Tapestries: Pablo - Thursday, March 08, 2007, 8:05 PM

"So," Gabby says, looking around between your pack, "the reason I came over, or, really, the reason Stands sent me down here is we figured you guys would be getting a little ansy just sitting around waiting until Kelly's ready to do your Rite of the Totem. So, you might as well get out there and start working on saving the world." She grins, lopsidedly, then continues, "Because our caern is a caern of Memory, one of the things that happens around here (besides extinct animal spirits hanging around the Umbra) is that we have more than our fair share of, well, I guess humans'd call them ghosts; restless spirits who need to be sent on to wherever it is humans go when they die, normally. Sometimes these spirits attract the Wyrm, sometimes not. But if they show up, we usually investigate them. There are a few things around we've heard about, but haven't had time to look into yet, so, you guys could look into them.

Tony stands by the table with his hands behind his back, listening to Gabby with growing curiosity. He knew a few things about what a Memory caern implied, but not the lingering ghosts. Grinning brightly at his cousin, he pipes up, "Look into them? Go out and shoo them away?"

"Or find out where they are," says Shay to Tony's question. He's curious too. Getting out and doing something would be at least interesting - a learning experience. So far, the spirits he's talked to have nothing, and he hasn't met too many of them. 

Yiska waits until Gabby is done, then nods to his other packmates, 'It sounds like something we could handle.' He grins, lolling his tongue out, 'And it will give us some more experience on our own, working as a pack.'

Gabby nods at Tony, "Yes. Generally. Make sure they're not attracting any banes, especially. But send them on their way. If you can get their attention, figure out what they are looking for, or waiting for, or why they are still around, you can sometimes help them and send them on their way that way. Or, you know, you can use the old raar kill approach, if nothing else works. These ... reflections ... don't tend to come back if you do either." [more]

"Anyway," she continues, "here's what we've heard. On the far side of Palmyra, people keep seeing a woman standing in the middle of the road, looking around, but then she's gone after a second glance. Or, on the train tracks just south of the caern, there's a whistle, like from a train, but the tracks have been abandoned for years. Or, on the roads to the north, there's a car running around at night chasing people. Now, all of these could be, well, nothing. Or they could be something. But we try to look into everything we can.

Tony looks all the more intrigued. He's leaning forward with an eager look on his face. To go out and actually get some shit done with the pack would be excellent. And not only that, a ghost hunt of sorts! Tony turns and shares his grin with the others, hoping they feel the same way he does right now. "To the Mystery Van?"

Shay peers over at Gabby and rubs the back of his neck. "What happens if we 'kill' them? Do they go where they are supposed to go, or is it more like blowing a candle out - the spark is gone forever?" 

Yiska, for some strange reason, has an immense urge to go chase the car. He blinks and tilts his head to the side at Tony's 'joke', then stands up and starts for the door, 'Why is the van a mystery? Did we lose it?'

The Gaian's question brings a shrug from Gabby, "We don't know, unfortunately. I try to negotiate when I can, destroy when I must." Bits smirks at Tony's joke, and Hope's already pacing, ready to go.

Tony gives a shrug to SHay as well. "Well, energy doesn't just go away, it changes. According to science, anyway. I dunno if it applies to spirits." He laughs to Yiska. "No. It's just a stupid joke." He heads to the door, going to lead everyone to Hope's car. "So, we should check out the car to the north first. What do you say?"

Shay follows behind. "I think the car's the best bet. The woman likely needs our help, but the ghost car is a bigger problem. It's chasing people." It's likely more exciting. Finding the woman and negotiating probably doesn't take the entire pack.

Yiska pads after the others, 'Will I have to change? We're not going into any place with lots of homids, are we?'

Gabby smiles and wishes you luck. Bits reaches down and pets Yiska, almost absently, though she looks to Tony to answer his question. Hope, meanwhile, is talking to herself, "I wonder how you fight a car?"

Tony shakes his head at Yiska. "I don't think you'll need to change. Hopefully we won't run into any people." The alpha chuckles at Hope. "Well, let's assume it's a real car, first. If it is, I'd pop the tires. If it's a ghost... I'd still try to pop the tires."

"We'd likely have to fight it in the Umbra. I doubt it's a car there," says Shay. He follows the pack over to Hope's car, before piling into the back. "Here's to hoping it doesn't have a silver bumper."

Yiska stuffs himself in the back in the middle seat, his tail fwapping loudly behind him, 'Yeah, I think we'll have to be in the Umbra to really see them or at least their true forms.' He seems pretty excited, maybe he just likes car rides.

Hope, of course, drives. It's her car, after all. She's not even sure if anyone else /knows/ how to drive. Though the thought of Yiska behind the wheel makes her quietly laugh to herself. Bits sits in the back as well, keeping the smaller folks in the back for the best. Hope pulls out a little shakily, "Sorry, a little rusty, I'd only just gotten my license when, you know, it all went down." Tires turn in gravel as she heads out onto the main road (once the chain blocking the lot is removed) and, eventually, she starts north, around the bawn. She peers into the darkness of the road, looking for... something she's not sure. It's still rather early, so there are plenty of other cars on the roads.

Tony reclines in the shotgun seat, one arm dangling out the window as he enjoys the calming affect of a nice drive. The wind, the sound, the feel of the car. He could drive for hours and hours. "So, how do we lure this thing out, if it's hiding? We should jump into the Umbra when we get there."

Shay shrugs. "I think this is pretty new for all of us. Can ghosts even be lured?"

Yiska turns to Shay, 'You're the Theurge, don't you know everything about spirits?'

Hope just drives, in her intense laconic way. Bits snickers a little at Yiska, even if the lupus wasn't trying to be funny. She does say to Tony, though, "Well, in my experience, we, I mean, well, you know what I mean, tend to draw the attention of spirits and such just by our presences, you know? Since we're both physical and spiritual in nature."

Tony considers Bits' advice, then nods back at her. "Sounds good, then. In this case, anyway. I'm sure we'll all wish we were less attractive in some situations." He's sitting up straight, getting into a proper headspace for this. Focused.

"I don't think ghosts are spirits. Spirits are like, representations of Things. Ghosts are like... what's left of something." Shay shakes his head. "I'm the Theurge. My job isn't to know. It's to ask good questions."

Yiska just stares blankly at Shay, 'If it's something that's left of something else, it's the same thing. A representation. Stop trying to use your crazy moon talk to confuse me, Shay.'

This only makes Bits snicker even more. Hope's getting her game face on, too, and, only 30 minutes into driving around, fairly aimlessly, is getting just a tiny bit frustrated. "Okay, you stupid ghost," she mutters, "come out where I can see you."

Tony laughs at Yiska. "Burn," he states simply, though his eyes don't leave the road. He's looking back and forth, checking the mirrors, peering down each turn the car passes. "Perhaps we should park somewhere and take up positions along the road. Have a stake-out."

Shay rubs the back of his neck. "Maybe we need to like... use bait or something."

Yiska peers back and forth out of the windows, 'Do homids usually see ghosts just casually outside? Do ghosts only show up during the night or something?'

Bits cocks her head at Shay, "Bait like what, a can of oil on a string?" She scrunches her nose, "This was supposed to be materialized, right? I mean, maybe it would be easier to find a spirit in the Umbra because that's where they..." her sentence is interrupted, though, when the whole care is shaken by a bump from the rear. Hope swears, "Jesus Christ!" probably more out of habit than belief, and twists the wheel back and forth, trying to keep the car on the road, tossing everyone back and forth in the backseat. Bright halogen lights flash for a moment from behind, then the revving of an engine, before darkness again.

Tony can't help but snicker at Bits. He's nodding again when suddenly the car lurches forward, and his head hits the headrest - good thing, or he might have whiplash. "What the fuck?" he growls, twisting in his seat to look behind the car, catching those headlights. "I think we've found it."

Shay bounces around and grunts. "Ow hey!" Then he looks back behind him. "Um. Guys? We need a mirror to get into the Umbra. Anyone got a one?"

Yiska yelps and flops about in the back seat, the lupin struggling to turn around to see what just hit the car.

Hope growls, driving off the side of the road, then back onto it, the little car bumping up and down as the road twists, trees lining the sides of it. There's not really anywhere for her to pull off, and she snarls, "Damn if I'm going to leave my car when some maniac is trying to run me off the road. I just got it back!" There's another flash of the halogen lights, going from nothing to terribly bright, like a car trying to pass would signal, just in time to practically blind the lupus. Bits says, as she grabs something to hold on, "I don't know what happens if we cross at 55 miles an hour? This car is way too new to have a spirit reflection... and Umbral road rash would suck." And the back of the Prius is slammed again, this time harder, tossing the lupus up between the two front seats and into the console in the middle, and Bits into the back of Hope's seat. Hope just lurches forward, seatbelted in. "Fuck," she swears again.

Charlene (OOC) just wants to note that, if being slammed from behind, everything would lurch towards the back of the car, not the front.

Pablo (OOC) says, "We will have Yiska get tossed into the hatchback, then, and Bits slammed against the back seat. I'm leaving it up to you homids if you were buckled or not."

Tony growls again, getting angry quickly. This thing better not fuck up the pack's new car. This time his face smacks the headrest, since he was looking back when the car is hit. Almost gets a bloody nose from it, too. "Enough of this shit..." And he starts to wind down his window, unbuckling as he does so.

Shay humfumfs, bouncing off the seat in his seatbelt. "Hope, if you speed up you think they can keep hitting us?"

You whisper, "Are you trying to cross over to the Umbra?" to Charlene.

Charlene whispers, "No. He intends to crawl out the window and onto the roof." to you.

You whisper, "Action star Tony!" to Charlene.

You whisper, "I'm gonna have to roll dice on that one, hold on." to Charlene.

You whisper, "All right, you can do it, fairly successfully. But I'm going to be rolling each time to have you keep holding on. :)" to Charlene.

Hope doesn't answer Shay, not in words, instead she answers by pressing the accellerator and, after a few moments, the little hybrid responds, though there's not a whole lot faster she can go and maintain control on the winding country roads. Bits mutters, "Maybe we should just let him pass," then, looking at Tony, wide-eyed, "What the hell are you doing?" The twin cars blow through a stop sign, luckily there was no one at the cross-road.

Tony just grins and grabs the door frame. "Frontal assault," he says simply, and rather nimbly pulls and twists himself out of the window, one foot up on the doorframe. He crawls onto the roof, clothes flapping in the wind as he takes on a low stance for balance, and looks for the assaulting vehicle. The knife on his belt buckle is taken in hand, held tight, as he waits for it to come up behind again.

"He's insane!" Shay shakes his head and spins around in his seat, stuffing his knees into the cushions. "He's fucking insane!" If they're humans, then they could break the veil if Tony does something so unnatural like brush off bouncing off a car at 60.

Yiska jerks his head up and stares out the back of the window, 'He's insane! What's he going to do, stab the ghost?!'

You whisper, "Okay, what is it you are going to try to do when it comes close?" to Charlene.

Charlene whispers, "Jump on the hood, then drive the knife into a tire." to you.

Hope is far too busy driving to scream about Tony's insanity. Bits swivels around in the car, to try and figure out what he is doing, and says, "Xochipilli watch you, you nutball." On the roof, Tony can make out the outline of a large late model sedan, matte black, following them, no lights on whatsoever. It does have a license plate, though, Wisconsin plates reading: MOVEOVR. Somehow, the philodox manages to hang on as the pursuer accelerates once more.

You whisper, "Okay, you make the jump, landing on the hood of the car, shoulder smashes the windshield, but somehow you're still hanging on." to Charlene.

You whisper, "And you can make a swing at the tire." to Charlene.

Tony puts a foot on the trunk of Hope's car, and jumps at the attacking vehicle. He really must be crazy, but he does manage to bridge the distance, both feet landing squarely on its hood; however, he stumbles forward, shoulder smashing into the windshield and sending spiderweb cracks across its entire front. Knife still held securely in his right hand, he grips the antenna base with his left, leans over, and stabs at the front right tire.

The black car weaves back and forth behind you, as if trying to shake Tony from the hood, and Hope slowly begins to pull away from it. The Prius goes around a curve, skids off the road and back on, and suddenly Hope slams on the breaks-- there's a stop sign in front of her and there's a car stopped at it. Loose ragabash and wolf are tossed about in the car, but there's no accident there. That car pulls away and ... nothing. The black car doesn't come around the curve. The rest of the pack is left in darkness and silence.

You whisper, "Meanwhile... You stab at the tire, but miss, losing your grip on the hood and sliding off, rolling off the car and into a tree-lined ditch at the side of the road. And you're hurt, but still alive and conscious." to Charlene.

Charlene whispers, "And where'd the car go?" to you.

"Shit!" Shay rolls his window down and stares out the window. "Shit maybe we should turn around and head back? Maybe they crashed into a tree or something."

You whisper, "When you look up, it's gone." to Charlene.

You whisper, "Oh, I forgot to mention one thing. When you crashed into the windshield, you didn't see anyone inside, driving. :)" to Charlene.

Hope takes a deep breath, and she nods in agreement, backing up and turning around to go... slower this time, down the road and around the corner.

You whisper, "You can see the pack's car coming back down the road." to Charlene.

After a few tense moments of driving back down the road, the pack can see Tony standing at the edge of the street, looking rather roughed up, but still standing. He lifts a hand in a wave, signalling them to pull over.

Yiska simply waits until the care pulls over..

You whisper, "You're bloody and have probably a broken leg and rib or two." to Charlene.

Hope pulls over at the wave, a bit cautious, but worried. She's breathing hard, but calming down. Bits pushes the door open, "What the hell?" she says to the alpha.

Tony limps towards the car, heavily favouring one leg. He's bloodied up along his arm and shoulder, clothes ripped where he scraped along the road. "There's no driver in the car," he tells Bits, standing by the Prius. "The car itself must be some kind of spirit. Come on, let's hit the Umbra," he tells everyone.

Bits blinks at Tony, "Look at yourself. Are you sure maybe we shouldn't regroup and try again tomorrow night, like, with a strategy or something?"

Tony gives Bits an annoyed stare. "We're looking in the Umbra, first. If we can't find it, we'll try again tomorrow."

Bits looks for a moment like she's going to argue, but lets it go. "All right."

Shay says, "Hope at least needs to park the car. Someone might hit it at night."