Boots
Up the ladder? Who did Block join up with? Did he get there by selling us out?

Boots felt a surge of anger, and nearly materialized to demand an explanation before calming down. They wouldn't be able to see him... no harm in listening in to see what he could figure out first.

Boots

Barely containing the flash of rage at the potential betrayal, you manage to simply sit and listen. It becomes evident as the three talk that the other two men's names are Hammer and Ishataki. The conversation seems mainly focused on jobs, either recently past or upcoming, and which would net them the most amount of nuyen and prestige within the 'organization', as they refer to it. As you study the men's auras, you notice the effects of toxins in most of them, probably relating to what they were drinking or drugs they'd done in the recent past. Two items stick out specifically - Block has much more cyberware than he had before, and what he had before has much less impact on his system than it did before, and the other man, Ishataki, is Awakened.

You realize, as you sit, examining the men, that there was something your eyes had slipped past before - traceries of a second aura in Block's, overlaying like a slight, faint luminescence. With a start, you realize why your inspection didn't catch it before - it's your own aura, hovering just under the surface of Block's - you were so used to skipping over it, ignoring yourself when you were inspecting others.

Boots paused, confused by the inescapable conclusion that his spirit formula was in Block. His instinct told him Block was a traitor - but then why would the fomori be what tied him to the material world?

Block probably didn't know, but if he did he could be dangerous. It wouldn't do to act rashly, especially since he couldn't just kill Block now. Ishataki was Awakened and it would be dangerous to let him know anything more than he had to, but Hammer was just a mundane thug. Boots decided to wait until the three of them separated and follow Hammer.

Boots

The men linger through the afternoon and evening. All of them continue to drink, though you notice now that Ishataki drank far, far less than the other two, and never strayed far from Block. Hammer stumbled to the door, finally, and was just stepping through the ward when you felt that sudden jerk on the core of your consciousness, and you blinked, and opened physical eyes, staring at a bottle of expensive malt whiskey on the bedside table, back in Sean's room.

You can hear the quiet hum of his chair, just a few inches away, and feel the rough pressure of one of the dog's tongues, licking slowly at your palm. It blinks at you and wuffs, the dyes running in spirals and curves through it's fur giving it a somewhat otherworldly appearance in the dim light.

Ama and Mato
Taking a moment to think and consider her options. She pulls up an AR window and looks over her meager list of people she knew outside of her old life. She had just began to cultivate the necessary connections to begin her life away from the her former teachers and masters. She struggled as she looked them over trying to decide who to reach out to. Feeling the silence press in on her as the others wait for a response from her or Mato she speaks.

"Give me a moment and let me see who I know that might be able to help."

COD made it clear the feelings around dealing with people and how it was a non-starter. Eris would need an angle or advantage and she didn't have one to offer. The last name left to her was Anansi. Her curiosity might be enough to get her interested and if a favor was owed, she could live with that. She would need to start working soon if she was going to survive out here on her own and they would all be needful to that end. Decision made, she quickly opens a new window and sends a message off to the talismonger to see what help could be gained. They might be able to barter some of the items from Samael or at least get them sold for money.

<<@Anansi: I have a story with no end in sight, a mystery of an sightless corpse with shiny trinkets and the need for shelter. Any chance we could see what trades can be made? >>

As she sends the message off with an attachment with her comm code and sets an alert to let her know when a reply comes in, she turns to Mato.

"Are any of the things you took from Samael magical? We might be able to barter with those for shelter. Can you tell what they are or they do?"

Ama and Mato

"Two are weapons, the bane of spirits. Others hold magic until it is time to be used. Not all magics are from Samael. Some are from another. Can you follow those tracks? I cannot cross into the spirit world, but stand in both."

Ama and Mato

<<@Ama: I do so love shiny trinkets. Shelter will be provided, for the night, at least, and I'll send a little birdy to bring me your message.>>

Attached to the message is an address and a picture...a townhouse in a decent area, a far cry from the decrepit slums Ama had woken up in.

Ama and Mato
Her spirits rise almost as quickly as they drop listening to Mato. She slides the attachment and sends it over to Babs.

"I can't but I could try to ask the kami for a favor and see if they will intercede on our behalf. Let us hope the spirits are feeling kind and generous when we ask. We have a place to stay for at least the night so let's get going. I sent you the address Babs and I'll follow you. Your knowledge of these place is the best here so your route is likely to be the best."

As she speaks she open the door to the SUV and nods for Amy to get back in the vehicle, making sure everyone is clear on the next step before climbing into the vehicle to fall in behind the cab driver now companion.

Babs takes a look at the address and nods, climbing behind the wheel of her cab. A few moments later an incoming call will appear on Mato's commlink, the woman obviously skilled enough to be able to carry on the conversation and drive at the same time. Her voice hints at her curiosity as she leads her newly acquired charges out of the Barrens.

"So, the address your friend gave you is...Damn, don't wanna go down there....The address is a decent place, at the least. Do you guys know what your next couple of moves are going to be? Ah mean, where you're going and all...Mato talked about yer' tribe, or something? You all get sum people somewhere, or something? Ah lease my cab and all, so Ah was thinking Ah could help you out a bit, you know?"

The shattered buildings and broken dreams gradually fade away as civilization reasserts itself, minutes and then a full half-hour quickly falling away as she leads you confidently through various paths and freeways. She pulls to a stop in front of a row of houses, all sharing a wall on either side. The lower level is raised slightly from the street level, and a garage door rumbles quietly up it's tracks in response to an ARO attached to Anansi's message, revealing just enough space to drive the SUV down the slight incline and tuck it away.

Ama and Mato
Parking the vehicle and exiting the vehicle, she takes a moment and allows herself to draw a complete breath and let it out slowly. This was the safest she had been since she had regained consciousness. Closing her eyes and letting the darkness embrace her, she shuts the door behind her before opening her eyes and looking to Amy. Her voice is firm and neutral - either harsh or supportive, just reciting facts of her new existence.

"Go inside and select a room then shower. As long as you are my student you will bathe regularly and take a care with your appearance. As a woman you have already started off at a disadvantage. You are seen as weaker by most and easy to overcome. You cannot change the way society is but you can use it to your advantage. Foster the illusion of fragile femininity so that your adversaries underestimate you or better yet, disregard you completely."

She turns clearly dismissing the young woman as she moves and opens the back of the SUV collecting what few items they have and begins to carry them into the house. She nods at Babs and pauses as she speaks to her.

"We clearly haven't begin to repay our debt to you and if you want to walk away now, I would not blame you but we still need help and I am not left the illusion of pride in these circumstances. If you are still willing to lend aid I promise that I will make reparations for your help."

Boots snarled angrily at the inconvenient timing of Sean's sleep. He jumped out of the wheelchair to his/Sean's feet and started pacing around the apartment, trying to make more sense of what he'd seen.

Boots started walking to the door, then turned around. Going out in Sean's body would endanger his friend, and so far Block didn't know anything. Seeing Sean again would give away too much. Better to wait until morning...

Ama and Mato

There's a flicker of something across Amy's face, but it melts fairly quickly into relief at the specific and directed order, and she nods quickly and gathers the bag and the scavenged equipment, grunting a bit as she hefts it out of the SUV and awkwardly carts it upstairs.

Babs watches the girl go with obvious curiosity, but she seems to visibly set the questions aside as Ama speaks to her.

"Sure, hun, I'm happy to help. Ah gotta kinda attached to yous is all." Her eyes cut towards Mato almost imperceptibly, the briefest of flickers.

"And you pretty much saved my life with tha' grenades and all, seems the least Ah could do. What're you thinking your next step is going to be?"

__________________________________________________________

Boots

The dog whines at your obvious irritation and your furious pacing, following you back and forth across the room, occasionally bumping it's head against your leg. Dawn can't come early enough, and you have to struggle to resist the urge to howl when you realize that Sean's alcohol fueled sleep wasn't going to go away naturally in the morning. The clock reads nearly 12pm when Sean's body suddenly collapses around you, and you find yourself standing next to him, watching the big figure groggily shake his head and groan.

Boots

"Woof! Sorry about that, Sean. I forgot your chair. Listen, I found out something about Block..."

Seeing Sean wince at the barking, Boots paused.

"Let me get your chair back over here first..."

Boots possessed one of the dogs and went to nose the wheelchair back over to Sean, then gave the fomori some time to wake up before explaining what he'd found out.

Ama and Mato
As she talks she makes her way inside of their new temporary home, walking the floor plan and making note of the various entry and exit points.

"I need to get a hacker to open up access on at least the commlink from Samael. I could try to access the memory directly but I can't risk botching the job since its our one and only link at present. Do you know anyone willing to do that task or someone who could put us in touch with one who can?"

Ama and Mato

Mato slowly gets out of the car, taking an effort not to push door against the wall as he fits his massive girth through the narrow gap in the garage. He follows behind his three companions, the new tribe grew larger. In his arms, he carried the sundry foci that had been collected from Samael.

"Thank you friend Babs. Ama, is there a box to hold these things? I can make the protections around it."

Boots

It took Sean a stumbling fifteen minutes and another drink to finally get most of his attention focused back on you. "Whaaaa..wait, wassa..Who? Block? Okay, okay Boots, what about him?"

________________________________________________________________________________

Ama and Mato

A box is easily scavenged from the garage, the plain brown cardboard rather innocuous considering the power contained in the items stored within. As Mato settles in for several hours of work, Babs moves with, helping him clear space, providing the materials he'd need to physical mark the extent of the astral barrier inside the box.

In response to Ama's question, she stares off into space for a moment.

"I know a few people - are we looking for people we can afford, or are we willing to go into hock to get serious talent on this?" She speaks of the combined group casually, assuming a closeness and an interrelation of choices and paths that might seem at odds with the short length of her association.

Amy arrives downstairs as Babs asks her question. She's obviously showered, and being clean shows a marked approval in the girl's appearance. The badly dyed black hair and the semi-permanent attempt at kohl rings around her eyes would take time to fade, but cleaned of the dirt, it was easy to see that the girl might be attractive, if given enough time and attention. She's dressed a suit of the skin-tight armor, and though it's obvious she's made a few adjustments, it's easy to see that it's not fit for her body at all.

"I know it looks like a garbage sack, but I just couldn't put my old clothes back on - not till they're cleaned. I can fix it, if we can get some tools and some plans off the Matrix. I used to patch up Joey's stuff, and the rest of the boys, too. They said I was pretty good." She offers this up almost apologetically, eyes locked somewhere just below Ama's collarbone.

Ama and Mato

Over the hours, Mato chants prayers in his tribal tongue. He beats out an odd rhythm upon the floor and small pots that Babs provided, each beat sounding in time with his chanting. At the height of the prayers, his features take on the cast of a bear, almost overlaying his body with spectral fur, tooth, and claw.

The sounds rise and fall like the sun and moon, until he is done.

Ama and Mato
Taking a moment to look Amy over before walking over to her and standing too close, violating her personal space while taking her chin into a firm grip and bringing her eyes to her own.

"Unless you are trying to show me you are weak and fearful, look me in the eyes. Every thing you do is a statement, about your intent and your purpose. You must begin to think about everything you do from here forward, your voice and the way you carry yourself. What are you saying about yourself and your goals, use this awareness to master your environment."

She releases her chin and turns back to Babs her face thoughtful.

"I can trade favors for better hacker. I need to make sure I get the data. Can you arrange something?"

Ama and Mato

Amy's eyes blaze as Ama jerks her chin up, the women's grip drawing a bright spark of anger in the girl. She listens, however, taking in the words, and giving a curt nod as her chin was released.

Babs, watching the exchange with shocked fascination, looks away almost guiltily as Ama turns and speaks.

"Sure, that won't be a problem. Most of the ones Ah know prefer to meeting in the Matrix, that a problem for you?"

The hours pass, Mato's chanting and drumming reverberating through the house. An hour or so after the big man finishes his ritual, there's a knock at the door.

Ama and Mato
Having told Babs the matrix meet was fine and watching Mato warding the box. She lets her mind roll over the the new development of the young street woman she now had in tow. Where to go with her training? Would she compromise her ability to survive? The questions were uncomfortable to her but she couldn't deny the allure of having structure and purpose in her reach everyday. It called to her, something she could focus on and avoid making decisions for herself. The knock startles her out of her musing.

"That should be a friend of a friend."

She calls out over her shoulder and she walks to the door, pausing a moment to look behind to map the room and make sure her weapons were easy to reach and draw. She relaxes her face and a ripple of motion through her body settles her limbs into a calm stance as she opens the door.

The man beyond stares at you, head cocked like someone inspecting a particularly interesting species of bug. Dark sunglasses cover his eyes, and a heavy trenchcoat and gloves complete an ensemble that, while well made and sturdy, serves to cover everything except small patches of the man's face, where sickly pale skin shows, stretched tight across his skull. Ama is faced once again, for the second time in less than twenty-four hours, with a ghoul, though the man's thin and unassuming frame displayed none of the strength and charisma that Samael's had.

"Huh." The word speaks volumes, and none of it particularly flattering.

"I was sent over to take a look at some things...a mutual friend said you had some shiny trinkets?"

Ama and Mato

The ward complete, Mato rises up from the floor. He rolls his head in a slow circle with the sound of bones creaking and popping through the room. As the door opens, the large man's nose curls. The sour, rancid smell of a ghoul irritates his heightened senses.

In the corner, a short few steps away, shows the bundle of heavy armor that he wore. A second skin meant to stop bullets and bombs rather than the tooth and claw. Leaning against the helmet, his tomahawk gleams dully in the light. The handle is well-worn and oiled, wrapped in braided leather for his grip. None of that would serve for this.

His friend had fought at his side many times. She had hunted with him against creatures like this. Now it was time to have faith in Ama again, the same faith that carried him to a burnt out warehouse to face a gang, that found hope among the Lost, and promised to make the world a better place. He would find the one who slaughtered his tribe and put their spirits to peace. Ama would be there beside him for the hunt.

First though, they had to deal with friends of friends, who may not be friends to them.

Ama and Mato
She pauses letting stillness claim her features at the sight of yet another ghoul but only lets it last a moment before smiling and greeting the new arrival.

"Yes, please come in and I can show what we have to offer."

As she gestures and guides him into the room she angles his route trying to use Mato to block his line of sight to the other women in the other rooms. She gestures using her body as a shield for them to get out of sight. She moves into the living room letting him get comfortable as she turns to Mato.

"Mato can you get the box with the items we are looking to sell?"

Babs notices the gesture and pulls Amy out of sight as the ghoul steps into the room. He tugs the hat from his head, fingers rustling in a stretching motion that would normally indicate arthritis or some other affliction of the joints. Ama, however, is struck by a sudden memory.

The room is dark, lit only with flickering stars of light set far apart in the cavernous space. There's a feeling in the air of a recently passed thunderstorm, some hidden echo of power built and then released. Someone is getting her attention, fingers flickering through a series of quick motions, repeating it until Ama could repeat it, and had it down, speaking quietly in Japanese.

"This will identify you to other members of the group, and them to you. Remember it, and use it only when necessary. HER signs and symbols are not to be bandied about."

Back in the doorway of the small house that occupied the now, the man spoke.

"Doc McCoy, and no, before you ask, it's not from that damned damned 20th century flat-vid everyone's always babbling about. Shall I take a look at these things?

Ama and Mato
The shock of the recognition ripples through her at seeing the hand sign but attempt to even her breathing and lessen the heat in her skin. She moves the box from the spot on the floor and places it in front of their guest.

"This is what we have to offer our mutual friend."

The doctor seems to wait for a moment, as if looking for some kind of response. The moment passes, and he gives a slightly disgruntled grunt and turns to the box, picking up each of the items and inspecting it carefully. He pauses as he spots the Kris, lifting the wavy blade almost reverently in gentle hands, his palms turned up in an almost honorific fashion. His milky gaze focuses on the item, intense concentration creasing his brows and stretching the already tight skin of his face. He returns the blade to the box just as carefully, letting out a soft sigh and taking out a small black cloth to wipe his hands before he proceeds on to inspecting the rest of the items.

Straightening, he returns his gaze to Ama.

"Well, the trip has been well worth my time, I can say that, at least. I'll take all of them off your hands for 68. That work?" He begins to reach inside the jacket of his coat, pausing in the act of withdrawing as he waits for the response.

Ama and Mato
She keeps her face friendly and the tone light but slips a light pleading into her voice.

"I'm glad to hear this has value for you and since we agree these items are worth something. Could you see any way to add a little more to the price? I would be willing to keep giving you first shot at future acquisitions if you would be so kind."

As she speaks she attempts to duplicate the gesture he gave her minutes before.

A slight twitch of the eyebrow, and the doctor gives a slight bow of his head.

"As you wish. I trust 75 will be acceptable?" As if assured of the answer, he's already pulling forth a small metal case, the cover an odd black matte color, and selecting several small, thin rods of silicone of varying colors. He hands these over to Ama, tilting his head slightly in that same slightly curious gesture from earlier.

"Could we speak, for a moment, about your new condition? Privately?"

Sean's apartment

"I looked up Block. He seems to be doing well for himself and to have gotten out of the run unscathed, and now he's moving up in some "organization.

"The other problem is that Block wound up with my True Name imprinted on him. I know you don't understand much about magic, but what it means is that if he figures that out - or any other mage who can get a good look at him - they could easily enslave me and there's nothing either of us could do about it. It's like he has the, uh, Admin password to my soul tattooed on top of his soul? If someone else besides me notices, then they can force me to obey them.

"Now, maybe I'm just jumping to conclusions, but it looks to me like Block set us up. Even if he didn't, it's really dangerous having him wander around.

"I need to hunt down Block and his buddies and figure out what exactly is going on and who they sold us out to. And either way, I need to deal with Block before someone sees the True Name and decides to use it.

Sean, I need to know anything you didn't already tell me that you heard from or learned about Block while he was gone, and then I need you to help me look into him and his buddies."

Boots described and named the other two men he had seen.

Ama and Mato

As the newcomer mentions speaking to Ama alone, the large bear rolls his shoulders and watches the ghoul intently. He noticeably takes a whiff of the air, a predator catching the scent of prey. Lifting up the tomahawk, Mato stands filling the doorway that Babs and Amy had slipped away through, leaving most of the foyer empty for them to talk but close enough to respond.

"I am close. Second fire can be made to burn tonight friend Ama."

Ama and Mato
She keeps the smile from her face at Mato's offer of a second fire and feels a strange......warmth for the shifter. It washes over her and is invigorating but deeply unsettling. She nods to the massive man before turning her attention back to the ghoul across from her.

"My condiiton? Please anything you have to help me understand all of this would be greatly appreciated."

Boots

Sean's face is blurry, but it cements in a shaggy caricature of rage as he listens to the story.

"Set us up? That son of a bitch! Ah brought him on, told Bea he wus alright! How dare that bloody bastard..." The rest is lost in an incoherent stream of ranting, several bottles meeting their untimely end against the walls before he calmed enough to speak again.

"Ah dun't actually know anything you don't know, Boots. Ah can find out though...Ah can sure as hell find out. What are we looking for, exactly?

As he settles back into his chair, brow furrowed in concentration as he focuses on you through his hang over, you can feel a sudden tug, a pull at your astral self. It feels almost like a slice of your soul being carved off and removed from you. You have a brief, sudden sensation of existing at two places at once, and you're suddenly aware of the existence of another piece of your being, somewhere far off in the distance.

____________________________________________________

Ama and Mato

McCoy pauses for a long moment, a brow arched, but it settles in a slightly disgruntled gesture as he gives a small shrug.

"What do you know of the gift you've been given? I was directed to come to you after some other messenger was made...unavailable. I was instructed to help you as I may. I'll make sure that the items you're giving me can't be traced back to you, for starters. Do you know what you're supposed to do from here?"

"Sean, I gotta go! Someone's making a copy now!"

Boots vanished and made for the copy of his spirit formula as fast as he could through the astral, hoping he'd be in time.

Ama and Mato
She feels the tension from around herself unwind at the slightest hint this man could tell her where to go or what to do next.

"I do not. I remember the ritual for my induction into the sisterhood and I have fragmented memories of what followed. I recall an urging or directive to survive but after that I am not a lost. I have clearly undergone some transformation but what and into what I do not know."

Boots

You race through the astral, scenery whipping by at literally the speed of thought as you plunge through people and structures alike. You can feel the odd sensation slowly settling in your body, just like anyone would normalize a constant pressure or touch.

_____________________________

Mato

Once again, you draw in air tainted with the flesh of the infected, the sick, those that have been twisted away from the flows Nature intended. It is distinct, however, and you're confident that you'd be able to identify the man's smell again.

_____________________________

Ama

McCoy considers you, cataract-covered eyes showing just the barest hint of a pupil gone wide.

"She...she speaks to you, directly? You are blessed indeed." His shoulders settle slightly, some change in his perception of you coming over him.

"You've been granted the greatest of her gifts." His tone is different as he begins to speak, the slight derision previously present falling away, a tone very near to reverence taking it's place.

"You're a Nosferatu. You are faster, smarter, stronger than others of your race. You do not age, and cannot be affected by poisons and toxins. You will heal nearly any wound, sans those caused by magic or magical weapons. You can draw directly on the life force of other metahumans to make yourself stronger, both physically and magically. Your bite is now lethal, and will pass on those gifts to any you bite and leave alive. You must never do this, though. One She can choose to pass on the gift - if you bite someone, you must kill them. To do any less is to beg your own destruction.

There are drawbacks to your condition - sunlight will be a constant irritation, and if you do not draw life force from metahumans every few months, you will slowly dwindle away. The last is the only that may cause you significant hardship - you must consume blood from a metahuman. Based on your build, I'd say that you'll need to consume almost a gallon each week. It must be from a metahuman. If you do not do this, your body with wither away. This would also be an offense in Her eyes."

"For now, the only task you've been given is to track down the creatures your companion is hunting. Her blessings should not be wasted in such a manner. I do need to know, though - One was already sent to you, named Samael. Did he not contact you?"

Ama and Mato
Her mind reels at the information as he speaks, she had been gifted with this change to better hunt those unworthy vessels of her power. She struggled to keep listening and feels the floor fall away from her at his mention of Samael.

"I did though I did not know he was an ally at the time. He was killed. He said he served someone called Pywll and while he spoke of a goddess I did not make the connection at the time. I was still disoreinted from the change and had recently regained consciousness. "

She lets the statement hang in the air between them to see what would unfold.

Ama

The reverence slips from the Doctor's face at your comment, and a wry smirk curls up the corners of his mouth, tightly stretched flesh pulled tauter.

"Well, I guess she should have chosen her messengers a little better. Aren't you the little over achiever?" He seems to give you an appraising look, like a man reevaluating an original estimate of a thing's value. His tone, when he speaks again, has lost some of the reverence, but also sounds a bit more sincere, despite it's slightly disdainful tone.

"Well, lucky you she doesn't tolerate weakness. If Samael wasn't able to protect himself from someone so newly reborn, then that failure rests with him. Tell me, what are your plans from here?"

Ama and Mato
Her face remains still as she watches her strange ally make mercurial mood shifts as she watches him absorb the news.

"We have a lead on a ghoul pack we were hunting here in this city and I need to secure more funds to better situate myself. Do you know if completing the task will then give me admittance or is this one is a series of tasks laid before me?"

Ama

"Admittance was granted when the ritual was completed. If you weren't fit for the gift, you'd have been left dead, as opposed to brought back, so don't worry on that point. If she's given you a task, she'll expect it completed in a timely matter. Not saying there can't be other things along the way, but I wouldn't dally. The money I'm giving you for the artifacts will tide you over a for a while...There will be another gathering in about two weeks - someone will contact you before then to lead you to the place, I'm sure."

Boots

You see the flicker of an astral barrier ahead of you and start to pull up short to avoid slamming into it. At the same moment, a barrier springs into place behind you, the vibrant, swirling colors of the astral barrier almost humming with power. As you glance around, you realize you're enclosed, the walls of the barrier stretching past you on either side. It looks roughly like a rectangle, but the smaller square of the barrier you noticed in the first place prevents you from seeing if the walls are fully enclosed on the other side. A square within a square, with you trapped between the two shapes.

Boots

So much for the subtle approach. I could just leave, but I have to get through that barrier before they finish.

Boots eyed the interior wall, trying to figure out if he could smash his way through.

Boots

So much for the subtle approach. I could just leave, but I have to get through that barrier before they finish.

Boots eyed the interior wall, trying to figure out if he could smash his way through.

Ama and Mato
She nods once as he imparts the information. She brings up an AR window from her commlink and sends a request to him to collect some sort of way to contact him in the future.

"Then let's conclude our business and I will see to the task before me. I would like to be able to reach you again if that's allowed?"

Boots

You can see the power crackle and hum from the two barriers...no minor works of effort, that would have had to have been significantly taxing to even a moderately powerful mage. Inside you, you can feel the distinct hovering of that other existence, the tie linking the very essence of yourself to whatever was in that room.

____________________________________________

Ama

McCoy nods, motioning in a somewhat anachronistic fashion to send over the requested information.

"Anytime, my dear. I'm always more than willing to help, with the understanding that you're willing to put yourself in my care for some observation, on occasion." The smile isn't malicious, exactly...more along the lines of a collector looking at a particularly exotic butterfly.

With a nod to both Ama and Mato, he turns, gathering up the box and letting himself out of the door. From around the corner, Amy and Babs peek around Mato's bulk.

Amy and Mato
As the door closes behind the ghoul she let's out the tension she had been holding in. She lets the nausea wash over her as she feel the looming choices rise up all around her. She had a path now and she would follow it. The one simple statement brings everything back to center and the sickening feeling passes. She turns to the group in the house.

"Mato and I are hunting down a ghoul pack that is now here. I have a lead and we're going to follow it."

She quickly divides up the 75k into four equal parts of 18,750 and sends the amount to Babs, Amy, and Mato.

"Here's money for your help so far Babs and I would like to ask you to join us. We need someone who knows the city, at least where everything is and how to get places. Mato use the money to get what you need though I am not sure what that might be and Amy you're going to need armor and a weapon. What weapons are you able to use safely and reliably?"

She pauses to hear what answers or questions follow.

Ama and Mato

Babs nods and grins at the comment, her eyes flicking toward Mato for just a bare instant.

"In it to win it, hun. Just tell me what you need. In the meantime, I'm thinking we'll need someone to clean up the SUV so it's not a problem."

Amy is a little less sanguine, gaping openly as she sees the transfer.

"I don't...I mean, I think I can fix the armor they left, so I guess I don't need any more? As for weapons, I mostly either use a pistol, one of the full auto ones? Or my...my hands, you know? Like back there?"

Boots

Boots snarled, frustrated to be so close but still trapped behind a ward. He decided not to attack the ward directly, and instead sought to look past it.

Boots

The ward shimmers for a moment, and then partially fades from view, growing slightly translucent. Beyond the barrier, you can see one living creature in the broad room, crouched or sitting in front of some shadowy form, and the faint glow of some kind of living field or carpet on the floor. Several other indistinct shadowy shapes line the walls of the room, but their essence doesn't exist on the astral, and the barely visible astral shadow they cast implies that their nature is transitory rather than permanent.

Ama and Mato
She nods and smile at Babs as she tosses her lot in with them.

"Yes please and if they or you think we can use it going forward that would be great. If not let us know what you think we can afford to trade it for. We are going to need transportation."

She turns her attention back to Amy and gesture for her to follow as well as Mato.

"Do what you can for the armor and I will see about a weapon for you on what you provided as guidelines. I want you or rather need you to explain to Mato and myself what you did to summon the magic in yourself. If you can call on it again we might be able to learn more about what path of power you are on now. Try to remember everything just before you summoned it and then what followed. Every little detail will help us determine what direction your training requires."

She leads them back to the living room and indicates for everyone to get comfortable while they hear what happened and the young woman's experience.

Ama and Mato

Babs nods, eyes going slightly unfocused as she follows the group, her attention obviously at least partially divided. Amy hesitates, then turns and follows the rest back into the living room, perching nervously on the edge of one of the overstuffed chairs, hands clenching and unclenching on her knees. She looks up and takes a deep breath, and then begins to speak.

"I'm not sure, exactly, where it comes from. I figured out I could do it when I got bit by a feral dog, back when I was a kid. It bit me, and I got this flash, an image, I think, of something...then I slapped it, and it just died. I tried it out, did it to a few more strays around my apartment - each time, I wished the animal was dead, and I got that flash, and then it just...died. You know? Like the guy back at the base? It was fine when it was just animals, but then Rory tried to...you know, he had me on the ground, back around an abandoned warehouse, and so I...I did it. I knew what he was going to do, and I wished it, wished him dead, and he...died. I left his body there and took off, but I stopped doing it...just hid it, inside, right? Because I knew what people would say...I'd either get blamed for everything that died, or someone would sell me to a corporate recruiter as a wage mage. So I kept it to myself."

She glances up again, her gaze having sunk to the ground during the telling, searching the faces around her to gauge the reactions there.

"I can control it...most of the time."