The Cult of Jennifer [Unfinished]

Jennifer

Jennifer appeared to be calm, but to the careful observer one would notice she kept playing with her charm bracelet.

Serafíne

Thursday morning.

Serafíne and Dan, quite true to their word, spent the remainder of that late night at the chantry and Sera didn't really sleep. If Jennifer paid any attention to the locus of Sera's resonance in the house, it was wholly centered around the hotspring.

Morning though - and rather an early morning for the Cultist and her consor - has her up and showered and dressed and sitting on the kitchen counter watching Dan as he cooks eggs to order and russles up pancakes or maybe waffles to go with for Elijah and Jennifer and himself.

Sera doesn't eat. She's fasting. In a few hours she will start a series of rituals that will -

- well, that comes later.

But there she is, lean and perhaps even sharp, with her half-shaved head and an old band t-shirt and combat boots and a leather jacket and fishnets and there's Dan in his crimson-colored skinny jeans and artfully mis-matched button-down flannel with a little bow-tie, and his tattoos and his blond beard and his familiar manner with Sera and his easy grin that encompasses her somehow entirely.

And how the morning goes and how it grows and how it feels really depends on one's tolerance for the antics of tattooed hipsters and perhaps for how one feels about high-churched episcopals because Sera has a goddamned potty-mouth but yes, she and Dan (in their conversion van full of remnants of old shows and music equipment that hasn't made the transition fully here or there and whatever) take Jennifer and perhaps Elijah all the way from Morrison to a very, very poor, rather tough, heavily hispanic neighborhood off Federal where they pull up outside a traditional looking church surrounded by a weedy asphalt tarmac (basketball courts; children's playground) surrounded by a chainlink fence and take them inside, right through the high-church sanctuary which feels like a blast of illuminating light, soaked with this brilliant and far-seeing resonance, and looks like a Catholic church but isn't. Pan's one of those Episcopals who is as Catholic as he can be, except for the sexism and homophobia. But listen: Mary is everywhere, and the stations of the cross. All the symbolism, all the soaked-in ritual.

--

There is an audience with the church administrator who does not approve of Sera and then a brief audience with the tall priest, who considers Jennifer thoughtfully and not-unkindly though perhaps still somehow with frightful thoroughness, and then Jennifer and Elijah (if he has joined them) are encouraged to leave and Serafíne and Father Echeverría are alone for a time, and then Sera comes back and picks up Dan and Jennifer and perhaps Elijah from the waiting area and they all troop back out through the church and back to the van where Dan climbs into the driver's seat and looks at Sera who has taken shotgun and curled up her long legs beneath her body and who in turn turns around to glance at Jennifer, taking her in.

Sera isn't a careful observer but she is so aware, so very aware.

"Pan says you're okay." Sera tells Jennifer, quiet. "But you and I need to have a really solid talk. We can go to my place, or we can drive to a park and find someplace where we can be alone. Whichever you feel more comfortable with."

Jennifer

"umm.... It is up to you, but Umm... I think Elijah has some test today and I don't want him to be late on account of me. Would you mind dropping him by his class and then... " Jen closes her eyes and takes a deep breath " then i trust you to take me wherever you deem appropriate Sera."

Serafíne

Sera's dark eyes are steady on Jennifer and she's half-peaking around the headrest, resting her chin on the shoulder of the bucket seat.

"Yeah okay," quiet, with a darting glance Elijah. "You shouldn't trust me though, you know? I mean, I am fucking trustworthy but I'm also a fucking stranger. We'll go to my place."

Dan already has the van in gear. They're pulling away from the curb. In the end, they end up dropping Elijah off at the Uni and swinging around through the leafy, mixed residential neighborhood of Cap Hill. Dan pulls up in front of a three+ story blond-brick home with a wide porch and an old maple tree in the front yard and a spreading oak in the back and a unicycle on the porch. An impression inside of a kind of creative chaos, though one expects that Jennifer does not have much of an eye for the decor in just this moment.

Sera's housemates are out, so they can take over the kitchen. Much as she did in the chantry, Sera takes a seat on the counter, here. Jennifer can sit wherever she likes. Dan puts the kettle on for tea.

"I'm gonna be honest with you, Jennifer. Some of the shit you said - and some of the shit you didn't say - last night really creeps me out. That's why I took you to Pan, and that's why I brought you here. So I'm gonna ask you more questions about shit. Your family and your community and what the hell happened to your folks, and you shouldn't try to hide or conceal any of it from me, because I'm a Disciple. I can read your thoughts, as you're thinking them.

"And I'm concerned about you, and also what you mean to us, to Elijah and other people that I love, that I need to know more. Some of the shit I say about people that you love and people that you care about and people that you miss is going to be right painful, and I'm sorry, and it's okay if you cry and it's okay if you hate me just a little. And I need to be honest with you, and I need you to be honest with me. Deal?"

Jennifer

Jennifer nods at Sera. "That explains how I upset you without realizing it last night. I trust you because I trust Elijah and he seems to respect and trust you. My past is sorted and confused. I am confused. I will answer to the best of my ability, but as you learned last night there are things I'm realizing that I don't know many things, but I will try to put your mind at ease. Elijah is my only friend other than the two letting me live in their condo. If you are his friend and you are worried about my impact on him I will do my best to help convince you that I mean him, nor any of the other... Mages any harm."

Jennifer kept fiddling with her charm bracelet trying to comfort herself . This was feeling like all the conversations the FBI and the police kept trying to have with her. At least not she was in a more comfortable location. She hopped Elijah was not too distracted to do well on his test. His late night boredom seemed to have gotten them both into trouble.

Serafíne

"Listen," Sera says, with a glimpse all aslant at Dan, who is quietly fiddling with the kettle, opening the cabinets maybe, getting down the tea tin. "I don't think that you mean us any harm. It's just that belief has power. Belief is the source of our power, and you seem to have come to us - Awake - from a religious community that brooks no doubt and no contrary views, that isolated itself from the world."

Here Dan quietly interrupts, with a lashed glance at Jennifer. "Crusades have been fought for less."

And Sera smiles, this hooked frame of a smile, and settles on Jennifer this glance.

"Were other people you lived with Awake? Your parents, maybe. Your dad, or your mom?"

Jennifer

"Well, My mom was.... I'm not sure the term here because I've apparently learned different jargon for Mage topics in some areas, but my dad was awakened and my mom was ... in between I guess, from a sleeper and awakened. She fell for my dad and they had me. My dad was the spiritual leader of the group and my mom was.... like the government part. Other people were awakened around the camp and some were in between like my mom. I was still very protected though from all of them in that my father taught me everything himself. He would always say stuff like the daughter of the leaders had to learn to be a leader from them. It was odd, but I have been groomed since my dad first felt my purity to increase it as much as possible. He said I was a miracle and that there was a goddess living within me and that she would be born on my 21st birthday. It is my understanding that the goddess within is how I have magic powers. Elijah brought me to the house because of the library, I have read many occult books, but I now think they may have been edited in some way and I want to gain further knowledge of the truth of things. I feel like my dad was hiding something from me... but I do not know what and I hope to find the answer in your Library. I have tried the Metro Library, but it is not very helpful with Occult topics and the librarians look at you very oddly if you ask them about those books.

That was a little more information than you asked, but I thought I would answer some of your potential questions. I do not remember all of the thoughts I had that night, but that is a basic overview of life before the FBI came. Life after the FBI has been on the news and would be easy for you to research. Though you were around the hot springs so I doubt you did; however Dan. " Jen nods politely in the direction. " probably had the chance and could have filled you in this morning."

Serafíne

"You didn't have contact with anyone outside your community, did you?" This is Dan. The kettle is starting to rattle and he is listening for the noise it makes just before the boil. That's how one makes the best tea. "The group was closed-up and closed down. Isolated. Controlled from above. Like the FLDS, with magic to make it more fucking interesting. I haven't looked it up online, but I will if that's easier for you."

He glances at Sera, who gives him a rather grave look back.

"Your father. You remembered that sometimes he would grab your arm too hard. Did he - " a thoughtful pause. " - ever do more than that? Hurt you, or other people?"

Jennifer

"well, sometimes new people came in to learn from my dad. Sometimes he would go to other places and speak, but he would always come back home and say he had missed me and I was his most important work! Every once in a while I would get to go to the nearest town... like Estas Park for my Birthday or a special trip. I was always escorted though. The first time I had ever been out on my own was the day I met Elijah. After coming here the cops or lawyers were always with me until mom's trial was over, then I was no longer their problem. I think they also gave up on my dad coming back for me, but i know he will. At least for my 21st Birthday in a few months to do the ritual, but we did not tell them about that. They were not very good at asking the right questions.

As to the hand print..... dad got very mad at me because he had asked me to let it go and I wasn't. He said I was going to damage my purity if i did not follow directions and that the goddess might be born unpure and rule the world poorly. Mom would usually calm him down, but dad did have a temper and we would just lock ourselves in a room he had made for us until he calmed down. He had put a silence over the area so we couldn't hear anything and it was protected from majik. As for what he did with his disciples.... I have no idea. I did realize while I was out with Elijah a few weeks ago that the Halloween celebrations I was never allowed to partake in were human sacrifices. I do not know if these people were willing, but John burnt his hand on the stove that day and when Elijah asked me about Halloween I placed the smell. I lost it in the middle of the art district and he just held me until I could gather myself. That is when I first started doubting in my father and what he said. I know it seems silly, but when I doubted when I was young the consequence was not worth any of the risks involved with challenging something he had said. " Jennifer let all of these words tumble out of her mouth with the least emotion manageable. She was focused on facts. She kept her calming breaths flowing throughout her dialogue to keep calm and keep the emotions down. This was hard for her as Sera had though it might be - telling a stranger so much about herself, her past, but she felt she had to do this for her only friend.

A spark of light popped into her eyes. "Since I am telling you so much, if you find me worthy, could I know who the owners are, or at least have you deliver a thank you note to them?"

Serafíne

Prime 1: Watch the Weaving. Difficulty 4 -1 (focus)

Dice: 3 d10 TN3 (2, 7, 9) ( success x 2 )

Serafíne

"Holy shit."

That's Dan, and the curse is both beneath and over the frame of his breath. His gaze draws a line from Jennifer to Sera and back again, and he has forgotten the kettle which will get itself to boiling soon. He'll have to empty it and restart, won't he?

Sera's heart is not quite beating, in those spare moments. That's what it feels like. This hollow space in her chest filled with possibility where some muscle should live. Squeezing.

"Human sacrifice is not okay, Jennifer. What they did to you - keeping you away from the world, wrapped up in this cult - was not okay. And I'm pretty fucking sure that what they are going to do to you when you turn 21 is equally not okay.

"The owner of the chantry is the sister of a young man who died - along with six others, his entire cabal - working to protect a girl a bit younger than you from people who wanted to use her to bring about - " the briefest pause. " - god knows what. Father Echeverría and I fought them. And we won. And she gave us the keys, and we buried her brother and all his mates in the field. But I can't tell you her name, because I don't want your father to take it from your mind. Okay?

"Do you know what your father intends when you turn 21?"

A strange girl.

Poirot

What was it like for him to her them?

He could play like this was fine, like this wasn't jarring, he had to think about it. What was it like to hear the voices? What was it like when he was younger, when things seemed less scary, when there wasn't the potential for them to drag him to the wayside? "When I was little, I just thought they werenormal. I thought everybody could hear them. Sometimes it was good, sometimes it was bad... I mean... dead people just don't want to be stuck where they are anymore. They want to move on. Everyone wants to move on ion one way or another... it wasn't until I was a teenager that I figured out that maybe... maybe I should just keep that shit to myself, ya knw?"

He paused, catching her attention, catching the way she looked him in the eyes and then? Then he smiled, smething genuine, "it's a hit and miss things. You take the good and the bad, I guess."

Jennifer

"it always sounded like that from the books I read about it, It would have to be very unsettling if a ghost is bothering you at an inconvenient time... or any time really I guess." She kept looking into his eyes. Her purity of concern and interest was mirrored in his eyes back at her. She had known others that could talk to ghosts and demons at the camp... the ... what had Elijah called it... a commune camp? But her dad had told them not to discuss the real life applications with her very often and she was mostly just given books to pass the time. Now she was realizing that other kids did not grow up reading Occult books out of boredom.

Jen reached out her hand and lightly touched his a small smile also playing at her lips. "I will always help you if I can, whenever you need." The purity of the truth resonated around them. Then her smile widened "Even at 3:30 in the morning!"

Serafíne

Awaaaaareness.

Dice: 7 d10 TN5 (1, 4, 5, 5, 6, 6, 8) ( success x 5 )

Serafíne

They both have their arms full, Dan and Sera, and its the former who is kicking open the door from the garage into the kitchen and holding it open with her rather meager frame, shoulderblades pressed against the hewn wood, her head half-shaved, the other half all dark, dark roots and long golden curls, tumbling over leather jacket.

He's taller than she is. Much taller, but they look like they're tribe, you know. The easy way they move together. The attention he pays to her, the way she smiles for him, even sometimes when she doesn't feel like smiling at all. It's the tats - they both have them. Sera's most obvious on her hands and less dense (though still visible) on her forearms where she has pushed up the sleeves of her leather jacket. Dan's are scrawled, crawling almost. His forearms and hands and even his neck are covered in ink.

He doesn't feel like she does though. Her resonance is an intense entanglement of sensation - absolute instinct, animal instinct, the hungry, immediate, breath swallowing sort; and captivation, like a seizure of the heart; and something else entirely, something other. Something between - between doors and definitions. She's tilting her head back, aware of Dan as he slides by her, and the way she's watching him a stranger watching her would naturally assume that she is about to grab his ass.

You know, like that.

Except she's carrying a case of liquor and needs both arms to lug it inside.

--

And she feels them, this shifting awareness, attuned, so responsive to resonance that she often catches her breath when she feels it.

As she does now: searching out the owners of both. Finding the one she knows.

Sera straightens and lets the door slide closed behind her.

Her eyes are dark, and slide between the two. "Who's your friend, Elijah?"

Poirot

"Hey," he's awake. He shouldn't be as awake as he was but there was the lingering scent of coffee in the air and, as he had said before, sleep was for the weak (or the tired. Being tired wasn't weakness, it was just being tired- when he's tired he's prone to hyperbole). But there are people coming in, and Sera comes with a feeling, and Sera comes iwth a Dan because they are both coming together because... because they were a unit. A matched set.

Who was his friend, she asked?

"Oh, this is Jennifer," he says, "not Jenn-" of course not Jenn. They've both met Jenn. Jenn is smaller and less wide-eyed and smelled vaguely of chocolate and pot all the time, because one knows her vices well.

"Jennifer is new," he said, "and I figured I should show her some of the places she could meet other people like her."

A beat.

"It was completely my idea to meet at this time of night, though."

Jennifer

Awareness

Dice: 6 d10 TN6 (1, 3, 5, 7, 8, 9) ( success x 3 )

Jennifer

alterness - does she remember seing Sera at the coffee shoppe?

Dice: 4 d10 TN6 (1, 1, 3, 8) ( success x 1 )

Jennifer

Jen helps by taking a bag from Sera and setting it on a counter. Then she holds out her hand. "Pleased to meet you." she is all maners and purity, Sera could feel the purity radiating from Jen. Did this feel familiar? "I'm sorry I cannot place you, but you seem kind of familiar to me."

She also turned and greeted Dan, "nice to meet you I'm Jennifer, some people also call me Jen, but Elijah already has a friend named Jenn and it was getting confusing for him I think." At this she glances over at Elijah and gives him a quick smile.

"Elijah said he did not know the owners and he knows you. We aren't intruding are we? I've never heard of a house before where people can come and go as they please and no one knows who owns it. Elijah apparently had too much coffee and wanted to show me the library here. I.... I have some occult knowledge and I'm wanting to verify some facts." She rushed out this last part with a glance at Elijah to be sure she could talk about such things with these new people. She wondered if they knew Delilah too. Jen's world was so small now. Now that her dad was MIA and her mom was in prison and all the followers disbanded or in jail as well. New friends were good, scary though. After she felt she had observed the proper etiquette she withdrew closer to Elijah, to the person she knew, the person she felt safer near. As she drew closer to Elijah she took a deep breath and calmed her anxieties she felt bubbling towards the surface. New experiences were good, experience was part of life, everything is connected, life is pure.

Serafíne

"Hi Jennifer."

Jennifer is all manners and purity. Sera is anything but. The first time she met a certain forty-something priest she asked him to make out in his confessional. Still, Sera holds out a hand and takes Jennifer's hand. Her own is warm, and calloused, and covered in tattoos. She has chipped black nail polish and - on her right hand - a bronze ring with egyptian hieroglyphs or something on its shield, and on her right something badass and spiked covering three fingers and their knuckles. Leather and spiked bracelets encircling either wrist, and on and on.

Her eyes are fixed on Jennifer's - this intensity there.

"I know who owns it. I know a helluva lot of shit."

In the interval, Dan has put down his own box on the counter and come back for Sera's, and he relieves her of her burden with the briefest glance - perhaps a little grin - for Elijah.

"How new are you?"

(Sera is - starting to - hum beneath her breath. It's an old song, the sort that feels familiar as the rocking movement of a cradle.)

(Mind 2: reading Jennifer's surface thoughts, Difficulty 5 -1 for focus.)

Dice: 3 d10 TN4 (1, 3, 9) ( success x 1 )

Poirot

Sera knows who owns it.

"Really?" it just comes out. he shouldn't be excited about that, about knowing who actually owns this house because, quite literally, Elijah had no idea. And it was, at this juncture, that it seems to dawn on him that... perhaps he hadn't done the right thing. Again. He winced.

"... I probably should have asked someone if it was okay for me to bring her here."

Serafíne

This supple flash of Sera's dark eyes in Elijah's direction.

"Yeah," Sera tells him then. Quietly and full of compassion. "Probably."

It's just an interlude. Her attention is back on Jennifer.

Jennifer

At this last part Jen turns quickly to Elijah " I asked you if it was okay and you said yes!" Jen's eyes got bigger as she felt that Elijah had lied to her for the first time since their meeting several weeks before.

She turned back to Sera. "May I ask who owns this beautiful house and if I should leave now?" He eyes glance down the hall way wistfully as if she wont' get to see the library, but clearly she has enough Etiquette to do whatever Sera feels is best.

Serafíne

"You can ask. That doesn't mean I'm gonna tell you," Sera murmurs, her mouth curling raw, curling wry. Beneath or perhaps behind that box she's wearing cut-off denim shorts, tiny ones, fishnets held up by visible garters that hint at the lingerie beneath. A scalloped French lace bra beneath an unzipped black hoodie beneath an unzipped black leather jacket, scuffed and scarred and patched. Sera is a striking thing. She has her own specific gravity.

"C'mon. I'm gonna show you something, and make sure you know what this place is, and why it is sacred, and why it is secret, and why it has to remain so." A glance from Jennifer to Elijah and back again, and then Sera's in motion, leading them from the kitchen to the dining room. Down the steps - toward the hot spring where the node lies.

(Extending that effect. +1 difficulty.)

Dice: 3 d10 TN5 (1, 4, 9) ( success x 1 )

Poirot

[WP- because water is not his friend]

Dice: 5 d10 TN6 (2, 3, 4, 6, 8) ( success x 2 )

Poirot

From the kitchen to the dining room, down the steps, he didn't say anything. Sera was going to show them why this palce was sacred, why it was a secret- why he couldn't just show anyone this place. He was a little tense, and it was strange because he knew that the node was a rejuvenating thing. He had a feeling that he knew where they were headed and, for his part, he was content to stay about as far away has he possibly could. It was like marching off to see some known wonderful horror. Like seeing a man-eating tiger.

He shook his head, and inhaled deep and remembered that it was just water. It was more than just water, and he would be fine.

Jennifer

Jennifer follows Sera in her black out fit that was striking in contrast to Jennifer's solid white full length coat she had been wearing to keep away the chill and had not yet removed when she met new people. Whatever the rolls were in this place Sera was clearly in a position over Elijah. This also meant that Jennifer was probably going to be tested by her. Maybe she could pass the test with flying colors and keep Elijah from getting into more trouble?

"Do you mean sacred beyond the node that replenishes quintessence and feeds the deity within? I felt that out back when we arrived."

Jennifer remembers what Elijah had said about him not swimming, but that she could swim if she liked. She had realized then that he did not like water, and if she had understood him correctly he had mentioned the hot-spring at the same time as the node so they had to be close if not the same thing. She linked her arm into his and leaned closer to whisper " I'll protect you from the water and wont let her toss you in okay?"

Serafíne

Sera slides the door open onto the patio, and the steam billowing from the node enshrouds them, stark and warm and damp against the climate controlled temperature within. Sera steps over the threshold and out of the way and then steps aside so that Jennifer and Elijah can follow.

"You know an awful lot about magick for someone so new," Sera says to Jennifer, perhaps warily. Perhaps challengingly. Perhaps just curiously. Also, strangely, quietly. "Who trained you? What's your Tradition?"

Serafíne

(And: extending that rite again. Mind 2 to read Jennifer's surface thoughts.)

Dice: 3 d10 TN5 (1, 8, 8) ( success x 2 )

Poirot

This- this was actually something that Elijah was a little curious about. He slowed, but once they were out there he looked at... and you couldn't help but be calmed. be relaxed, if only because it was nice and it was warm and it was natural and real and this was real.

"Don't stress," he tells Jennifer with a grin, "I'm fine."

And he inhaled again, slow and deep, and he had to clarify something, "and I thought it was okay, but I wasn't thinking-" surprise "-and I probably should have checked with someone else who is higher up on the food chain before bringing someone here. I thought you would realy, really benefit from coming here, though."

Jennifer

*Tradition? what did she mean by that? is that the chorus thing dad mentioned once. He acted like he'd said something he shouldn't though and she is so casual... must be something else. answer what I can first, try to keep Elijah from getting himself into more trouble.... Who trained me?*

"My father trained me, and my mother, and random books that he left laying around and I read because I was bored."

*do I explain about the camp? about my family? about mom being in jail now? no... not yet I don't know them. It isn't lying to leave things out. Elijah said my history was kind of odd and to keep it to myself until I knew people better...Did dad set me up to be sacrificed for something other than the goddess within... where is he and why won't he come help me. I know he'll be back for the ritual to help birth the goddess within.... maybe he will show up before and I can ask him questions. FBI is still looking or him anyway... he has to stay hidden. FOCUS.*

" I am new to here, but not new to powers and being awakened. I have lived in the mountains around Denver my whole life and I always wanted to live in the 'big city' and now I am! Elijah has been helping me change my terminology into what is more common around here, but most of it is the same anyway. That is part of the reason I'm interested in reading the books in the library here, I'm not sure what new stuff I will learn, but I can use the terminology that you all use to explain myself and hopefully not sound quite as crazy as I seemed at first to Elijah. I had never met another... mage really until I met him. I had met people that were partially awakened and had some minor powers, but that was all and my father kept a close watch on all of my interactions with them. "

*I bet now it was to sensor what I learned... I probably could learn a lot from the library.... a lot of whatever he was keeping from me.... but most of my occult knowledge seems to still be correct.*

"Thank you for being such a selfless friend." She squeezed his arm with hers in a simi hug feeling.

*he really does just seem to want to help everyone. such a sweet lost kind heart. He is a good friend. will always be a good friend*

"We all make oversights once in a while, I'm not upset with you" Another arm - in - arm hug and she smiled reassuringly at him to prove she was no longer worried about the possible lie.

Serafíne

Sera's hair gets a bit curlier from the humidity around the node. She's pushing a tattooed hand through it, over the undercut, through the curls, paying this half-attention to the steam rising, billowing up from the surface of the water, still half-humming beneath her breath, and now it is starting to seem autonomic, both listening and listening as she is wont to do.

And Dan comes after, not long after, slides his tall, lean body in behind hers and wraps his arms around her shoulders from behind, leaning forward to rest his chin on the crown of her head. Familiar, see.

And Sera glances at Elijah and she's a bit solemn for a Sera but you know, cannibals will do that to a person, and then her dark eyes slip back to Jennifer, and honestly - honestly - there's no hiding the way her features change as she both listens and listens -

" - were your parents awake?"

--

Dan, then, over Sera's shoulder. "What were their names? Your parents? Where did you live before Denver?"

Jennifer

Jennifer is looking at Sera to answer her question and so notices the shift in her features. a look of concern crosses Jen's face. " are you okay Sera? did I say something I shouldn't have?"

*Jen replays the last few things she said aloud and is perplexed about Sera's expression, perhaps she stepped on something?*

*how can I explain without seeming crazy I don't know dad's name... it was always hidden. He was always dad or honey... and the one time i asked.... (mental image of a hand printed bruise on her arm)*

Jen's face clouds over for a second and a flicker of worry crosses her face. "look, I know this sounds odd, but I don't actually know my father's name. he was always "dad" to me and "honey, darling, or sir' to my mom. Her name was Angela though. Your name makes me think of her... both kind of meaning angel."

*images of 4 or 5 different mountain camps flip though her mind*

"I lived in the mountains around Denver, but we moved around... the last location was closest to Estas Park"

*will they remember the news... will they figure out I'm from the... what did Elijah call it... religious commune? (random news clips flip though her head and you can see a picture of a woman bring arrested, mugshot and jury trials. sometimes the name Angela White is printed at the bottom, a picture of a generic man's silhouette with a question mark inside it read Mr. White under it and WANTED at the top) stop thinking about the trials!*

Jennifer closed her eyes and took a deep breath and calmed herself, she even smiled a little as she said. "I know it is odd being my age and not knowing the name of your father, but that is the truth of it."

*does mom even know his name... she never slipped up, not once, maybe even she doesn't know it. Oh goddess within what is real from my past and what is fake. I want so badly now to see this library that I didn't know existed to search out truth and facts!*

Serafíne

Sera breathes out, once and hard.

Glances at Elijah, then back to Jen. "You guys can stay here tonight. There are bedrooms, you can have your pick of any that haven't been claimed. But Elijah, it's not a good idea to take Jennifer to the library yet. We need to have more of a chat.

"Jennifer, you're not in trouble, but I need to make that you're okay. I'm going to take you to see a priest tomorrow. Elijah, take care of your friend - there's food and booze in the kitchen - but don't leave. I'm serious. We need to take Jennifer to see Pan tomorrow."

With that, Sera glances up at Dan, over her shoulder, and he bends his brow forward to touch her own. This kind of communion, and then he opens the glass slides and they head back inside.

Perhaps to do some research. Angela White. The Religious Commune. On and on.

Stranger encounters.

Danny

*Luckily for the world at large, it was still warm during the day, well low 70s is warm isn't it? It's probably why he was sat in the outside of a restaurant at a table with a book in one hand and a glass resting on his leg being held by the other. He had on his usual oakley shades, was dressed in a white shirt with the sleeves rolled back, a black waistcoat (vest to you american types) and for a change to mix things up a bit, he also had on a pair of dark grey faded black skinny jeans. From the left hip of which a chain could be seen one ankle rested on the top of his other knee as he read, on his feet though were a pair of thongs.*

Jennifer

*A girl with long brown hair and a white shirt and white pants looks around seemingly lost. Her eyes are wide trying to take everything in.*

Danny

(For thong, see flip flops)

Danny

(How aware is he today?)

Dice: 6 d10 TN6 (1, 2, 4, 4, 5, 8) ( success x 1 )

Hannah

She kept to the light areas. Whether the sun was sinking down or not, she kept to the light. The shadows, and the dark were not welcoming places. Her sneakers pressing into the sidewalk as she made her way through the people. "No I don't think that's what he meant." She said, her head tucked down a little as she walked. "I don't think he meant that the -" She went quiet. "Oh."

Hannah hugged her messenger bag against her hip, lifting her gaze up a little to see where she was going. The girl wore a dark skirt with a pair of blue stockings and a thin hoodie over a green shirt. A light green scarf was wrapped around her neck.

Danny

*Something almost on the edge of his reasoning alerted him. She. He lifted his head from the book he had in his hand and began to slowly take in the drifts of those around him. Just a casual interest on first appearances.*

Jennifer

*Perhaps it was Jennifer's purity that stood out from everyone else around her?*

Danny

Lubs on ma scary Sera!!

Hannah

"Oh..." She nodded her head softly. "I see it." Hannah lifted her head a little to look at the door of the restaurant. Danny's presence hadn't been noticed yet, nor Jennifer. It was only within the last few feet that she seemd to realize Danny was even partly nearby. Hannah came to a stop. A dead stop, no matter who was behind or in front of her. She let her eyes slide towards him, using her hair to keep her vision partly blocked.

Jennifer

*Jennifer takes out a bag with something in it. Is that a phone?*

Danny

*Purity... He blinked from behind those shades, tilting his head a little as he did so, seeing Jennifer he paused, paid attention, then moved his gaze on to see someone else. Flickering, the pair of them were both new, both something he'd find unexpected to say the least.*

Jennifer

*Jennifer

Jennifer

*Jennifer is poking awkwardly at the bag and looking confused.* "Where is that googlemap website?!"

Serafíne

Perception + Awareness.

Dice: 7 d10 TN5 (1, 4, 7, 7, 7, 8, 9) ( success x 5 )

Hannah

One. Two. Three steps to her left, away from Danny. Then a circle, half, just around towards the door. Not having Victor with her made this even more difficult.

Even at the door, she gave Danny a side look. She reached for the handle, moving her gaze towards it as someone decided they were going to come from the other side. With a small noise, Hannah scurried three steps to the left to avoid them. Her hands gripped the bag strap.

Danny

*And his eyes met with Hannah's, just a pleasant smile on his face as he began to watch her, then they moved to Jennifer, then back to Hannah, his drink was lifted lazily to his lips, he took a small drink from it, there were bubbles in it that broke the surface with tiny bursts of sensation on his tongue, then it lowered again with a soft clink of ice melting on top.*

Serafíne

Okay: I know Danny's resonance. Do Hannah or Jennifer have any resonance? If so, what is the flavor?

Danny

Hannah's is flickering.

Jennifers is Purity.

Jennifer

purifying

Hannah

[Yes! Sorry playtesting so didn't put it in. Dynamic - Flickering - 1]

Serafíne

"You lost?" There's a stranger who just got out of a cab a few feet from Jennifer, lighting a cigarette. Striking thing, with dark eyes rimmed in dark mark-up and a half-shaven head. Blonde curls, deliberately dark roots in waves halo the rest of her head all golden.

The cigarette has a spicy-sweet scent to it and dark blue paper. Something direct about her gaze, more direct than the rest of the strangers on the street who are deliberately avoiding contact with Jennifer, who looks both innocent and lost. Like most, they don't want to get involved.

Sera though. Oh Sera.

There is something about her. The way she bends the world.

Jennifer

*Jennifer looks up from the phone in a bag startled* "umm. yes. I cannot get my googlemap website to work. I need to figure out how to get to the Library from here."

Hannah

She dropped her eyes quickly, shifting her weight a little from one foot to the other. Once the door was clear, She ushered herself in quickly. The inside wasn't exactly an escape plan, as there were plenty of people there as well, but it was an escape plan from him...for the moment.

But now everyone was looking at her. Or at least, it felt that way. Hannah stepped towards the counter slowly, shifting the weight of the bag. "Um..a coffee. please. To go." It was the hardest thing to do, to order something to drink. "No milk. No.. no milk." Her head shook slowly. "Please."

Danny

*He raised one eyebrow, watching the quirky one go off into the building, then turned his attention back to Jennifer, ahhh... Sera had found her... that made him smile a little, almost a bit too much to be honest. So he swallowed it and rose from his seat to head over towards them, leaving his drink for a moment on the table. Probably not the wisest of things for him to do, but he did it anyhow and stood just on the periphery of their pairing, upnodding to Sera as he did.*

Danny

He had on his usual oakley shades, was dressed in a white shirt with the sleeves rolled back, a black waistcoat (vest to you american types) and for a change to mix things up a bit, he also had on a pair of dark grey faded black skinny jeans. From the left hip of which a chain could be seen one ankle rested on the top of his other knee as he read, on his feet though were a pair of flipflops.

Serafíne

"I'm shit with phones, man."

Still that direct look, which is broken just once as she turns her golden head to catch the movement of Danny's upnod in her periphery. And perhaps to follow/feel the flicker of Hannah's resonance as the other young woman heads inside, up to the counter.

There's a note of interest in her eyes, though. For all the profanity, a note of concern, slightly banked, attenuated somehow, wrapped up in her skin.

"What do you need at the library?"

Hannah

Coffee. It's all she needed. She was content with soymilk, even if it wasn't her preference, and plenty of sugar. Hannah wrapped her hands comfortingly around the cup and made her way out slowly, dodging to either side as people slipped in, and waiting, trying her best to hide in a little spot and yet...failing.

When she finally made it out of the building, she paused, taking in deep breaths. Light was fading and she was confined mostly to the street lights, and the lights from the buildings. This made her move a little, doing her best to avoid even the smallest of shadows.

Jennifer

" I was going to meet a friend there later." her voice is clear, but also quiet as if she is afraid of something about to get her.

Danny

*There was nothing here to be afraid of, well, that was partly true... if only because the biggest thing to be afraid of right now was fear itself. But wasn't it written some place that the only thing to fear, was fear itself, and it's the wise man that knows his fear.

He frowned just a little then turned partially to glance at Hannah, then to his table.* Come and sit down, I'm good with phones.

Jennifer

"oh, okay. can you teach me to use googlemaps website?"

*One would think she would say the Google Map app, but it was clear she was running it together and calling it a website*

Jennifer tentatively went closer to the table and handed over the bag with the phone. Upon closer inspection Danny could clearly see it was not just a ziplock bag, but some kind of bag a scientist or doctor might use to block radiation

Danny

That depends... *He eyed that bag with suspicion.* I'm not going to end up with radioactive... things... am I? *He didn't get much closer, just went back to his seat to sit down, putting his right foot onto his left knee again, what looked like musical notes had been tattooed onto the top of his right foot, perhaps that would explain the flipflops he wore.

His hand came out, waiting for the phone to be presented to him.*

Jennifer

Jennifer cocked her head to the side and looked a bit confused. "This is to keep you safer. If you use phones all the time it gives off radiation." She blushed "I was raised not being allowed to have a phone because it might hurt my brain development..... I haven't quite gotten over the teachings I guess. So that keeps me from getting any trace radiation or anything else from the phone that would normally come from it. So my phone is the safest one!"

Danny

*Well that got a reaction from Danny... Firstly, his eyebrows rose up slowly. Then one hand rose to run through those long dark tresses and then he tilted his head to study the girl. Then his hand moved down to his shades, to pull them down his nose slightly, he tilted his head again to peer at Jennifer over the tops of them levelly, there was the trace of a smile on his face as she finished going on about background radiation and phone signals, then not being allowed to grow up with such things... When he'd listened, she'd finished he lifted his head again and pushed his shades back up his nose.*

You're shitting me... right?

Serafíne

Sera flashes a half-lashed glance at Danny as he speaks up and remarks upon his expertise with phones. Then that look slides back to Jennifer, as if she were drawing a line between them. The tension between Jennifer's evident fear and innocence and her equally evident and immediate trust of complete and utter strangers ticks some half-open box somewhere inside Sera's head. The weirdness about Google Maps ticks nothing, though. It is absolutely nothing she herself would notice. There are times she's been too fucked up to remember how to use her iPhone.

--

But, for now, she sort of ambles over toward Danny as if she were - you know - ushering Jennifer. Keeping an eye on her, even as her attention is snagged, pulled out, drawn down the street again by Hannah's flickering resonance.

And Sera, like Danny, is impossible to ignore - it's not just her sharp features, the half-shaved head, the extraordinary eyes - it's the way she's dressed. Which has nothing to do with the current style and everything to do with her own: a black, French lace bra beneath an unbuttoned flannel over tiny leather skirt that barely covers her ass and seems to be made of safety pins and leather and nothing else. Fishnets, with visible garters, torn, naturally, and spike-heeled Giuseppe Zanotti shoes, with silver serpents just crawling up heels.

Ink visible on her arms, on her hands, the strangest assortment of random jewelry, and on and on.

Sera overhears Jennifer's explanation regarding the phone, and mutters,

"Oh my fuck."

beneath her breath.

Breathes out a cloud of smoke.

"I went to Catholic boarding school and not even the nuns were that batty."

Danny

Oh the irony... a virgin mage with the CoE.........

Danny

Two cult of ecstasy mages and a virgin walk into a bar.....

Hannah

It's the warmth that makes her feel at ease, even in a place where people come and go so easily. They're flashes in her vision. Movement from one side to the other. Feet, voices, all moving as individual units, and yet becoming one. Too much noise, too much movement. Hannah finds a seat and she plops right down in it, trying to breath slowly.

Her knees press against one another as she tries to take up as little space as possible, and yet remains visible to all. "I know." Her voice came in a whisper. "I know it is. But...but I'm scared." There's a beat as Hannah hangs her head, her long hair sliding around her face. Then she nods softly. "Ok."

The coffee is set on the pavement at her feet.

Jennifer

" I was raised in the mountains. It was just a few families and my mom was like a mayor and my dad was the preacher. I know I'm not like everyone around here. That is why I'm meeting my friend at the Library. He said he would help me out."

She allows Sera to lead her towards Danny. She needs someone to help with her phone so she can meet Elijah.

Jennifer

Percept + Aware

Dice: 6 d10 TN6 (1, 2, 3, 4, 7, 9) ( success x 2 )

Danny

Okay Princess. *he nods soothing his voice down to a comforting sound, not understanding in the slightest, but it took all sorts to make the world work.* Let me see. *he holds his hand out again for the phone.*

Jennifer

As Jennifer hands Danny the phone she glances over and sees a girl trying to make a waif of herself. This girl seemed more afraid than she was. Jennifer felt bad for the girl and wondered how she could help her.

Danny

*He looked at the phone, then nodded and went to work on it.* Ahh okay, pretty basic when you come right down to it. Okay...

*He pulled up the wifi and opened that up to log into the roaming networks that were around and free.* Firstly, you see this? *he turns the screen back to her.* This allows you to connect to the internet. If you don't have this symbol up on the screen at the top here? No hapla anglais. It don't work. *Then he turned the phone back to himself again and began to bring up google, then showed it up to her.* Google. The almighty search engine for funny videos of cats to all manner of erm... information...

*he glanced at Sera for a moment, then his eyes flashed to Hannah, then back to Sera. Then he spoke to Jennifer again.* You need to forget about google maps though, if you go into your menu bar, you can see this icon. *he tapped the map..* This'll show you where you are, then if you type in the zip code of where you want to go, it'll direct you. Give it go? Go on, it won't bite you none.

Serafíne

There's this subtle flash from Sera. The briefest lilt upwards as Danny meets her eyes. The cigarette is less than half-finished but she stubs it out in a convenient ashtray and exhales another breath of spicy smoke.

More or less meeting Danny's gaze over Jennifer's head.

"Might want to find out a bit about her friend, too."

Jennifer didn't seem like the sort who should be out wandering alone in this world.

--

Then Sera turnss, pivots on those ridiculous shoes. And she's not the sort you'd expect to see talking to street people but the truth is Sera talks to all kinds. Down near the Church of the Good Shepherd the abuelitas all think that she is a prostitute trying to seduce their beloved priest. That is: well, not really precisely half-true, but comes close to some distorted mirror image of the truth.

So, Hannah, bunched up on the sidewalk, sparking, muttering to herself, wary as all hell, whom strangers are avoiding because who knows what the fuck someone talking to herself might do - what she might fling, what she might mean to them, what it might cost them to acknowledge her humanity - there she is.

Serafíne just ambles right up to her. Not too close, mind, but close enough to reach out and pick up the coffee cup and set it down again, closer to the girl.

More out of the ordinary path of foot traffic.

"Hey." Half-humming beneath her breath, Sera. "You okay?"

Serafíne

Mind 2: reading surface thoughts. Difficulty 5. -1 practiced, -1 specialty focus.

Dice: 3 d10 TN3 (6, 6, 9) ( success x 3 )

Jennifer

Jennifer finger pecked at the keyboard and typed in Denver Library. She then looked critically at the screen and pushed the enter button. The map zoomed out and she saw the path to the Library.

"YAY! Thanks!!"

Kiara

For all the tentative, unsure steps into the unknown being made tonight, there's one step, or a set of such, that are anything but. In fact, they resound with a surprising degree of assurance as they round a corner, coming upon the scene.

Enter, stage right, perhaps?

The footsteps belong to a female. Tall (at least in her heels she's something teetering on it), with dark hair, loose around her face tonight, lips painted fire engine red and dramatic eye makeup. There's a bundle of flyers tucked under an arm and her jacket licks at the heel of her boots. They too, are red, but worn out, faded. The leather tenderized by constant wear. She passes by the Café, her footsteps slowing only briefly, before she carries on past it to a streetlight just beyond.

Gathers items out of a pocket and begins to tape something to it. She feels like the first gust of breeze after the storm; vital, full of earth and rain and the remnants of the storm. A myriad of bracelets rattle around her wrists as she works. Bites the length of tape with her teeth and affixes it with nothing short of satisfaction.

Up close the flyer is familiar. They've been appearing in recent days. REIKI HEALING, bold letters proclaim at the world and if a poster could arguably shout its praises to the heavens, this one likely would.

Danny

Yeah you're welcome Princess. *he nodded, then moved his foot and nudged out a chair.* You seem to be new... this your first time in the smokes? *He picked up his drink again to take a long sip of the fizzy bubbled clear liquid and set it back down again before reaching into his pocket to pull out a cigarette and a zippo, then casually runs it down his thigh to light it, then blazes up the end of the cigarette in his mouth, a puff of blue grey smoke comes out.* What's your name?

Jennifer

I have to get to bed.

Hannah

She begins to slide her hand in her messenger bag to pull out a small notebook anda green colored pencil. "I know." She said softly. "I forgot." Hannah, sitting in a place where there was at least light, began to draw in her green colored pencil, just as Sera made her way up. Hannah slipped her eyes to look at Sera's feet, then turned them quickly back to her notebook. She curled in tighter.

"Yes. Yes. If I make the color go, it'll be ok. If the light stays. It'll be ok." She lifted her head up slowly to give Sera a smile, even if she avoided her eyes.

Hannah

"Use the color."

"Keep yourself calm."

"No one is going to hurt you."

"Someone's here."

"It'll be OK."

Jennifer

"yeah, I just came down a few weeks ago. Look I don't want to be late for Elijah. I'll see you around I guess!"

Jennifer skirted away not knowing that Danny had lifted her phone number while he was helping her with her phone.

She waved and slipped into the crowd and off towards the Library.

Ian

[Awareness]

Dice: 6 d10 TN6 (4, 4, 4, 4, 8, 8) ( success x 2 )

Serafíne

Serafíne is crouched, balancing on the most fucking incredible pair of studded black leather peep-toe booties, and truth, she has one hand braced on the sidewalk so she doesn't fall on her ass.

The fringe of her sidecut is canted toward Hannah. The rest of her hair shadows her sharp features.

She's still humming, and she's a little bit drunk and a little bit stoned and aware of things the way she is aware of things, with her skin-and-bones.

Her mouth is rather small and it is seamed now.

Thoughtful.

"Are you trying to get somewhere? Are you in trouble?"

Hannah

Hannah shook her head, hair tossing around her face as she did. "No. No place yet. I had to leave. They wanted a place of theirs. Victor couldn't come." She doodled nothing in particular, just lines for the moment, staring at the color on the paper. "Now the darkness makes it hard. If we want to go, the darkness is there. It's where they hide. Hard to dance in the light when the sun goes away,"

Hannah lifted her eyes again, never making eye contact. Her attention dropped to Sera's shoes and her drawing stopped. Her lips tightened. "Don't you hear them cry?"

Kiara

[Hm. Are we paying attention, Kiara?]

Dice: 4 d10 TN6 (1, 3, 6, 10) ( success x 2 )

Danny

*He nodded, watching Jennifer go, then turned his attention partially back to Sera and where Hannah could just about be seen with a soft shake of his head at how she managed to stay up on those damned heels.

How, well, it would be more difficult if she ate less like a sparrow he guessed, but with the cigarette taking his attention away periodically, he kept his eyes drifting along. Take a pull on the smoke, hold it for a few seconds, then let it go and let the smoke drift casually as he did so. Then take another pull on the smoke, rinse and repeat.

His eyes moved to pick up Kiara, tilting his head as he watched her hang up and bind some sign to a post, then back to Sera and Hannah for a short while.

Smoking, it was really that simple; inhale, hold it breath it out. His other hand reached for the drink again to take another sip.*

Ian

Sometimes one could go days wandering the city and not run into another Awakened will. Other times? It was like someone stuck a giant flashing beacon down on the street corner.

Ian was focused on his phone as he walked, so he didn't immediately sense the presence of the other mages up ahead. As he moved, he slid nimbly between passing pedestrians, not bothering to look up as he stepped out of the way. His index finger swiped quickly across the screen as he typed.

And then.

As he drew near the outdoor cafe, Ian stopped and looked up. His eyes searched the area and found faces he recognized (Sera, Danny) as well as some he did not. After a moment, he pocketed his phone. Sera looked as though she was occupied with the dark-haired girl on the sidewalk, while Danny was seated alone at one of the tables. Ian shot a lingering glance in Kiara's direction (she was something new and curious) as he walked up to Danny's table.

"Busy night," he commented dryly.

Danny

Its becoming that way. *He nods and finally it was getting dark enough to remove the shades, so he did the next best thing, he slide them up into his hair on top of his head.* How's it going. *he stubbed out the cigarette onto the ashtray and looked at the guy.*

Serafíne

This noise in the back of her throat, a quiet hum. Sera is - well - wobbling somewhat but still steady beneath it. Her mouth curls into this half-edged smile though, because she has diagnosed, absolutely diagnosed, Hannah's problem.

"I think you're having a bad trip. You'll be okay, though."

--

The vibrant edge of her magic in the air, wreathing around her. That humming noise again.

--

"I gotta go, though. Promised Dan I'd meet him and he'll get worried if I don't show up."

Serafíne

So: Mind 3. Project: a sense of safety and light and wholeness on Hannah. Calling it coincidental so dif 6. -1 (resonance) -1 (focus) -1 (quint)

Dice: 3 d10 TN3 (2, 9, 10) ( success x 3 ) [WP]

Serafíne

Extending. Dif +2 b/c she's not spending quint this time.

Dice: 3 d10 TN5 (5, 7, 9) ( success x 4 ) [WP]

Kiara

It's a delicate thing sometimes, playing coy to the world when the world is speaking right back to you. Kiara, for her part, feels her brows knit in, what would it be -- consternation, consideration -- her eyes journeying away from her task across the street, flitting, feeling with as much focus as as she can before she resumes her task, pressing her flyer firmly to the cool surface of the street light before stepping back to admire her work.

She rolls her shoulders, tilts her neck to one side, then another and after a beat turns and walks directly toward the table with the assembled awakened. Toward, and, after catching the eye of perhaps all at least in passing with a suggestive little smile banking there in the corner of her mouth passes by them and sweeps toward the counter.

There's a hint of something vaguely like intense that follows her; it's hard to put a finger on exactly. Like spices and flowers, left to their own devices for days. Decay and reformation, perhaps.

Serafíne

(Hey: I think that should be enough. Up to you what you do with it. I gotta sleep because I work early in the morning, but I wasn't sure how to react to Hannah's posts and maybe now she can interact with the others!)

Serafíne

And: Sera hails a cab. Maybe the same one she just climbed out of. She has somewhere to be.