. It's about what Sister Isabela said earlier. Do you know what our employer wants to use this center for? The astral around it has been harmed by the crimes committed within it by the vile doctor. Maybe if it is used for good, the traces of evil left here will fade in time?"

[Buddha72]

Widget nods and walks over to a wall in an exam room. Placing a foot against the interior wall she yanks a medkit from it's housing and tosses it to the Zerone.

"Happy birthday!"

She pauses as he continues to talk. Her face takes on a sympathetic but resolved expression as she hears his concerns.

"I wish I could say but I have no idea what our boss plans for this meat shop other than keeping it in business. Everything I heard about the twisted bitch that ran it I think it would be hard for this place to get worse. I wish I had something more comforting to tell you but it's all I got."

She nods to the line of little drones who begin marching out of the clinic with small bits recovered from the drones.

"Well kids time to pick up your toys and go home. If you need someone to sell it all I think Cypher can get you a deal with a hot red head with a knack for turning 'lost' things into nuyen."

The last is said with a wink at Cypher as she makes her way to exit the clinic.

[Hamagen]

As the crew begins shifting through all the gear around, Breeze puts away the last of his own personal gear, putting his two pistols away, but not before kissing each one.

He walks out of the room and looks at the rest...

"Well Gents, as I've said, it has been lovely but I got to get out o this here meat grinder of a building, thanks again for the service, as I've said before I owe you"

He turns and walks up to Widget with a smile, now donning his torn up jeans, raggedy t-shirt and leather jacket.

"Miss, it seems like you had something to do with my liberation from 'lab rat status' also, I owe you as well"

He takes a small bow, reaches for her hand, gently cradles it and gives it a soft gentleman's kiss.

"At your service"

He then turns towards the exit and jogs out, eager to get out of the building.

[Notsoevildm]

Eklipse stashes the SMG and is reaching for one of the commlinks when his eye catches on the katana. He had not really given it much attention until now, especially as he still had Heidi's sword strapped to his back, but something about it caught his attention. He clicked it out a couple of centimetres then drew the blade with a soft hiss.

Not bad. No, actually rather good. This is no cheap mass-produced blade but likely custom made for it's owner. Who did it belong to? he wondered to himself. Shrugging, he gathers it up and makes to leave, the commlink forgotten.

He pauses and addresses Cypher, "Unless you need any help moving all zis stuff, I am going to go and lie down for a day or two. Being blown up and tazered has left me somewhat weary."

[Buddha72]

Breeze
Widget blushes and a ripple of color passes through her hair - a wave of green and blue before settling back into its normal color. She shakes herself out of her daze and yells after Breeze.

"Hey Romeo! Don't forget to send me your info so I can get a hold of you when the next job is churned out."

As she finishes her sentence a small icon appears indicating a request to share information included is a small note.

If you find yourself near the Looking Glass, stop by for a drink and chat. My treat.

[UmaroVI]

Fat Man
"Thank you, Eklipse,. You were hurt helping me; I wish you a fast recovery."

"I should go as well; the chi in this place is bad. Still, this went much more smoothly than our first task."

Seeing that none of the more technically-proficient wanted it, Fat Man picked up the second commlink.

I really should try to get better with these if I'm going to be living in the city.

[Hamagen]

Breeze accepts the request for information and sends a note back

Can never pass up a drink offered by a pretty lass

[BishopMcQ]

With his hands full of the random items that the team had found and left unclaimed, Cypher nods to Widget and heads back to the office. He stacks it up on the chair and wheels the desk chair out to the car.

Back at the safehouse, the wheels it inside. He runs scanners over everything to check for RFID tags, zapping any that he finds. The biohazard bag goes into the freezer, double-bagged for protection.

As the adrenaline wore off entirely, he began to shake. Tonight had been a good night, vengeance was his. So why was he still shaking, dreading the voice that he would find at the other end of the line and the data he was about to sell. Food, sex, alcohol, and sleep all pulled at him. There was work to be done.

Sliding into the soft leather, feeling the chair meld to every contour, Cypher decided there'd be time enough for three later. Now, he ordered Chinese delivery from a place down the street and got to work. It was time to put ghosts to rest.

[JxJxA]

Zerone nods, content with Widget's answer.

"I can be at peace with that answer. Thank you."

He looks at the others, "Is there anything Sister Isabela or I can...um...help with?"

[UmaroVI]

Fat Man sighed in frustration. Clearly, this commlink was better than the cheap one he'd been using, but just as clearly he had no idea how to actually use it properly. He'd spent the last month and some tracking down better equipment for the next mission, but it had been physically exhausting maintaining the blessing of the shen on himself and mentally exhausting staying on his guard all the time around shady black-market types he knew only by reputation or as friends-of-friends-of-friends. On the other hand, it had let him put off actually figuring out this commlink thing.

Learning is a treasure that will follow its owner everywhere. Just like these adds for 'hot troll on gnome action.' Maybe this browsing program can find a native guide?

>Ever had an annoying shaman that couldn't understand digital security protocol if his life depended on it, even though you explained it a thousand times?

I think I might be the annoying shaman.

If only you could tell him to read the fuckin' manual. Well, here's a fuckin' manual to pass on to your teammates; it's what I pass to mine.

Maybe I should read this.

A few hours later, Fat Man had finished the manual.

Okay, I think I have the idea. So analyze is like assensing, agents are like spirits, and the off switch is like that thing metahuman magicians can do where they cut themselves off from the Astral. AR is like astrally perceiving, and VR is like astrally projecting. I think I should get some of those.

[Notsoevildm]

Despite being battered and sore, Eklipse makes the ride back to the Looking Glass without incident. He parks his bike in the underground garage and makes his way up to his apartment via the rear stairs.

With the door locked behind him, he strips out of his runner gear and stashes it all under the bed. He takes a quick shower and a few painkillers to ease his aches. He is beat but too wired to sleep, so changes into a colourful pair of cropped trousers, a flourescent t-shirt and matching sneakers and slips down to the Looking Glass. Finding a quiet spot near the end of one of the bars, he nurses a few import beers as his system winds down. As night turns towards morning he returns to his apartment and falls quickly to sleep.

It's not a good sleep though. His dreams are filled with images of Heidi, her blood being drained by strange machines. He wakes in the late afternoon, aching and feeling more tired than when he went to bed. He staggers to the shower and then drives carefully down to the temple where he spends several hours practising katas to ease his aches and soothe his mind. He leaves in the dark, the monks chasing him out with gentle hints and apologies so they can close up for the night.

With his head and the kinks in his muscles straightened out, he swings past a Fuchi store and picks up a tag eraser and a basic program suite for his commlink. He returns to his apartment and runs the tag eraser over all his equipment. Then he settles down into a full lotus position and starts making calls.

<<@Widget: Frau Widget, I have limited contacts here in Seattle and need some specialized equipment. Would you know of someone who could supply such items? Secondly, the person I am seeking had a medical intervention at the facility we recently visited. It may be that I also need to undergo the same procedure. Would this be possible and how soon could it be arranged?>>

<<@Cypher: Herr Cypher, you appear to have a good grasp of technology. Could you check some equipment for me to ensure that it is protected from unauthorized access and perhaps also advise me on possible software and hardware upgrades. I would of course recompense you for your time and advice.>>

He unfolds himself from his sitting position and returns to the Looking Glass. He seeks out Mr. BoBo and with a flash of white teeth and a swipe of his credstick transfers rent for the coming three months.

[Buddha72]

Eklipse
The simian head of security grunts in appreciation as you transfer credits to the Looking Glass. His face cracks into something you think passes as a smile for him.

"You must be a new friend of baby girl - none of her people even know what rent means."

As the nuyen slides away from your total - a host of AR bubbles pop up around you - messages from other residents and club goers though honestly you would be hard pressed to differentiate the two at this point. You have seen no less than ten different people exit and enter the apartment next to yours.

"AWESOME FUR!"
"Genemod or comet gift?"
"I would so love to brush you out!!"
"Party tonight downstairs for the Fun & Fur Set! Join us!"
"Have any images to share?"

You retreat to your space and send your messages. You are surprised by an almost instant reply from Widget.

<<Eklipse: Howdy! You are causing quite the stir with your sleek sexy furriness. Got slammed with all these requests to introduce you - i won't need to buy a drink or meal for weeks. Enough about me - you are looking for toys and I want to help especially since you all keep the rent money coming and at this rate I might get to buy my own toys someday. What are you looking for exactly? What kind of items?>>

Elsewhere
The crack of the whip echoed through the open space of the bar as the leather clad woman strode across to the small stage set up in the center of the space. Her boots click sharply as she grabs the small whip from the startled man's hand. He stands, dressed in skin hugging leather, poised over a woman draped in sheer lace on her stomach and her knees tucked underneath her. Her face encased in a sliver mirror mask and hands bound above the small of her back - her head and chest resting on a small raised block of aged and distressed wood.

"Idiot! I am not paying you to wave this thing around like a cheap extra in a shitty two bit gothic porn trid."

She grabs his face roughly and draws his face to hers. Her eyes hard and fixed as she speaks she lands several sharp lashes to the woman's thighs and buttocks.

"You are powerful!"

*CRACK*

"She is a willing vessel to be used!"

*CRACK*

"You are to make her body sing!"

*CRACK*

She shoves his face away and throws the whip at his chest, turning and walking off the stage. She bellows and it echoes through the air.

"THEODORE! No more actors or porn starlets or so help me I will skin you and hang it from my office wall for your replacement to see."

An athletic and trim man dressed in the latest corporate fashion - a sharp and custom fit suit that screams success - jogs up behind her - his face calm and serene as he falls into step beside her.

"Of course Madame Yin. My apologies - he came highly recommended and I'll make sure we screen more thoroughly in the future. You asked me to remind you about the street gang that's encroaching on the area near your other club. It appears they have contacted a few businesses in the same block for protection money."

He waves his hand in the air pulling up an AR tablet that he slides in front of her face. She glances up and pauses her pacing through the club to watch a grainy video showing several trolls entering a bookstore and preceding to harass the customers and the owner. Her mouth takes on a bitter cast as she watches. She taps the object pausing the playback and using her fingers zooms in the image on one of the trolls.

"Fucking fantastic - as if I needed this right now. Set up a meeting with my account and see that I have all the photos of the members we can get our hands on. It's time to balance the books."

She flicks the tablet away and it fades from sight as her assistant nods and opens a window in AR. He begins to write out a missive to someone named Ayo.

[UmaroVI]

As Fat Man prepares himself to meet with the Hengeyokai once more, he reminds himself of the words Guan Yu sent him in a dream as he prepared to leave his homeland:

You can grind jade to dust, but you cannot make it lose its whiteness.

I might have traveled far from home and changed in many ways, but Guan Yu was trying to tell me that the world cannot force me to change who I am. Surely the Hengeyokai will see that.

As Fat Man walks to the meeting-place, outside the city and past the farms and ranches, his mind wanders back to the legends of his mentor spirit that he'd heard and read when he was younger - the time Guan Yu spent separated from his brothers, fighting in foreign lands, but never losing his honor or forgetting his true loyalties.

I can live in this city without becoming like all the other people here.

As he comes within sight of the barn where he'd meet Hito last time, he sees her waiting outside, both as a woman and as a bird. He waves hello, and then bows to her.

"Hito! I hope your artwork turned out well."

[Buddha72]

Fat Man
The elderly woman bows in return and a small smile plays along her features. She walks forward and gestures for you to follow her as she walks around the outside of the barn toward the field behind it. The sounds of the wind and small creatures wash over you. That same clean and light floral scent rises from her skin.

"Thank you for asking. It is done and I am pleased with it."

As you come around the corner of the rear of the barn you see a sculpture resting in the grass and earth. She pauses a moment to look at the work, her face radiant at the sight of it.

"I am seeking a home for it now. There are several places where I think it will bring out the most change but I must seek out the kami within it and know for sure."

She admires the piece for a moment more before turning away from it and bringing her attention to you. Her face looks happy and relaxed.

"I have met with the others and you are welcome to stand amongst us but before you accept this invitation there are details we must discuss. First, you must swear an oath to our code and to the others that you will do as required. As I mentioned before, we each seek the ideals laid out by the founder in our own ways but this freedom carries a cost. One can become lost and lose the balance - slipping too far to man or beast. If this imbalance threatens more than the lost soul that is mired in it then we act to restore that balance. To the point of releasing that soul from this existence if necessary. Can you honor that oath?"

She looks to you for your answer.

[UmaroVI]

Fat Man pauses to look at the statue, taking a short time to contemplate both its physical appearance and its astral aura. He could see the lingering effects of the care and emotion that had gone into its crafting, even though he knew little of art.

"I wish you the best of luck in finding it a good home."

After hearing Hito's speech, and thinking on the oath, Fat Man bows and replies.

"I am grateful for your acceptance. I will gladly swear such an oath before the spirits of heaven and earth and will honor it as long as I live."

[Buddha72]

Fat Man
Her face lights up once more and she seems pleased with your response. She leads the walk back around to the front of the barn as she speaks.

"It has been awhile since a new seeker has joined our number. I would be honored to present your request and sponsor you. We meet soon and accept your oath. Return here in four days time and we shall set you upon the path."

[UmaroVI]

Fat Man's apartment

"Are you, uh, entirely sure about this, Fat Man,? This stuff is ten times more potent than peyote."

"The shamans of this land use it to pierce the veil between worlds. They consider it a religious experience; it allows them to become more in tune with the spirits of this land,, Fat Man replies to his friend James.

"I don't normally try to talk people out of buying stuff from me, but, uh, are you sure it will work like that if you aren't a metahuman? Aren't you already in touch with the spirits and all that?"

"There are people called 'skin walker,' native to this land, wolves who can become men. Their shamans use it as well, so it should work."

"All right man, but don't blame me if you have a bad trip."

Fat Man takes the bowl of strange, foul-tasting soup from James and drinks it, becoming immediately grateful for his strong stomach. He hadn't wanted to admit it to James, but he'd been wholly unable to find inner peace since he had left home. He remembered meditation being easy and coming naturally to him... but it hadn't, not for years. He hopes the concoction of the desert shamans will allow him to pass the mental block.

Fat Man's apartment, 7 hours later

Fat Man's arm BURNS with a bright reverberation, the flames the sound of decay and the color of a howl. The mark on his arm where the abomination had struck him begins to spread, and his fur becomes matted and loud with blood, his hands become a claw, but not his claw, the abomination's claw. He sees himself killing the magician who had summoned it with that claw, and the knowledge that he had killed the man with magic does nothing to make the spray of blood less booming.

He sees a giant panda, its great black eyes filled with regret, watching him as he walks away towards a huge green-robed man with a beautiful black beard and ruddy face sitting astride a horse the color of blood. The man gestures towards him with a massive green saber, its blade the shape of a dragon's wing, as Fat Man approaches...

Fat Man could never remember the rest of what he saw, or even if there was more.

Fat Man's apartment, two weeks later
Visions swim before Fat Man's eyes. The floor is not a floor, because floors are not shaped like spheres and walls are not beyond the horizon. His table is not a table, it is a board. It is a grid, and in a world of ovals and spheres the squares were squares and they had black and white circles on them.

At one side of the board sits Guan Yu,, his immense beard resplendent as he contemplates the game. His white-eyebrowed opponent waits patiently as the general places his piece, but the other onlookers can only wince as they hear the scraping of metal against bone. As Guan Yu plays, a surgeon operates on the bone of his right arm, removing traces of poison from an infected arrow wound.

Guan Yu takes a drink from his cup and turns to regard Fat Man, showing no sign of pain, discomfort, or even having noticed the wound.

"Why are you afraid of the remedy?"

As Fat Man looks on his own arm, he sees it laid open to the bone and feels the same burning pain, but he forces himself to ignore the pain and instead watch the game of go. The vision ends as the game concludes.

[UmaroVI]

As Fat Man travels to the meeting place of the Hengeyokai, prepared for the ritual that would bind him to their order, Fat Man reflects on the strange visions he'd seen. Guan Yu hadn't tried to operate on his own arm; the surgeon Hua Tuo had done it.

Guan Yu told me I was afraid of the remedy. But the wound is spiritual, not physical; the pain I experienced in my visions must have been a metaphor. I will have to ask Hito's advice after the meeting; she knows far more of such things than I do. For now, though, I must focus on performing this ritual properly; rituals have never been my strong suit as a mage.

Fat Man rounds the last corner on his path, anxious to meet the remaining members of the Hengeyokai and curious who else was among its members. He'd met no other shifters besides his own people and Hito; it would be an interesting experience to see some of his more distant relatives.

[Notsoevildm]

Eklipse is feeling both glum and slightly paranoid. Over the last week he has politely responded to various messages about his fur from the strange crowd that frequents the Looking Glass. Some were just curious, some were flirting with him and one, well that one was worrying. The person in question had started asking more probing questions about him like where did he come from, what corp did he work for, etc. He had stopped replying to the messages and even blocked the number, but he worried that the dragon was looking for him.

Which was a pity as the bar was about the only place in Seattle where he felt safe. His blue fur would make him stand out even more in any other location. So he had taken what precautions he could. Over the last week, he had several meetings with Widget, who delivered an assortment of new gear to him. The first item was a tag eraser, which he had ran over basically everything he owned including all the items he had bought or acquired since leaving S-K.

The second item was an almost carbon copy of his trusty HK227X, the old one belonging to S-K had fallen into the river along with his form-fitting armor in a tote bag fillled with several kilos of fast setting concrete.

And finally, having seen how efective Ayo's chameleon armor had been, he had requested a similar outfit but one that also had some electrical insulation just on the off-chance someone or something tried to taze him again. That had taken a few more days for the rigger or her contacts to track down but was now stashed under his bed along with all his other gear.

"Danke again, Frau Widget."

He raised his beer in a toast. The young woman smiled back at him, raising her vibrantly colored cocktail. Like several of the women who had approached him in the last week, something in her smile or her eyes reminded him of his missing Heidi. He felt even more glum.

"Any word on ze status of ze clinic. Zere vas no reason for ze woman I am looking for to have had ze procedure that Herr Cypher discovered in ze clinics records. Ze only reason I can think of is that she perhaps had something in her blood zat could be used to track her. Without revealing too much, let me just say zat I may be in the same ship."

"...same boat" corrects Widget.

He forces a smile. "Boat, ship, zese are ze same thing no? Anyway please let me know if and when it vould be possible for me to undergo ze same procedure. If someone can track me through meine blood, the sooner it is dealt with the better for us all, ja?"

Widget finishes her drink and leaves. Eklipse orders another beer but leaves it warming on the table. His eyes scan the crowd for anyone acting suspicious, quite a challenge in the Looking Glass. A young woman with purple hair, green skin and large cat's eyes gives him a wink across the room. Even she reminds him of Heidi. He sighs and drinks his warm beer before retiring to his apartment to sleep away the day.

[BishopMcQ]

The next few days passed in a blur with Cypher beginning to lose track of when he was online and when he was dreaming of dodging digital attacks. With the burden of off-loading Takayasu's head and heart done, he headed back to the Commune. Aideen was there and the people in the community were easy to get along with. They didn't ask too many questions about where he had been, but they gave him work to do. A few hours each day were spent buried in matrix feeds, sorting feeds from various friends and family members on the final disposition of patients. The rest of the day Cypher paid rent in long hours repairing commlinks, purification systems, and every other kind of electronic that could be scavenged from nearby sites. Some evenings were spent with Aideen when she had time for dinner, otherwise the hacker found himself sitting shoulder to shoulder with the solid folk of the community.

After two weeks, Cypher realized there was simply no more hiding from the data. It was radioactive and until he cleaned it up, there'd be doom spreading far and wide. With the last of the money settled, he went in for some surgery. The fact was that if his body didn't move as fast as his mind, he'd be dead. As he recovered, the hacker came to a decision. He needed an insurance policy.

Catching a ride into the city, he went to a matrix cafe and got to work. He bounced the signal through a dozen different proxy servers, setting up a dead-drop box. If he was off-line for more than 72 hours, it would transmit the information to every datahaven and news outlet he knew. Scorched earth was the plan of the day. The data had been scrubbed of every digital fingerprint except his own and and Dr. Takayasu's. He prayed that it would be enough to keep everyone focused on the power struggle and not look at who else might have seen the data.

That afternoon, he purged every trace of data from his commlink and switched to the link the team had recovered from the clinic. He hardcoded a new Access ID into the device and called Eklipse to hand it off. The hacker reviewed all of the gear for his German teammate, giving a second set of eyes to finding bugs. While he was in the Looking Glass, Cypher made use of the high traffic and noise sending a warning to Widget. Death plus three and she needed to find a deep hole.

It was time to find a new place to live. Some things could not be unseen, but he could limit the fallout and who would be caught in the blast radius.

[Buddha72]

Eklipse
As you begin to drift off to sleep - a small alert sounds letting you know you have a new message.

<<Eklipse: So first I want to say sorry about dropping the ball on the blood work angle of things. I went for the work that made money - I have had a serious money flow issue going on. I checked with HR and you are cleared to get your blood tested and cleaned all pretty like when you have the time.>>

Cypher
As you looked over the data in your commlink before wiping it clean - you notice that Breeze's records are absent from the clinic database.

Fat Man
Hitto meets you at the edge of her property or at least you assume she owns it since she seems to be living there. She smiles and waves you over to her side and begins walking away from the barn towards a small corpse of trees.

"I am glad you came. This is an important step in deepen your connection to the gifts inside you. The sacred space we share for our workings and seekings lies beyond that tree line. We have a friend - a powerful kami that shelters us and protects during the gathering."

She allows the silence of the night to fill in the void of sound as she finishes speaking. She guides you to just inside the first ring of trees and looks to you once more.

"We enter this place free of the trappings of the outside world and in the form of our lineage."

She slowly removes her clothes - taking great care to fold each piece and resting it gently on the ground. As she does so she continues to speak to you her voice echoing strangely through the trees.

"When done we will travel to the ritual space and be joined - heart and souls will be woven together so we may share our freely given thoughts. I will present you to the others and the Oath will be offered for you to accept. You may still refuse if you desire and we will depart from the gathering. All I would ask is that you hold the knowledge of this place only within yourself. No other burden is placed upon you for declining. When you accept the Oath the kami that watches over us will bind you to us and I will warn you - you may not recall much of the rest of the night. The experience can be confusing and takes time to sort out. Each gathering you will find the connection less chaotic and soon it will be as if we are speaking over a cup of tea."

She looks to you, waiting to see if you have any last questions.

[Notsoevildm]

The procedure is painless and takes only a couple of hours. The doctor's declare him more than healthy and that there is nothing hiding in his blood sending signals to anyone. They neglect to mention that he didn't really need the procedure, but do still bill him for it.

Eklipse looks at the rapidly diminishing numbers on his credsticks.

Easy come, easy go!

He decides not to go the temple or the bar, instead retreating to his apartment with the newly tricked out commlinks Cypher had set up for him. He spends the rest of day recovering from the procedure and scouring the matrix for anything that might help him find Heidi.

He emerges from cold sim several hours later with a pounding headache.

Ugh, how do deckers do this. I should just ask Cypher to do it for me.

Feeling somewhat less paranoid than before, he decides to chill out for a bit and picks out what can best be described as a short-sleeved hawaiian shirt, a pair of knee-length shorts and some fake-leather sandals. The doctor at the clinic had recommended that he drink plenty of liquids and stay off the alcohol for a while, so he orders one of the bar's more unusually named cocktails which contains mainly caffeine, vitamine C and fruit juice.

As he sips his drinks, he checks his messages and pings off messages to Thomas and Magda.

<<@Thomas O'Malley: Regarding your information about a possible yakuza chop shop, I think you will find that the premises are under new ownership and would take it as a personal favour if you did not investigate it too closely.>>

<<@Magda Reiner: It seems that our mutual friend is alive and well. Hoping to meet up with her soon. Gunther>>

He focuses once more on his surroundings, nearly jumping out of skin as he realises there is someone standing behind him.

"Nice furrrr" purrs the green-skinned girl he had seen a few nights before into his ear. She eyes him up and down with her big cat-eyes as he turns his head to regard her.

"Thank you, miss...?" he manages to reply.

"Just Katja" she replies running one hand through the fur on his chest. "Got a name, cutie?"

"Erm...Jakob" he replies after taking a moment to check which fake SIN he had loaded into his commlink.

To cover his hesitation, he quickly asks, "Can I get you a drink?"

As he turns to order, his blood runs cold. Sitting further along the bar is a human man, short cropped hair, dark glasses. He stands out simply because he is so normal. But what causes Eklipse to hesitate is the S-K logo on the lapel of his jacket.

The next hour is a nightmare. He does his best to keep up his end of the convesation with the admittedly attractive changeling, but even though the man pays him no attention, Eklipse is constantly aware of him. Eventually he excuses himself, taking her number and promising to call her next time he will be in town.

He spends the next hour huddled on the roof of the parking lot across the street from the Looking Glass, woefully underdressed for the weather, while watching for the man to leave. Only when he finally spots him leaving, accompanied by a young changeling woman, does the frozen night elf return to his appartment.

[UmaroVI]

Fat Man also removes his clothing, taking longer than Hito because of the several layers he wears. He also carefully removes a set of black metallic bands from his arms and legs, and a pair of metal rings from his fingers, before assuming his animal form.

As he does so, he asks Hito, "can you tell me more of this particular kami?"

[Buddha72]

Fat Man
She pauses a moment before answering - seeming to think it over or at least how to answer.

"We all have an opinion of the kami that answered our call when this society was formed so I can tell you what I think of this spirit. I believe it is a combined reflection of all the souls that have shared in this place. It takes the noble parts of our being and adds a twin of it to itself. By creating this sacred site we awoke the spirit here and it drew purpose from our actions. It has not named itself but I think it is still waking fully. The magic that birthed this place was potent and I think this spirit has more potential within it. It has appeared as various animals and as of yet made no requests of us. We give offerings as is fitting and proper. It guards this site and keeps us safe during deep workings. Others will tell you that it is the founder - that she has passed beyond this life and now watches over us. Still others will say it is merely an avatar formed from the residual mana our rites leave in the astral - that it mimics consciousness like an echo. What we can all agree to is that it is benevolent and welcomed in our presence when we gather."

Placing the last bit of clothing on the ground, she stands upright and a ripple passes through her as she slides from this shape to that of an eagle. You see the bird stretch its wings and settle into its body. It looks at you with one eye and bobs its head before taking to the air. You amble along behind it till you arrive at a small clearing with a pond. Resting along the edge you see a collection of animals waiting. You see a fox, a seal resting partly in the water, two bears, two wolves and a leopard. You watch Hitto glide and land gracefully on a lower tree branch - you see it sag under her weight. As you enter the clearing the others turn and look you over.

The moment is silent and rests comfortably around you as they take your measure. You can see the astral space here pulses with life and purpose. It dances along your skin - the potential energy that has been gathered here over and over. Something lies just underneath the surface of this - a great and vast presence - half asleep or dreaming. The others turn to one another and without an outward sign a great ripple of mana passes through the astral and links all of you.

Your mind races with sensations - the air flowing over and under your body as you push yourself skyward - the warm rush of blood as it fills your mouth - the cold pressure of water all around you - you reel from the combined flows of their lives and experiences. You feel yourself being dragged down by it - like drowning until a signal thought calls out to you.

HERE

A force cradles your spirit and creates a center of calm - you are aware of the others but they seem distant now almost like whispers at the edge of your hearing.

PLEDGE YOURSELF AND JOIN US OR REFUSE AND LEAVE THIS PLACE

You give your assent and feel the mana sink into your blood and bone. It settles over you like a new skin. You feel the surge of welcome - the joy of finding another to share with. The pride of having you stand amongst them. This feeling sings through you and sweeps you from the eye you resided in. You feel the exultation of being accepted and loved unconditionally. The bliss fills you and you lose yourself in the sharing.

Your next lucid memory is lying in the barn and opening your eyes to the wane light of a few lanterns and Hitto's face above you dabbing an oil just below your nostrils. You see your things in a neat pile at the edge of your vision.

"Ahh good you are awake. As I said it will get easier and you will remember more with each gathering your join in. The others were pleased to meet you and look forward to introducing themselves in the time ahead. I have prepared food and drink so when you feel ready partake."