2014.01.26 - Which Witch?

It was a dark and stormy night; the rain fell in torrents - except at occasional intervals, when it was checked by a violent gust of wind which swept up the streets...


 * RIP*

"I didn't come here to read your aunt's inspid writings, Moontree," Gilad growls, as he pushes aside more papers. "Your house seems to be -breeding- monstrous books out there. Why, I don't know. There must be a portal somewhere."

Standing there in a herefore un-inspected corner of the basement, the Eternal Warrior tosses aside the torn-asunder book and keeps combing.

Again? Why does having Gilad over here mean such /crappy/ weather? Rain seems concerned. "Hey!" She is going to take the book. "I am sorry, but that is important to me," She carefully puts the parts back together and looks to Gilad. "Wait, monstrous books? Like the one that - who grabbed that book..." Rain tries to recall. Was it Pete? Did it run off? Uh oh. "Well, don't just rip them up, please. You can shake them or hit them," But ripping it is right out.

Unfortunately, the problem with Rain's basement is that it seems to be an interdimensional conduit of some sort. People and things just seem to end up here somehow.

"Hey!" She is going to take the book. "I am sorry, but that is important to me," She carefully puts the parts back together and looks to Gilad. "Wait, monstrous books? Like the one that - who grabbed that book..." Rain tries to recall. Was it Pete? Did it run off? Uh oh. "Well, don't just rip them up, please. You can shake them or hit them," But ripping it is right out.

Unfortunately, the problem with Rain's basement is that it seems to be an interdimensional conduit of some sort. People and things just seem to end up here somehow.

And if you include the fact that a certain purple cat is a creature of Chaos... and who tends to find himself pulled to unusual events by some sort of wicked narrative imperative, then it shouldn't be any surprise that the Cheshire cat's visit had coincided with the shenanigans.

"Rain, forgive me for pointing this out but, you do know that it is part of every responsible book owner to spay and neuter their incunabula? It's irresponsible to have them breed like that." He looks at one of the books with a wary eye. Just in case it might, you know leap out and bite him.

That there was a purple cat fazes Gilad not at all, save for brusquely moving the tail out of his direction or just moving away so he can prowl through the books. "It would not surprise me if some of your books were like -that-. Especially those written in viscera or blood."

Sigh. "I didn't even know we HAD one in here," Rain admits. "My aunt has so much stuff I could stay in here till I'm 30 and beyond..." She pouts at Keith. But either way, she - wait. Doubletake. "Hi Keith!" Ahem. "I think the bitey one already ran off." She remarks and picks up another book. "And yeah, the stack to the left had some blood books, I thought." Poor Rain. She's so far in over her head. She's gone from homeless hedge witch healer to ... THIS. There's a pause. A black book with blood red foil and some sort of mysterious writing on it. "That is the strangest set of runes... Well, at least someone's handwriting is finally worse than mine."

Which is clearly all the more reason to open it. Positive thinking, Rain, positive thinking.

The cat-man smirks at Rain's greeting. "Hey there, Rainy. Sorry to drop in like this, but I was in the middle of teleporting and somehow ended in this area. Means something 'mystical'..." he does the hand gestures "interfered with my jump and dumped me here. Nice basement, though. A little Horror Movie, but it's nice...."

Perusing what appears to be a bodice-ripper of the medieval variety... apparently, a little bit of showing of ankle in -that- era was salacious enough... Gilad was shaking his head in disgust when he jerks his head towards Rain at her words. "Strangest set of runes...? What do you mean...?"

Crowding up behind Keith as he tries to get a better look, Gilad lets loose a loud "Nooooo!"

The book opens, displaying a vortex, one that ran counterclockwise.

As the room fades, replaced by a dizzying miasma of smoke and mists, Gilad takes one last stab at trying to grab Rain...

... When the little party awakens, they discover themselves in what appears to be a bright, gaily colored meadow. Bright blue skies, with very little clouds in sight, a forest in one direction, a bright white cottage in another.

"It's cool. I- wait, really? You, too? Geez. There's something seriously strange with this basement. You are not the first..." Rain furrows her brows in confusion. "Maybe I should ask Doctor Strange to come look at this." While Rain may be Loki's apprentice, somehow giving the God of Mischief an unpredictable conduit seems ... unwise. "Yeah, totally funky ru--" Then, everything gets kinda weird.

Rain has seriously never heard Gilad go "NOOOOOOO!" before. That can only mean bad things. And she has but a moment to regret her decision. She seems fond of Gilad, in a more than a little terrorized way. One day she'll be brave enough. And normally, Rain would be nowhere near Gilad-Speed (Is that up with Ludicrous speed?), but the damage is done. She's dizzy, stunned a moment. Her head reels.

Now, the thing to remember. Rain is one of the black sheep of the family. She's cute enough, even a bit pretty depending on how one feels about nerd girls. But her relatives are - something else. Pause. "Hey wait... that seems familiar somehow... Like, some kind of memory I should have by virtue of blood or something." She rubs at the side of her head. "I /really/ got the short end of the stick." Sigh.

Keith wakes up a few minutes earlier than the rest--- if only because of his weakness for dimensional portals making him sick enough that he had to wake up and race to the edge of the aforementioned gaily-colored meadow and add to the colors with a healthy dose of dimensional sickness-induced vomiting.

When he comes back and Rain awakens, he pants, leaning on a tree "Toto, Kansas, etcetera."

That this was an entirely too pleasant-looking atmosphere instead of something dark, haunted, and twisted gives Gilad very little comfort, as he staggers to his feet. He wasn't certain -where- they were, or even if that was the book they had been after, but when Rain remarks on how familiar it all looks, Gilad looks towards Keith, then towards the witch. "You've been here before?"

Okay, okay. Rain might have gotten the dreadfully short end of the genetic stick, but soul is stronger than stock, right? For a moment, she puts a hand to the side of her head, closing her eyes. It hurts a bit. As if memories were being pushed into her brain through a sieve or some cosmic Cthulhu is trying desperately to get the last of the toothpaste out of the tube because Cthulhu can't just roll into Target and get another tube.

Deep breath. Though, she seems concerned as Keith gets ill. "Are you alright?" She peers. "And yeah ... this is -" Deep breath. "It feels familiar, like someone I knew or someone I was - which sounds /really, really/ weird lived here." Ancestral knowledge: It's kinda whacky! "That house, I think I saw it before when I was training. It was odd. But I guess that means I have to go knock, huh?"

"... it happens whenever I cross dimensions. So we're not home anymore." The young hero answers Rain, looking somewhat weak. "... right, before we go much further, I guess we should take stock of skills so we know what we can do. Just in case." He says this for the benefit of Gilad, since the two haven't officially met. "I'm Keith, or Vorpal. I'm a Cheshire cat... I do illusions, invisibility, and can create constructs. What do you do?" He adds to Gilad.

"I cut. I hack. I fight. I am the Eternal Warrior. Ten thousand years, and still fighting," Gilad replies curtly, as he steps up to fall in next to Rain. Taking a moment to put a hand on the young witch's shoulder, Gilad nods firmly. "You should. Go." There is a faint smile on Gilad's scarred mien. "We will be behind you."

Geez. Poor Keith. "I can conjure you some water if you want," She offers. "And I am a witch. I do most magic. Kinda." She rubs the back of her head. She shrugs a little. It's kinda tough to enumerate her powers. "I can heal pretty well." Nod. "And it's true, he does." Rain's seen it. Gilad's like a living video game protagonist. Just Gilading his way to gory greatness. It is how he do. "That's a really long time," She boggles at Gilad.

At the hand on her shoulder, she freezes faster than the loser of a basilisk staring contest for a split second. "Um. Yeah. Thanks." She smiles back. Though, one eye kinda closes a moment. Ow. Brain hurt. "It's like a memory is trying to force its way in or something." She /seriously/ got screwed. "Okay." Deep breath. Step forward and Rain walks towards the door of the cottage. She knocks firmly. "Hello! I'm not a salesperson!" Hey, she doesn't want to get set on fire.

Well, one did not live for ten thousand years by being stupid. "Fair game, we're right behind you, Rain."

The mansion is certainly imposing in this setting. "If you saw this once before... then maybe we're not in direct and immediate danger."

Taking a deep breath, Gilad readies himself, as his hand reaches up, ready to grab his broadsword and use it if it turned out to be a threat.

"_We_ may not be in immediate danger. But considering what I know of the Moontree family, we may also be in long-term danger. Caution is advised."

Rain's knocked. And Gilad is wise. "Thanks," She seems grateful to have them there. "And maybe, maybe not. I like my family, but they can have some alarming - habits and triggers," And really, they seem to be making Rain look positively stable, normal and safe. Which, by the standards of most magic types - Rain IS pretty normal and gentle natured. "Yeah. Keep your heads and ears up," She advises. Another little knock. And mercifully, Rain doesn't take any insult from the comment on her family. "I think I'm just surprised I lived this long, really." That's sort of sad and dire all at once.

"Are all magic people this---"

Keith's question doesn't get to finish, as the door seems to shake at the second knock to a point that it almost rattles itself off its hinges. But it doesn't open.

Well, not exactly. The door suddenly flies backwards at an incredibly violent speed, disappearing into the gaping darkness of an impossibly long corridor.

"....alright, that's not something you see every day," Keith comments, before noticing that the floorboards under his feet are moving. Rather, they're sliding ever so softly and tilting, as if to nudge him towards the now vacant entryway. "What the..."

The long corridor going down into the house, one that seems impossibly larger inside than from the outside, causes Gilad to frown evern deeper. "And which of your relatives, Moontree, has a fondness for extraordinarily deep holes?" Gilad grumbles, as he takes a step forward, keeping the door propped open so that the others can enter first and he can bring up the rear...

Rain pauses at the question. She blinks. Then yelps as the door goes flying open. "Oh geez." Wait, this seems - familiar somehow. An eye water inducing headache again. "... wow, they invented automatic sidewalks." Baffling. And admirable in its avoidance of exercise. Rain will step in first, letting Gilad bring up the rear. She seems to trust him a great deal. There's an acceptance.

The house seems impossibly larger inside. Of course, this would not be much of a surprise after everything that has happened.

"Wow... I had no idea your family history was that.... er... colorful." Keith says, after an hemorrhage of ellipses. He walks behind Gilad, a little nervous because of the surroundings.

The corridor twists and turns, coming into ever-tighter curves until it arrives, after some time, to a door. This particular door is open, and past its threshold Rain can see dim shapes in a room. There's light coming from windows--- or rather, from tiny slits made by the spaces between heavy curtains against windows, projecting slashes of light on the surfaces in the room-- most of which are covered by white cloth.

Not quite a hemorrhage of ellipses, but certain a nice burst.

As the corridor twists and turns, all seeming alike, Gilad was on edge, as though expecting a grue to burst out any moment. Which might be why he prompts Rain for a light among the path, until at last they've found the room with tiny little lights... though why there was a room covered by white cloth is interesting. Padded room?

He might go into ellipse shock! No, Keith, no! Rain would miss him too much. At least the witch and her light are in front. Rain and her glowing pen with the light spell (equivalent to a modern flashlight like a maglite or very strong battery operated torch) lead the way. She seems baffled, looking around. Maybe the weirdness in her genes are far more dire than she ever realized. Her dark purple eyes are a bit wide. Dim shapes. "Huh."

She enters, exploring carefully. She's trying to remember what this all meant. Dim shapes. "Guess curtains never caught on," She contemplates this. Rain looks this way and that. "Hello? We mean no harm. I might even be related to you. Probably. And try not to be too disappointed." Or take up eugenics. That never ends well, even if unfettered quality control gives you ... Rain. Ahem. She looks this way and that, for anything that might guide them. Furniture ... the doorway to the next room. "Geez, seriously."

The room looks more and more like a sitting room, except that every piece of furniture has been covered with white sheets, the way they used to do when the owner of the house died.

"I hate to tell you this, Rain, but I think your relative wasn't long for this world, from the looks of it..."

The cheshire tries to pull back one of the heavy rapes, and his reward is a powerful beam of light. In contrast with the darkness of the room, it is so bright it hurts the eyes. Keith lets go of the drape immediately and he covers his eyes. "Wow... that was..."

And suddenly, it is very evident that the three aren't alone. There is someone else in the room... someone tall, and willowy, and sitting at one of the grand wing-backed chairs at the end of the room, where the darkness is at its deepest.

"... um... Rain?"

That the room was covered with sheets to prevent dust... well, it -did- seem like nobody had been here. And yet, the admittance of the little group would have indicated that -someone- had responed to the knocking.

Which is why Gilad had his sword drawn and in front, already stepping in a position where he could intercept any ill-move towards the party. "Magic," he spats as a curse. One could almost hear the 'I hate it' subtitled in that single word.

"..." Frown. Well, to be fair, this could be an ancient ancestor, an ancestor with a different fate, it could be anything. She winces at the brightness. "Are you alright?" Rain asks Keith, lowering her pen a bit. Then Gilad does his thing. She looks a bit pained as he spits the word magic as a curse. But there is some sympathy. To someone without magic, it must be frightening or at least irritating. And there's a tall, willowy figure. Sort of - probably a nicer version of what Rain has, really. "... hello? It's Winter. Rain's my nickname," She offers to the mysterious proto-witch.

Ur-witch? Sandw-- no. Rain approaches carefully. "We didn't mean to intrude. I knocked and it pulled us in." Let's try a friendly, space Canadian approach.

"Rain?"

It is a shrill voice, with a frayed edge and a fair bit of driness. The figure shifts a little and perceptible breezes pass through the room, causing several of the sheets to flutter.

"We haven't had Rain... in years. Too dry. Too dry. Good idea." The voice says. And suddenly, up from the roof, something falls.

It is droplets. Little droplets of water.

At first Gilad seems extremely tense, ready to run through the witch if there was even the slightest threat towards the party. And indeed, his hand spasms on the hilt of the sword... at least until rain begins to fall.

Slowly, Gilad regards Rain with a look, not unlike when -that- embarassing family member comes out to introduce oneself to your friends...

"..." Rain looks to Keith and Gilad. She looks up as the rain begins to fall. "Um, thanks. May I ask your name?" She seems curious. And Rain is awkward, but polite. At Gilad's look, she just looks sheepish and a little apologetic. Yup, it's one of those. But at least now they both know that Rain's awkwardness and strangeness seems to be desperately genetic. Although, that begs the question of perhaps the elite easy bake coven being the odd branch of the family and Rain herself a genetic reversion. DNA's way of going NEENERNEENER I AM INEVITABLE, SUCKAS.

It's all in your jea-- eeh, genes. Rain does wear pants, though. She takes a deep breath and steadies herself. "These two, I am honored to call friends. Do you know where we are?"

"Don't be silly, girl!" The figure sounds somewhat miffed. "We are here. We are? Of course, we are." She shifts a little, and the room is now decidedly different. It seems to be in one of the high towers of the mansion, overlooking the colorful field, and light filters in through grandiose windows.

What is strange is that the change wasn't noticeable at first- as if someone had decided to change the world so that this room had -always- been where it is. Except, of course, that is not possible, so reality (such as it is around here) gently reasserts itself by letting you know that, dudes, that was magic.

"Preposterous thing, one of Us not knowing where she is..." the woman in question, now seen in better light, looks positively ancient. She makes Dame Maggie Smith look like a cheerleader... and yet her posture is erect and elegant, she is dressed in an old-fashioned victorian dress, a long and pointy hand holding the silver knob of a cane.

The eyes, though, are what is unsettling. They are fierce blue, like two pieces of icy sapphire, and they seem to ebb between complete and sane focus.. and the unfocused gaze of someone far over the side of madness.

"Your mother should have taught you... I never did approve of the marriage...." A pause, and then a glance. ".... which one are you?"

"..." Again. Rain is as bad as that guy from FF8. Or some sort of silent video ame protagonist. Her dark purple eyes are wide. She seems surprised. We are here? Where is here? She seems surprised, glancing out the window. She feels like a minnow in the family shark tank. Not even a really big minnow. Like, the derpy minnow the nature documentary guy zooms in and you just know that sucker is gonna get nailed by a passing tuna, then it totally does. She seems surprised. But not. Magic is infinitely finite and yet not. It's a bit much, and with her engineering brain, embracing magic has been something of a struggle for Rain.

Like wrestling a gang of ferrets in an oil pit. Not easy. She looks to the woman. She looks apologetic at the statement. "... sorry. She taught me a bit. I was deemed unworthy, so um." She rubs the back of her head. Rain wasn't supposed to have powers. They were either sealed away or should not have been. Whatever happened, did. And here she is. Still, she tilts her head. "I'm Winter Moontree. The middle one. One of the middle ones." And Rain quietly leaves out that her mom was something of a swinger and um. Well. Let's just not. "I'm sorry."

"Your mother was the slut?" A sharp eye turns to Rain, "I knew that girl would come to trouble! Still, she's not as bad as your great-great-great aunt on your mother's side four times removed and once added. She went with one of -those-..." she points her cane at Keith, sniffing disapprovingly. "... there is an entire branch of the family that eats nothing but anchovies." She shows her obvious distaste.

"Still... as.... objectionable as you are, there are still some things that are your due. Family is family...."

The woman trails off, staring at a painting behind Rain. "... there is something broken about this screen. I haven't been able to catch my serials in over a decade."

At first Gilad had been patient, waiting for Rain to sort out the family issues. But the more they delved into heritage, the more Gilad shifts his attention elsewhere. A table here, a cloth there, a paining here...

And that painting being mentioned gets a closer inspection. A mirror within a painting, that was... interesting.

Slowly Gilad motions his hand over the mirror, touching it briefly. No answer.

And then abruptly, he raps the painting's frame the way one would hit a misbehaving tv in the old days.

Wince. Hearing it from someone like THAT... Rain just sort of nods slowly. Though, she looks sheepish. But she nods. "Well... He's been a good friend, both of them have." Even if she's petrified of Gilad when he's unhappy, he does seem to be someone Rain cares about and sees as a friend. She looks to the painting. "Really?" She glances over to it. Sadly, she seems kind of used to the objectionable comment. "I apologize for the whole objectionable thing." She tilts her head. "What do you mean a due?" Is this a geas she's about to get hit with? Her attention is torn between Gilad, the painting, making sure poor Keith isn't too upset and the mysterious ancestor of hers.

Keith seems to be fine. This sort of thing slides off him like water off a duck. He seems more amused by her than anything else...

The painting, such as it is called, depics a landscape that may be seen out the window. But when Gilad gives the frame a good whop, the trees in the picture suddenly start moving!

In fact, Rain might be able to notice that it's exactly the same scene outside.

"Your due." The old woman says, standing up and gesturing to the mirror as she walks to the door of the room.

There is a horrible rumbling sound all of a sudden, and the corridor that is beyond the door begins to change. It looks as if it is being swallowed up by another room that speeds towards the door with breakneck speed.

When it stops, it is obviously a luxurious bathroom, as large as a bedroom. The old woman walks into it and looks over her shoulder.

"It is time for my bath. The way back is the way you came."

And with that, she is gone. Or, rather, the room that she is in speeds past the door-- showing recesses of wall as it moves, before another room lines up with their present location. A library.

"...your family gets about in the most bizarre ways, Rain." Keith mentions.

The mirror comes out of the painting, caught swiftly by Gilad as it emerges. As the painting scene resets into the meadow from outdoors, the Eternal Warrior regards the mirror. A face appears in it, grumpily. "What are you staring at? Unhand me at once, who wants your grubby hands on -my- frame? Oh, now, that sweet thing over there? If that's my new mistress, the sooner I'm in her hands, the better!"

"..." Keith's supply of ellipses seem to have been taken by Gilad, as he wordlessly hands over the mirror, his every action showing utter disdain for .... that thing.

After giving Rain her 'due', Gilad spins on his heels, stalking towards the library... which looked suspiciously like the book nook in Rain's basement.

Huh. Ack! Rain's eyes go wide as Gilad gives the frames a whop and the mirror changes. She stares. Oh no. Oh Gilad, don't get lasered or sucked in or turned into anything. She tenses, much like a deer in headlights (since when has that behavior saved a deer, ever? Most feline or canine predators just go 'whoop whoop what free meal over here' at a still target and automobiles... well, that's a losing battle, too). "T-thank you, ma'am!" Rain waves to the woman. Then, the rumbling and her eyes go wide again. "... sure thing. Thanks, and enjoy your bath." Rain just goes with it. Rain rolls with the punches.

And she seems surprised as the woman is gone. "Apparently, yes they do," Rain remarks quietly to Keith. "C'mon, let's - head out of here." Somehow, interrupting the bathtub of an ancient witch seems bad for life. But then, Gilad catches a mirror. A mirror with a 'tude problem. Rain's expression crumbles. Her due is that the universe is not just giving her lemons. It has loaded them into a gattling gun and is shooting them at her. "Um. I- Hi! I guess you're my mirror. Nice to meet you." Rain will carefully accept the mirror and hang onto it. She will hold up the glowing light pen as they head back.

"Congratulations, hon...you've got yourself a Letch On The Wall." Keith sighs, pats Rain's shoulder, and heads back with them.

"Well HELLO there, NICE to meet you too," the mirror exclaims, as it gets clutched against Rain, getting a nice eyeful.

"... I'd offer to take care of the mirror, but breaking something like that is liable to call down something on us," Gilad comments as they reach the end of the corridor and step through...

VLLOOOORP....

The dizzying spiral of smoke and mist disposes the little party back where they'd begun.

Silently Gilad picks up the book, closes it, and regards it, considering carefully whether to rend it apart, before looking at Rain.

And Keith excuses himself as he runs out of the basement and towards the nearest bathroom....

... Letch on the Wall. Rain nods, looking defeatedly at Keith. "Um. Hi." And it gets a nice eyeful apparently. Oops. Rain is not used to dealing with sentient mirrors, and her face goes bright red. "Thanks. I appreciate thought. And yeah," She nods to Gilad. "We'll have to find you a nice spot. Where do you want to be hung?" Rain asks the mirror.

She winces a bit. "That is a seriously old school portal." She glances to Gilad and the book. "I really have no idea what'll happen if you rend that. She didn't seem terribly fond of me, my mom or my branch of the family. I am not sure provoking her with visits is a good idea," The young witch admits. "And um, no worries. Third foor to the left, Keith," Rain calls after Keith. "Cups are under the sink so you can rinse too." She's thoughtful. "I don't think this book is the bad one though."

"The bedroom, of course!" the Mirror replies.

Gilad's fist twitches, as though he were ready to put a fist through the Mirror, but he remains quiet, instead placing the book on a table. "Organize this somewhere else then. As to your other book... we probably should call in more assistance."

"I hate to set up false expectations..." That poor mirror has found the one engineer witch who has quite literally practically never dated. ... maybe that's karmic revenge for him. "Um. Sure. Fair enough." She sort of looks amused and sympathetic to Gilad's reaction. Her due, huh. "I guess everyone has to atone for their sins." That's all she can think of, somehow. Rain nods. "Okay. We'll do that. I'll let Keith know, once he feels better. Please help yourself to any food, drink or small items around. I appreciate your help. Or you can stay and I'll start the fire place."

Whatever is chosen, Rain will at least make sure her guests are either compensated or thanked profusely. But she too, is done with basement book digging for the day. And the evening will wind down quietly.