Looking Glass

[Elyse]

Elyse furrowed her brow, the motion itself feeling strange to her. The man had become defiant. Elyse didn't think that Sierra's request was too much to ask. It really was a simple enough request, but the man took some offense to it apparently.

Then Sierra pulled out a bow and some cord. Elyse watched carefully as Sierra nocked an arrow and fired, striking the tin can. Elyse's eyebrows raised admiration. It was a great shot. As Sierra began to pull, Elyse lowered her pack to the ground and fumbled around inside for one of the bags she usually carried. She then moved towards the river and knelt down, pulling slightly at the cord to assist Sierra. The can was dragging against the muck at the bottom of the river, so they had to be careful lest the can get removed from the arrow.

Slowly but surely, the can made it's way, and Elyse picked it up when it was on shore, removing the arrow. She placed the can in her bag and brought the arrow back to Sierra. "That was quite a shot,"
she said placing the can in her pack for disposal later. "Makes me wish I would have brought my crossbow."
Elyse had decided on only the pistol for her hike because of size, but archery practice would have been a lot of fun. It might be something to do in the future.


Edited by Elyse, May 5 2015, 01:48 PM.

[Elias Donovan]

The girl retrieved some contraption that Elias didn't recognize until it was fully opened up. Murder was a tad drastic, but what else could she do with a bow and arrow if not shoot him like a deer? That she tied a rope to the arrow ripped a gaping hole in that theory. Unless she intended to stab a full grown man through the chest and drag him into the water, then she wasn't going to aim for him. Yet she took her stance, drew and aimed. Whether she meant to hit him or not, he mistrusted anyone's accuracy at that distance. He quickly left the rock and moved a safe distance away just as the sliver of black arched across the sky.

With a loud thump and spray of snow, the arrow pierced its mark and the rope went lax across the river. Elias' jaw was dropped open. That shot was impossible! With barely a sliver of can sticking out of the snow as a target, at that distance, with cold muscles an Olympic archer shouldn't be able to execute such accuracy.

His brows drew low as he returned to the river. She had to be a power-user. Nothing could explain the miracle of what he'd just witnessed. He sensed nothing of the sort to indicate the use of power, but he did not assume there were not multiple kinds. Some could be undetectable to the others. Why not?

If she was a power-user, why exactly was a young girl in the middle of the wilderness? He'd seen no evidence this past week of another soul along the river, not even the old man that warned against disturbing the river spirits. A power-user adept with tactical weaponry suggested devious intent. Did she know about the trace object that was the secret war of governments? A scout, maybe. Or worse.

He had questions that he did not care to shout. While the girls gathered their trashy prize, Elias hefted his pack onto his shoulders with a grunt. The warmth keeping the air at a comfortable temperature faded and he put the focus of all his intent into the river itself. He'd done this once before, walking on water. That day with Tony when the creature in the water spit projectiles out of the ice, he'd darted across the frozen surface, bracing his steps as he ran with power. At that time, snow brushed from the surface, clearing his vision as he tracked the shadow darting beneath until it was lost to distance and superior speed.

There was no need for such theatrics today. Yet he called the water into his mind, power blossomed from within until his fists curled with its intensity. Water hummed within his grasp. His heart beat strong and deadly intent as he took that first, confident step off the snowy shore and onto the icy surface. He felt like God. Ice thickened before his path. The waters streaming down the middle of the unfrozen river churned, frosted, and hardened. He crossed safely, and as soon as he stepped upon solid earth once more, behind him, all returned to its previous state. The king had come to claim his domain.

For the most part, he ignored the littler, and shyer, of the two girls. It was the bow-woman that he approached. His height dominated over her presence, a black icicle amid the virgin white foreground. He let the pack slide from his shoulders. It fell to the snow with a loud thump.

"Alright. You have my attention. Why are you out here? What special interest does this river hold for you? The same as it held for the Americans? Some undiscovered energy source? Weapon?"
The scrutiny of his gaze tightened, studying her, but he did not overtly threaten despite the harshness of his appearance. If she turned her power against him, he did not know how he would react. If she claimed naivete, he would demand an alternative explanation.

[Sierra]

Elyse helped reel in the tin can and placed it in a bag for later disposal, at least she had come prepared. But as the other woman held out the arrow for Sierra to claim again, she noticed the man walking on water. She blinked twice as she absently took the arrow from the wolf kin woman. It would not fly well but it would fly if the magic this man possed became a threat to her self.

He strode up to her with purpose, his bag slid from his shoulder and Sierra heard the snow crush beneath it. Sierra watched it's decent to the ground, to keep her eyes from the man's direct line of sight.

But his words were foreign to her. Power? Americans? She'd met an American twice... A country boy from cheese country, Sierra tried not to think about Calvin, his folly had been Snow's demise. She thought she was past that after their chance encounter in the dream world, but she had been wrong. Maybe she would find the peace to forgive him someday. She knew it wasn't his fault. But that didn't make it any better.

The other American had been a colorful girl buying a hedgehog as a pet. Sierra smiled inside at the memory of the hedgehog she'd purchased for Snow. He'd chased around the room after the critter despite the fact he could have downed it in one gulp the first moment it set foot on the floor.

Sierra slowly raised her eyes to the man, his threats were thinly veiled and he was towering over her like he was some sort of god. Her golden eyes staired into dark eyes with a smile. "This river hold no special meaning. It's the way I choose to return to Moscow."
Sierra turned and pointed at the log. "I sat there to collect myself before..."
Sierra paused and looked the black clad man up and down, emo, goth, whatever the fad was these days. "Before having to deal with the wretched humanity that lies with in cities."
Sierra smiled up at the man. "I have been in the wild not long enough. But I only got here."


More images from the wolves flooded her mind, danger, caution. The prior warnings had not been nearly as strong, but these, the wolves didn't trust this man. Sierra truly smiled. "My friend says you are dangerous, and with a power like walking on water I don't doubt that fact. Why are you here?"
Sierra smirked, "Aside from littering the country side with your waste."



Edited by Sierra, May 6 2015, 07:56 AM.

[Elyse]

Elyse only slightly jumped when the man spoke from behind her. She turned with the grace of a hunter, stepping back to give herself more room from the man. Dots connected in her mind and her suspicions were confirmed as Sierra spoke - the man had walked on water - which meant he could wield the power of gods.

That brought to mind Jesus. He had been documented to walk on water. Elyse briefly wondered if Jesus had held the powers of gods too, and that brought to mind many more questions such as were the Pharisees Atharim and the whole crucifixion set to fulfill their goal. It was something to research - later.

Elyse didn't judge gods like other Atharim did. The man was a litterer and perhaps a little harsh, but that didn't make him a bad person; however, the chance was there, but her own credo meant that she had to give him a chance to prove himself good or evil. She didn't want to kill anyone. A person was a person regardless of whether they had god powers, were sentient, or wolfkin. She was a defender of those who couldn't defend themselves, and if she had to, she would protect others from him, but she didn't have enough data.

Elyse didn't respond verbally. She stood waiting for the man's response, but she was now more worried about Sierra. The way she spoke of humanity was with anger. Sierra didn't seem very happy. Under normal circumstances, Elyse would have been concerned, but she was even moreso under these ones. If Sierra disliked humanity so, then she might turn to the wolves too much. Elyse didn't want Sierra to become like the man in the cage. She didn't want that to happen to anyone.

[Jaxen Marveet]

This multi-dimension time travel or whatever was incredibly unpleasant. Maybe for a spineless, boneless snake, getting sucked through a siphon the size of a pinprick was no big deal, but for an actual human being, Jaxen felt wrung out before being fluffed back to normal size.

He shivered as soon as the transition was complete. His toes were on solid ground, but his skin immediately prickled. Every hair on the lean lines of his body stood straight. The realm of the naga was tepid and humid, like walking inside a city-sized terrarium. He'd grown used to the heavy air. Now, breathing was painful like his body forgot the sensation of existence within his own world.

Sora lowered the black cloth that draped him for the journey, and he was immediately light-blinded by a world of harsh white. Where the naga realm was lit by some diffuse source, his own world glowed.

Snow, he realized. They were outside in the Russian winter. That explained the frosty lungs and sharp air. He was cold, though. Too cold.

"Sora!"
He roared in disbelief, turning on her even as his hands cupped himself. "Are you insane! What happened to my clothes!?"


Those narrow eyes slithered up and down his body and he was glad he covered himself, but she shrugged indifferent. "I do not control sssuch thingssss. You took ssssomething that wasss not yoursss. It isss forbidden to carry across the realmssss."


Jaxen stared in disbelief. "Then give me your robe. Or better yet! Zip us to my apartment!"
He looked around, "Where the hell are we anyway?" With nothing but trees, he had no idea where they are.

"My robesss protect me, and I cannot take you where you wish to go. What must be, issss."
As though in demonstration, she secured the veil more tightly around her jawless face. She lifted her cloak like she was about to disappear again.

"Wait!"
He cried, nearing desperation. Jax was no stranger to daring conditions of an extreme bet, but if she left him in the middle of no where like this, he was going to die! "After everything you did to save an Ancient, you're going to leave me here to die in the cold??!"
There was actual worry in his voice. He never thought he'd need to ask something of this snake woman, but Sora was his only hope.

Again, she didn't seem too concerned. "You will not die. Your own kind are a short walk that way. We naga protect the ancients. You have what you need to survive this world. Farewell."
She lifted her cloak, warped and disappeared.

Jaxen was dumbfounded. "Fucking snakes,"
he muttered and turned in the direction she pointed. He rubbed his arms as he walked. The elaborate snake tattoo on his shoulder mocked him as he climbed past limbs and white-covered lumps in the ground. If he stepped on something he was unaware. Barefoot in the snow, his feet were already numb. The barest wind sent him into shivers, but he clenched his jaw and drank deep on the well of his own ancestors. He may have been a pampered son of the CCD, but through his veins ran the blood of Russian princes. He straightened and walked quickly.

He stumbled soon enough upon a break in the trees. The flat plain of an icy river broke the wooded canopy, but more important, a trio of people - heavily clothed people - were in sight.

Modesty was far from his mind, but the sight of a completely naked Jaxen must have been quite shocking. Not his best first impression... but not his worst. "Uhh, hey. Any help here?"
He stumbled their way. Sora better be right.

[Elias Donovan]

Elias was rather disappointed when she didn't claim the river as her territory. Irritated that he had to deal with the interruption, but should would have been a new source of information, a new connection to the people that were after whatever his uncle had discovered, a target upon whom to exact revenge for stealing his content life in New Zealand. Yet here he was, lost in the desert of a snowy continent, as far as possible from any sense of peace. A little more than a year in New Zealand and the wasting illness draining his body of vitality in Utah had subsided. In Moscow only a few months and the shadow of its return hovered around his edges of his existence. It was coming back, but the only cure was to solve the riddle of his uncle's disappearance and return to New Zealand victorious in undermining what must be a world-wide conspiracy.

He sighed and glanced at the quieter girl whom apparently thought to bring a trash bag. "You girls sure are judgmental."
He smirked. She probably bagged her own shit too. Unless she considered it fertilizer. His only solace in the disappointment that this girl was just another snotty girl looking down at him was that she recognized his power. The power was dangerous. It was dangerous. It could kill him or someone else. He'd heard those mantras over and over again, but never had he been named the danger. "I'll give you one thing, wretched humanity is a decent description."


He considered leaving them and returning to his quiet solitude, but since he was bothered to be here, he had a question of them. "In your time 'in the wild' have you ever come across a river spirit that spits arro--"
the additional sounds of footsteps made his voice trail off. He looked up.

It was a rather shocking sight to find a butt-naked guy standing there in the snow, hugging himself as he froze. Elias just blinked and surveyed their surroundings in case more might appear. An army of naked Russians was a slightly disturbing thought.

[Sierra]

The wolves sent strange images. A man a snake popping in and out. Danger? Caution? Large shadows under the water, again danger and caution followed. Everything was a mixture of confusion.

Sierra heard the footsteps, long before Elias looked up at the sound approaching. She had learned long ago to hide her listening and sight and the smell factors of being what she was. It was easier to let others respond first than to show what she could do.

She turned and looked and blinked. What the hell? Why on this earth would a man wander in the Russian winter butt naked. The images returned of the snake and the man popping into existence. Sierra nodded the wolves had warned of this man. But he was hardly a danger he was clearly not hiding anything of dangerous intent.

Sierra sighed and took off her fur coat and tossed it at the naked man. She'd survive for a few moments without it, but he would not. He would surely die if he did not get warm first. Sierra pulled out her fire starter kit and moved back towards the fallen log, the wood was still wet, but it would at least burn some until they were able to find real wood. Maybe deep enough in would burn well.

She moved quickly, using the head of the arrow to dig into the fallen log a hole large enough and dry enough to hold the tinder in her bag. The fire started quickly. But it wouldn't last too long without more fuel for the fire. Sierra didn't look up as she stood, her eyes averted from the new comer out of habit, her contacts would really need to be replaced quickly. "This will start to warm you. We need drier wood than this to get you warm enough."
Sierra muttered to herself with a soft laugh, "Where is that magical stag when you need it."



Edited by Sierra, May 7 2015, 07:53 AM.

[Elyse]

Judgmental!? She was judgmental!? Elyse had no idea that it was judgmental to ask someone to pick up their garbage. Only the slightest irritation appeared on her face at his words, but it would do no good to confront the man on it. That would only lead to a circle confrontation about which one was more judgmental.

Instead, Elyse allowed the moment of irritation and then brushed the comment aside. "I'm sorry if you felt I was judging you. That wasn't my intent."
She said, her words and tone sincere.

The wolves were sending images that confused her and were too fast to decipher as the man started to ask a question about some sort of river creature. Elyse had never heard of anything like that, but before the man could even finish, his voice trailed off, and Elyse followed the man's gaze to see another man entering their little encampment.

A naked man entered the area, and Elyse's eyebrows raised in surprise. Elyse couldn't help but stare a little longer than what was probably considered decent before she diverted her gaze, slightly embarrassed and allowing the newcomer to retain some of his dignity.

Sierra threw the man her coat and began to start a fire. Elyse was glad when the man put on the coat. It made it easier to keep her gaze up. Elyse approached him. "Are you okay?"
she asked, handing him her hat and gloves. "They are probably small, but they'll keep you warm."


Elyse guided the man to the fire and he sat down. Elyse pulled her first aid kit out of her pack. She hated to use her bandages to dry his feet, but she had to before frostbite set in. After his feet were dry, she blew on her hands and wrapped her hands around his feet, one at a time, trying to warm them. She then removed her own coat followed by the hooded sweatshirt beneath revealing a red shirt underneath. She wrapped the man's feet in her sweater and put her own coat back on. "Sorry to tie you up, but it will keep your feet warm."


Elyse looked back at the other man. "I'm not sure what you were talking about, I've only been out for a half hour or so and haven't seen anything like what you were describing."
It was true. Until she had seen the man do his Jesus impersonation and the naked man, she hadn't seen anything out of the ordinary.

She turned to Sierra. "Do you need help getting dry wood?"
Elyse could help, but she figured someone should stay with the newcomer.

((Jaxen with permission))

Edited by Elyse, May 7 2015, 12:12 PM.

[Jaxen Marveet]

Good to see some things never changed. The two women quickly came to his aid. One wrapped him up with the clothes off her own back, or her coat at least, and the other took to getting a fire going. He'd prefer a good hot bath, but he'd take what he could get.

"Thanks,"
he looked up at the sweet-smile beckoning him with sympathy, mirroring the gesture with a slick smile of his own. Her hat yanked flush over his ears and her gloves tugged up on his hands felt odd, but he'd wear a woman's miniskirt if it meant keeping him warm. Though a miniskirt would probably be the wrong choice if warmth was the intended purpose. Showed off the legs good, though. Or probably would. Not that he'd tried before. Worked on women though.

He'd clearly stumbled upon a conversation he soon realized. Mostly since the girl helping him divided her attention between Jaxen and the other guy just standing there. Of all the stuff belonging to the women, Jaxen craved the guy's long coat most. With fur along the collar and a stout hat, he looked nice and toasty warm. Damn guy.

Jaxen coughed to get their attention again. "Where exactly are we?"
He hoped it was near enough to civilization to get him there without much of a problem. Walking farther than a few minutes without shoes was not going to be fun. "Nobody happens to have a car handy, do you?"
He glanced between the three, but it was a long shot. He'd prefer a helicopter, but he'd take a dog-sled at this point.

It did occur to him that nobody asked what the hell a naked dude was doing walking around the middle of no where. Seemed like the first thing Jaxen would have asked. For all they knew he could be some alien from an alternate universe finally landed on Earth to start the invasion. That would be more believable than the truth anyway.

[Elias Donovan]

The initial shock wore away and Elias was left with the shadow of suspicion clouding his will to act. There was almost nothing threatening about this naked stranger yet Elias was unwilling to trust to coincidence.

The girls scrambled to help, and guilt gnawed at Eli that he hadn't done something sooner. He grumbled to himself and came to their aide. However, his assistance was invisible. The same patterns that let him warm himself across the river were repeated around their group. It took a few moments longer as the target area was larger. Slowly, the temperature lifted like a warm sun suddenly broke the clouds. Next, he set his sights on the fire being tended by one of the girls. It should be a distinctly less difficult act to fan the flames of that fire than to raise the air temperature, but it wasn't instinctual. In fact, Eli felt like he was striking the tinder of a match that just wouldn't strike. After a few attempts, the flame started previously grew larger. The natural warmth would keep them comfortable for the time being. The unnatural source of warmth quickly dissipated now that he wasn't actively focusing on its maintenance.

He knowingly flicked his gaze around the three companions like they might praise him for the help, but he didn't ask for it. Instead, he joined the man where he sat. The girls' response to his previous query was acknowledged as well.

"Who are you and how did you come to be out here?"