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Sunday, around mid-day, I went to Snakes and Lattes to loiter, catch up on some reading a new Star Wars novel, support Val's business, and touch base with Charley. Val turned up first, then Charley. While Val was off getting a beverage, I pitched an idea I'd had brewing at Charley: Go to the hospital and see about changing some people's luck/outcomes. A hospital is a nexus of critical turning points: It's a great opportunity to give people a second chance. Charley seemed interested in joining me, so I'm pretty excited about it. (Ila's out of town for a bit, but I'll ask her if she's interested in lending a hand, too. Assuming she gets back sooner rather than later.) Val returned and we mages promptly switched subjects.
Then Brad and Sami showed up. I'd heard back from Mouse that Sami'd been checked out, but that we ought to keep an eye on her because she'd been in the area for a couple years but never bothered to get in touch, so Mouse is a little concerned about motives--I think. Or just practicing "better safe than sorry." I told Sami she'd been cleared by Mouse, then I introduced her to the gang in a more formal capacity. Sami then plunked the paper down--turned to the recent article about how a nightclub had burned down recently, multiple deaths of high-profile, connected individuals, and how either someone had shown up there with a bear or how a bear might have been there the whole time. (Bear now missing in action.) She wanted to know how often that sort of thing happened here and sounded really accusatory, as if we--I mean the local garou--were nothing but fuck-ups around here. Seriously? Like this shit doesn't happen anywhere else? Like cubs don't pop without kinfetches elsewhere? Like young garou don't ever frenzy by accident anywhere but here? It's just.... Grrr. I'm sorry. You get to be bossy when you've (A) contributed something and (B) have an actual plan other than just criticizing people. I'm hoping Sami was just having an off day, because she came across as a pushy asshat. Granted, she had to run, so she wasn't really around long enough to get a better feel for, so.... Bad first impression.
Brad needed some help with The Stick's (his pool hall's) books. I mentioned May Lin's name to him, as I suspect she'd do a bang-up job of it. I left shortly thereafter to hit up a ritzy estate sale in the northwestern side of the city, and the trip turned out to be a bust. Most of the "diamond" jewelry being sold was cubic zirconium--the deceased lady hadn't known. And that was the general theme for that auction: overpriced for what was being offered.
Late into Monday morning I woke to find a text sent from Charley that night. He'd been injured by "wyrmy birds" and was considering checking in to the ER later that day if things if a healer couldn't be lined up. I wrote him back to advise him to stay out of the ER, and that I'd probably be there a little after lunch to check up on him and see if he'd been tainted and see about getting him some medical attention from someone. I called Val and got her voicemail, leaving a cryptic-ish message for her. Then I swung by the tenement first in search of Mouse, but found Nieve instead, and struck up a conversation that I'd hope, eventually, would meander to "do you know that Cleansing rite?" Mouse appeared before things went that far, and the two Walker theurges started talking about the deep umbra, the Cyber Realm, and the Digital Web. (The latter sounds interesting: I might have to probe Nieve for details later.) It sounds like Mouse is looking to get a group together to go to the Cyber Realm, talk to the Cyber Wolves, and negotiate the acquisition of a fetish-type spinal replacement/enhancement from them. (Sewall is also apparently onboard with this plan.) There was some discussion as to what the Cyber Wolves might want for payment. Juice. Sounds like gnosis or things with magical potential. I suggested maybe rounding up any remaining bawnplant weirdness, but Nieve seemed to think the chaotic nature of that "juice" might do as much damage to the Cyber Wolves as it would to their foes in Uptown. (Whatever all that means. I wonder if Uptown is Technocracy? Iteration X? Shit, that'd be scary.) Mouse gave me "a look" at one point, and I suspect she might be coming to ask me later about what kind of "juice" I might be able to contribute. I need to think about how to respond to that. Or...
Crap. I wonder if she's thinking of having me tag along? Blow my cover. (I don't exactly trust Sewall. He's too clinical and detached--probably like the kind of people who experimented on Ex, except with a temper.) Let's not think about that, Nick.
I got my answer about Cleansing--both Mouse and Nieve knew it--and tweaked my cell phone with a bit of Forces to make it give off a reminder beep, giving me an excuse to depart abruptly and go check on Charley. Worst case scenario, if he was tainted and seriously injured and Val was unavailable, I figure I could call in Mouse to heal/cleanse him and she'd either not piece together that Charley was a mage or, if she did, she'd keep it quiet. But Val would be the best option.
Charley answered his door and claimed he thought he was dying. Coughing up blood, but no visible injuries. A scan (a simple blend of the most rudimentary Entropy and Spirit magic) revealed that he hadn't been tainted and no spirit was riding him from the other side (like those spider-things that had been riding me and a lot of my officemates back in San Fran). I then examined him with rudimentary Life magic (which is unfortunately all I can manage in that particular department) and found that his lungs had been damaged by something. Trouble breathing and coughing up blood and feeling like crap will definitely put some panic into you, so it's understandable why Charley freaked out. (Kudos to him for not freaking out while the shit was going down, though.) I told him he'd be okay and that his body was healing the damage, but it might take a month for him to heal up--and that might raise questions, so it would be best to see about getting a healer. Charley agreed. I tried Val again and got through. While we waited for her to show up, I told Charley about the time I nearly lopped my own leg off playing around with Forces and a lightsaber I'd constructed as part of a learning experience for manipulating Forces better. I think it was comforting for him to hear about someone having been injured worse and recovering via the same kind of healing he'd be getting shortly. Plus, better to be distracted from an injury than to dwell on it. Belatedly, when I realized he wasn't doing it, I suggested to him that he use Mind magic to numb the pain signals his body was sending his brain. (I should probably see about showing him a few creative tricks to do within a sphere and via blending spheres. He's a smart guy, but newer to all this, less experienced, and with little training and people to talk with. I think he's a little afraid of himself, too. Lord knows I've been there myself on a few occasions.)
Val showed up and fixed him like it was nothing. (Good to know that Val and the garou--they seem to have interchangeable static magic via these "gifts" of theirs--can heal internalized damage rather than only the things they can see/touch directly. I was briefly worried Val might have to stab a hole through Charley's chest to link the internalized damage to the external puncture. Probably should not have voiced the concern out loud in front of Charley. In hindsight.) Charley shared a bit of what happened. Apparently some tainted/formor pigeons were outside a bar doing nothing, then Ky (Shadow Lord with a short fuse and bad impulse control) turned up, tackled one of them, and it released a gas of some kind that caused all the damage. I thought it was kind of amusing that Ky probably thought he was protecting a kinfolk when, in reality, he indirectly harmed one. Charley fled when the shit hit the fan: good for him. When I asked Charley if he thought he was the target or if it might have been an assassination attempt, he said no--and looked a little taken aback at that possibility. (I guess I've gotten a little paranoid over the years.)
Val departed, Charley bemoaned how he wishes he could do more stuff to defend himself, and I showed him the mundane weapons I like to carry with me--just in case--and showed him how he could use Prime 2 defensively or offensively against another living creature (painful as hell) and Entropy 2 as a distraction or to facilitate getting away or inflicting bad luck upon an opponent. He's from the UK where most physical weapons are illegal. I might need to take him out shooting at some point and look into getting him a firearm, taser, /something/.
Okay. Done. Today is nothing but me, a book, a futon, a fireplace, sporadic naps, and LOLcat stepping on my junk while I'm asleep. Ow.
Then Brad and Sami showed up. I'd heard back from Mouse that Sami'd been checked out, but that we ought to keep an eye on her because she'd been in the area for a couple years but never bothered to get in touch, so Mouse is a little concerned about motives--I think. Or just practicing "better safe than sorry." I told Sami she'd been cleared by Mouse, then I introduced her to the gang in a more formal capacity. Sami then plunked the paper down--turned to the recent article about how a nightclub had burned down recently, multiple deaths of high-profile, connected individuals, and how either someone had shown up there with a bear or how a bear might have been there the whole time. (Bear now missing in action.) She wanted to know how often that sort of thing happened here and sounded really accusatory, as if we--I mean the local garou--were nothing but fuck-ups around here. Seriously? Like this shit doesn't happen anywhere else? Like cubs don't pop without kinfetches elsewhere? Like young garou don't ever frenzy by accident anywhere but here? It's just.... Grrr. I'm sorry. You get to be bossy when you've (A) contributed something and (B) have an actual plan other than just criticizing people. I'm hoping Sami was just having an off day, because she came across as a pushy asshat. Granted, she had to run, so she wasn't really around long enough to get a better feel for, so.... Bad first impression.
Brad needed some help with The Stick's (his pool hall's) books. I mentioned May Lin's name to him, as I suspect she'd do a bang-up job of it. I left shortly thereafter to hit up a ritzy estate sale in the northwestern side of the city, and the trip turned out to be a bust. Most of the "diamond" jewelry being sold was cubic zirconium--the deceased lady hadn't known. And that was the general theme for that auction: overpriced for what was being offered.
Late into Monday morning I woke to find a text sent from Charley that night. He'd been injured by "wyrmy birds" and was considering checking in to the ER later that day if things if a healer couldn't be lined up. I wrote him back to advise him to stay out of the ER, and that I'd probably be there a little after lunch to check up on him and see if he'd been tainted and see about getting him some medical attention from someone. I called Val and got her voicemail, leaving a cryptic-ish message for her. Then I swung by the tenement first in search of Mouse, but found Nieve instead, and struck up a conversation that I'd hope, eventually, would meander to "do you know that Cleansing rite?" Mouse appeared before things went that far, and the two Walker theurges started talking about the deep umbra, the Cyber Realm, and the Digital Web. (The latter sounds interesting: I might have to probe Nieve for details later.) It sounds like Mouse is looking to get a group together to go to the Cyber Realm, talk to the Cyber Wolves, and negotiate the acquisition of a fetish-type spinal replacement/enhancement from them. (Sewall is also apparently onboard with this plan.) There was some discussion as to what the Cyber Wolves might want for payment. Juice. Sounds like gnosis or things with magical potential. I suggested maybe rounding up any remaining bawnplant weirdness, but Nieve seemed to think the chaotic nature of that "juice" might do as much damage to the Cyber Wolves as it would to their foes in Uptown. (Whatever all that means. I wonder if Uptown is Technocracy? Iteration X? Shit, that'd be scary.) Mouse gave me "a look" at one point, and I suspect she might be coming to ask me later about what kind of "juice" I might be able to contribute. I need to think about how to respond to that. Or...
Crap. I wonder if she's thinking of having me tag along? Blow my cover. (I don't exactly trust Sewall. He's too clinical and detached--probably like the kind of people who experimented on Ex, except with a temper.) Let's not think about that, Nick.
I got my answer about Cleansing--both Mouse and Nieve knew it--and tweaked my cell phone with a bit of Forces to make it give off a reminder beep, giving me an excuse to depart abruptly and go check on Charley. Worst case scenario, if he was tainted and seriously injured and Val was unavailable, I figure I could call in Mouse to heal/cleanse him and she'd either not piece together that Charley was a mage or, if she did, she'd keep it quiet. But Val would be the best option.
Charley answered his door and claimed he thought he was dying. Coughing up blood, but no visible injuries. A scan (a simple blend of the most rudimentary Entropy and Spirit magic) revealed that he hadn't been tainted and no spirit was riding him from the other side (like those spider-things that had been riding me and a lot of my officemates back in San Fran). I then examined him with rudimentary Life magic (which is unfortunately all I can manage in that particular department) and found that his lungs had been damaged by something. Trouble breathing and coughing up blood and feeling like crap will definitely put some panic into you, so it's understandable why Charley freaked out. (Kudos to him for not freaking out while the shit was going down, though.) I told him he'd be okay and that his body was healing the damage, but it might take a month for him to heal up--and that might raise questions, so it would be best to see about getting a healer. Charley agreed. I tried Val again and got through. While we waited for her to show up, I told Charley about the time I nearly lopped my own leg off playing around with Forces and a lightsaber I'd constructed as part of a learning experience for manipulating Forces better. I think it was comforting for him to hear about someone having been injured worse and recovering via the same kind of healing he'd be getting shortly. Plus, better to be distracted from an injury than to dwell on it. Belatedly, when I realized he wasn't doing it, I suggested to him that he use Mind magic to numb the pain signals his body was sending his brain. (I should probably see about showing him a few creative tricks to do within a sphere and via blending spheres. He's a smart guy, but newer to all this, less experienced, and with little training and people to talk with. I think he's a little afraid of himself, too. Lord knows I've been there myself on a few occasions.)
Val showed up and fixed him like it was nothing. (Good to know that Val and the garou--they seem to have interchangeable static magic via these "gifts" of theirs--can heal internalized damage rather than only the things they can see/touch directly. I was briefly worried Val might have to stab a hole through Charley's chest to link the internalized damage to the external puncture. Probably should not have voiced the concern out loud in front of Charley. In hindsight.) Charley shared a bit of what happened. Apparently some tainted/formor pigeons were outside a bar doing nothing, then Ky (Shadow Lord with a short fuse and bad impulse control) turned up, tackled one of them, and it released a gas of some kind that caused all the damage. I thought it was kind of amusing that Ky probably thought he was protecting a kinfolk when, in reality, he indirectly harmed one. Charley fled when the shit hit the fan: good for him. When I asked Charley if he thought he was the target or if it might have been an assassination attempt, he said no--and looked a little taken aback at that possibility. (I guess I've gotten a little paranoid over the years.)
Val departed, Charley bemoaned how he wishes he could do more stuff to defend himself, and I showed him the mundane weapons I like to carry with me--just in case--and showed him how he could use Prime 2 defensively or offensively against another living creature (painful as hell) and Entropy 2 as a distraction or to facilitate getting away or inflicting bad luck upon an opponent. He's from the UK where most physical weapons are illegal. I might need to take him out shooting at some point and look into getting him a firearm, taser, /something/.
Okay. Done. Today is nothing but me, a book, a futon, a fireplace, sporadic naps, and LOLcat stepping on my junk while I'm asleep. Ow.
