Time of our Lives, pt. 2
The Wyld spirit lifts one arm and a five by five foot pillar of sand shoots out of its fist. Crashing into Reggie's chest, neatly knocking him out of the way and nearly thirty feet distant. Seems to have randomly picked its target, from the defending Garou. The arrow the spirit was attacked with, sinks into its side, where it rots and falls to the ground.
Endures-Pain sprints after Flood-of-Flame once she has finished her howl, ready for the battle.
Flood-of-Flame makes a surpised, high-pitched bark as Reggie goes flying, and watches with horror as Artemis' arrow simply rots at the touch of the creature. ~Don't touch it!~ he howls, and tries to darts to the the side, trying to get out of range of the creature's attacks. Bloods-Bane's eyes go wide at the sight. He starts looking around the beast for any weakness or some way to defeat it. Howls-For-Glory stands behind the sand monster, and throws a rock at it experimentally. Blotches, looking as dismayed as everyone else at the thing's seeming immunity, tries to sneak around the creature, to join Cole at the rear.
Pierces Ice snarls as the Uktena gets battered to the side. One of her ears flicks backward, all of the hesitation she allows before she rushes to attack the beast. True to wolven form, she strikes for the legs to disable. The intent is to keep it from getting to the heart of the caern. If breaking a leg is enough to turn it away, all the better, but if not, at least it will be slowed. Right behind her in the attack, White Bear rushes forward with his spear in a massive paw-hand, striking higher than his alpha. Untangler moves as the Glass Walker does. His hispo jaws seek purchase low on the leg opposite Jacinta. Bites the Belly of the Spider, after a signal from her alpha, hangs back. Crashing head over heels, Reggie finally drags to a stop, and untangles himself as he spits out a good amount of sand. Eyes watering as he blinks furiously, he scrambles to his feet and blurrily looks one way or the other to reorient himself, hands raised defensively, should the golem be right by him.
By the waterfall, ~The Stag said it rivals Chimera - can we summon Chimera to help deal with it?~ Pathfinder calls, still hanging far back from the creature.
Rifthealer turns and races back to Guards-the-Flame's side, gritting her teeth hard, frustrated. ~Can any call Chimera? If this thing is as powerful as the Lady is...~ Guards-the-Flame howls, ~Someone make sure Reggie didn't end up like that arrow!~ as she starts to dance back and forth before the creature, trying to draw its gaze for a moment, before rushing in with her claws blazing, becoming a fast, silver blur, hoping to find a spot behind the other knee. Three-Blades, at a loss, flattens her ears back as she sees Reggie get knocked aside like a child's toy. Hearing the theurge's suggestion, she perks, shifting to her warform as well and crouching to get a good idea of where to start attacking.
By the steam vents, Blurring fowrad, Lures-The-Beast and Endures-Pain zig zag towards the creature quickly. The Black Fury goes high as the Silver Fang aims low. The Fury's claws dive for the creature's eye as she leaps high, hoping to strike true and hard, while the other goes for about the mid waist, using her claws to try and find purchase and knock it over with her weight.
The thrown rock is merely absorbed into the creatures body, disappearing inside of its mass. The attacking Garou certainly seem to be irritating the creature, as it comes to a stop and rises up. Supporting its weight on two massive pillars of sand. Pierces Ice's claws sink into the soft sand and out again, any damage she causes is just covered up by fresh sand. The same happens to all the others that are attacking the beast. Their natural weapons tear out hunks of sand, only to have the creature heal as swiftly as it is harmed. Teeth grind and the great eyes closes, before more pillars of sand shoot out of its body. These are smaller then the earlier attack, only two by two feet, but they still have enough power to knock Pierces-Ice, White-Bear, Untangler, Bites-The-Belly-Of-The Spider, and Guards-Flam and good five meters distant. Other then being a bit winded, with sand in their eyes, ears, and mouths, they are unharmed. As Lures-The-Beast attacks, her momentum allows her to be absorbed to the waste. She hangs inside the creature's middle, before being 'spit' out. Thrown head over heels, like some Garou cannon-ball. As all this is happening, the mouth extends, swallows Endures-Pain whole. The Silver Fang becomes a second Garou Cannon-ball, as he gets spit out the back end.
After hitting the ground and getting back up, Guards-The-Flame snarls loudly and glances over to Pierces Ice and Sifhuil, looking for help with this one. ~We can't hurt this thing physically. I'm out of ideas.~ Three-Blades backs up more as the beast easily defends itself against the attacking Garou. The Gnawer's lips pull back in an uncomfortable 'grin' with teeth bared. ~Does not look like we can stop it, but...~ Rifthealer can only nod in agreement. The two packmates seem to give ground in sync, one looking ready to run in and heal if necessary, and the other staring hard at the enigma of the Wyld spirit. The ragabash eventually backs up far enough that she stands right before the small cairn of shattered crystals, and waits.
~Dig at it! Dig the sand away!~ Blotches suggests, while charging forth from the rear, hands cupping like shovels. She sets to work on one of the creature's legs. Howls-For-Glory quickly moves to dodge the flying Silver Fang. He looks over his shoulder at the other Garou and remarks, ~That was successful,~ then moves in to dig at one leg of the creature, next to Blotches. Blood's-Bane shifts down to Glabro. Calling on his Rage for speed, he runs out of the area and straight to the waterfall. He pulls off his leather jacket and does his best to make some kind of water carrying vessel, getting as much water as possible before coming back. Once he makes it, he throws his jacket at the beast, hoping to hit with the water-bomb. Flood-of-Flame growls low in his throat as he watches the guardians scattered, along with his tribal Elder, and the Silver Fang jettisoned out of the creature's rear. Noticing Dillen as he runs to get the water, he grumbles, ~Make water. Good idea.~ He drops to all fours, steps up to the creature's leg as if it were a urinal, lifts a leg and lets fly.
Pierces Ice rolls with the blow and scrapes to a halt on all fours. She turns back to the attack once more. This time, as she reaches for the creature, it is not to cause biting or crushing damage, but instead to tear as much sand free from the mass as she can. Returning alongside her, White Bear continues to use his spear, stabbing deeply into the mass, while Horace takes his cue from his alpha and uses his claws to pull sand free. Holly, once she returns to her feet, puts her arms out straight before her and a look of concentration comes over her face as a sharp breeze starts to form around her.Blinking out sand, Reggie regains vision in time to see others fall to sandblasting, and he howls a promise of vengeance, spitting out more sand. Moving over to the caern's waterfall, he scoops up a crinos hands' worth of water to dash at the moving sandpile.
By the waterfall, Finds-The-Path frets by the water's edge, personally disagreeing with the whole strategy, but realising there's not much to do but join in. Hopeful he's doing the right thing, he lowers his head to the water and slurps up the largest Crinos mouthful he can, bounding towards the thing, and firing a stream into it's chest.
After rolling back to her feet, Endures-Pain growls in mixed anger and embarrassment, then starts at the back of the creatures legs, trying to use her claws to scoop away the sand furiously with a determined speed. Lures-The-Beast once more comes from the front, howling her rage, barreling forward in an attempt to join in with the others, shoveling away at the joint in where its knee would be.
Sifhuil has disconnected.
Well, if nothing else, the materialized spirit seems rightly pissed off now. The water attacks do seem to be affecting it. As Auggie pees on its leg, a patch of yellow sand becomes, well, more yellow and sloughs off, while the water bomb causes a bit more in the way of apparent damage. The physical attacks seem to be working as well; even as White-Bear's Spear gets sucked right out of his hand. Rising up onto its hind legs, the Spirit uses those massive arms to swat at the attacking Garou like flies. The thing is amazingly fast, as it once again bats away its attackers. As before, they are sent flying, further this time. Still, as in the previous attack, they are not seriously hurt. Holly is the last one to go, as she gets nailed with another one of those sand pillars and is smashed into the ground. Ow, broken ribs. Seems that Call of the Breeze was working very well and earned Holly special attention. The creature appears, at most, to be half a foot shorter now and maybe a little slimmer. Still, any sense of victory is short lived, as the spirit starts to shake. Sand clouds out around its body, as it turns back time. Removing the water(and urine) from the sand that was soaked and returning the dry sand to its body.
"Get it into the water!" Dillen cries out as he heads for the waterfall again, dousing himself under the water, letting his clothes get good and soaked before running back to the beast. Blotches follows the others' lead, and gets to her feet, to run for the waterfall, while others keep the thing from reaching the caern's Center. Howls-For-Glory goes tumbling, pushing himself up while he shakes his head. ~Knock it into the pool,~ the Galliard cries. He follows the actions of his companions, and dives into the water and making his way back. Flood-of-Flame roars in frustration as the creature uses it's powers to somehow turn back the time. He also runs toward the pool, rumbling out, ~How can we knock it in? Our attacks do not drive it back! Can we get water into the eye?~ Still, he douses himself like the others, soaking his fur and getting a mouthful, before running back toward the creature.
Shifting back down to the Glabro form, Alicia slips her jacket out of dedication and makes her way to the waterfall. Seeing how this was working, she tries to gather up as much as she can and then rush back over, hoping to get the creature in the eye if possible. Rifthealer jerks away from Three-Blade's side and goes for the waterfall, shifting to glabro once she gets there so she can make use of her own leather trench coat. It's filled with water, and right beside Alicia, aims for the same location. Yi also gets the idea, and hurries her way down to the pool of the waterfall as well. Shifting to Glabro, she strips off her enlarged jacket and creates a similar water'bomb'. In tribute, the Gnawer ragabash smirks as something comes to mind before she throws and she shouts out, "SQUIRTLE!"
Angered by once again being thrown, enraged by seeing the spirit's swift recovery, Pierces the Ice once more returns to the fray. White Bear seems right and pissed about the loss of his beloved weapon, even as he gets knocked far and back again. Shifting down to Hispo, he storms after to bat at it with his paw, invoking the old Ahroun domino gift. Horace turns instead to his fallen packmate, and as Holly pulls herself to her feet, the Ragabash puts himself in a position to protect her. Bites the Belly of the Spider, meanwhile, once again reaches inward for the gift from her Tribe. Shaken at watching the sandpile's recover, Reggie makes a short sprint for its feet, sliding to his amble belly before it, and becomes a Uktena speedbump.
The pair of Theurges, Fang and Fury, follow along with the other's brillance of getting themselves soaked, landing in the water and making sure they are utterly drenched. After which, they blur back forward in a speed of rage, diving for one of its legs, hoping to give it the 'hug' of its life.
More water, ugg! All in all, this as been an extremely patient Wyld spirit, but it now looses its temper. Endures-Pain and Lures-The-Beat, are absorbed into the creatures form, as soon as they come into contact with it. Only this time, they are not spit back out. Just as White Bear attempts to take a swat at the monster, it slams a heavy hand down. The poor Glass Walker never makes it too his target and when the hand is lifted, he is no-where to be seen. Pierces-Ice's arm gets stuck up to the elbow, before she is slurped into the heart of the beast. Howls-For-Glory meets a similar fate to Pierces-Ice, only he gets spit out again as a year old toddler. Huge chunks of sand fall away and the Spirit takes several steps forward, covering a surprising amount of ground and stepping on Reggie in the process. Crushing most of the Uktena's ribs. An arm lifts and aims for Holly, but engulfs Untangler instead. No-one re-appears, or is absorbed, as the creature falls forward, covering the shattered Quartz in the center of the Caern. It becomes a giant pile of unmoving yellow sand.
Staring, Guards-The-Flame watches the world become full of leaves. She takes a few steps confused, spinning in a circle, growling, feeling her ears ring. ~Is everyone still alive?!~ She calls out, growling loudly as her body shimmers with its silver armor.
Bloods-Bane stops in his tracks, blinks, and then vaults into the sand pit, digging furiously to try and get the others out. not caring about the beast. His hands fly quickly as he does. "Fuck it. Just dig." He growls out.
Cole looks around, swimming in a pile of clothing that are many sizes to big for the child. Surrounded by a monsters of both fur and sand, he does what any sensible toddler would do. He screams, loud and lustily.
Yi looks without doubt like she's going to freak, but manages to hold it down. At least with the heat of battle she could blame the adrenaline and Rage, but this... this is a bit much. She starts to back peddle away from the scene. "I... We better go get the Warder and the Alpha..." she says to Dakota.
A slightly broken Rags struggles to raise his head, using his elbows as leverage, but fails, as he spasms in pain from breathing not being compatible with his ribs. He shivers as the process of Garou healing shifts his ribs back into their proper places, and is immobile, listening to the screams filling the caern.
Blotches lunges for the once-monster, and pile of sand to help dig her sept-mates out, ears flattening back at the child's wailing.
Dakota flips down into the lupus form and does the fasted damned backtracking she can to get /away/ from the creature, not that everything hasn't gone to hell. They need to get help. She whines and looks between her packmates, eyes gone wide and her fur puffed out in alarm. Let us go get the Alpha.
Flood-of-Flame howls out in frustration and rage at the disappearance of so many. Not seeing any other use for his claws at the moment, he also sets upon the pile of sand, digging furiously in the hopes to unearth someone.
By the waterfall, Finds-The-Path ignores the falling leaves, when they let him see, and rushes forth to assist with the shifting of sand. Checking nobody is behind him, he tunnels in, letting his lupine instincts take over, sending sand flying back between his hind legs.
Lumbering through the grass, Guards-The-Flame makes her way over to Reggie, kneeling down next to him. One heavy paw is placed upon his chest, starting the healing process as she concentrates.
Holly is shocked, she stands there for a short moment with her eyes wide open, uncomprehending, like the sight of the consumption of three-quarters of her pack is still flashing before her eyes. Suddenly she starts, like everything's clear again, reality has set in, and she too rushes off to the sandpile as fast as her legs can drag her, to try and dig out her pack, her face a contorted mess, played over with rage, guilt, fear, and already sorrow.
Cole still squalls, for lack of anything more productive to do. And boy, does the Galliard's heritage show through in the size and capacity of his lungs.
Yi backs up into a tree, and looks down at Dakota, her expression just one that conveys one having seen something so utterly horrible to render one speechless. Cole's wailing doesn't help either. "Let's... let's go get them." Swallowing hard, she turns to look back towards the sandpile. "Alicia," she calls out hoarsely, "Dakota and I will get Megan and Seeker..."
What was an inert pile of sand literally explodes with a deafening bang. The entire body of the creature is scattered the length and width of the caern and everything is thrown into total chaos. Autumn leaves fill the air obscuring vision and making it impossible to see more then two feet. The steam vets go berserk, as massive amounts of steam make their way to the surface. Somewhere, over the screaming steam of the vents, a giant tree can be heard crashing to the ground. Those close to the sand pile get blasted nicely, taking a fair amount of damage and loosing some skin. Those on top of the pile, loose more then that. First their eyelids are blasted out of existence, followed by their eyes and most of their skin. Only their Garou abilities to heal save them from dying.
Guards-Flame grunts loudly as she feels the armor protect her, but not enough to stop the blast from taking off some fur. Good thing she can't feel the pain at least. She glances down to Reggie, then whips her head around once more, moving over to scoop up the child that is Cole, curling his small infant body close to her chest.
Blotches howls in pain as the sandblasting scours most of her skin off and sends her reeling back. Instinct has her shifting down to Glabro as she falls to the ground in serious agony.
As the sand blows, Dillen falls back onto the pile itself, screaming out. His hands go to his eyes to try and stop more sand from entering them now that he can no longer close his eye lids.
The sensation of a facial scouring, like steel wool against skin, is a new one to Bites the Spider, and she responds with a piercing howl of pain before shutting her mouth as tight as she can get it, when the sand tries to force its way down her throat. It's just as her lips begin to peel away that it stops, and she finds herself blind and palsied, struggling to get her paws beneath her.
Ashley wakes up and slowly pushes her way to her feet, glancing around slowly with a blink of her eyes. She looks older, by almost ten years or so. She stares, just.. stares... blinkingly, not saying a single word.
By the waterfall, Finds-The-Path yelps in pain as the explosion scours away most of his face, simultaneously sending the beast hurtling back, mouth gaping with pain and the grit of sand in soft places.
Rifthealer looks like she wants nothing more to run and not stop, and then everything explodes. She's far enough back to avoid the full force of the damaging blast, not that she could feel it right now anyway thanks to her gift. Whining, she jerks her head to Yi. Go! She howls. I must stay to heal! It looks like it's taking every effort she has not to flee, her limbs shaking with the effort.
Flood-of-Flame lets out a weird, gurgling shreik as his fur, then his skin, then his eyes and all other sensitive parts are sand-blasted from his body. Then, the shreik falls short and the Ahroun is quiet - his tongue and now vocal chords are also gone. All muscle and bone, he just lies there - his mouth open in a silent scream, oozing blood.
Well, when Ali goes to pick up the infant Cole, there's quite a surprise. In somewhat tattered and ill-fitting clothing, a very much changed Cole is looking confusedly up at the elder of the Children. "Alicia?" His voice! Well, it's deeper, now, and his features have lost the remaining babyfat he may have kept. The Galliard who sits there looks to be almost twenty years old, now.
When things finally start to settle down, the Caern looks a fair bit different from before. Where once there were tree-stumps and saplings, massive oaks, firs, and hardwoods now stand. Aged only Gaia knows how years in a matter of seconds. There are far fewer trees then before, but the ones that remain are healthy. Between the new trees, there are those that have fallen. Some seem to have done so recently, while others are well imbued with rot and moss. Some may notice that all the trees are not new and that the largest ones are those that were chopped down by the Dancers a few years ago. Having miraculously re-sprung form their stumps. Not that all the trees that were chopped down have returned to their former glory, as most remain as stumps. The quartz stone at the center of the Caern is whole once more, while the spray-painted Dancer glyphs and markings have re-appeared near the rock slab. Those that were 'eaten, have re-appeared. If looking a little different from before, but all are healthy and alive. Even Cole is back, only he looks older then before. Some look a little older, while others a little younger. Pierces-Ice doesn't seem to have changed much at all.
~Rifthealer, I need you here!~ Shouts Guards-The-Flame over the roar of confusion among the Garou, curling the screaming child tighter in her arms. With that, she moves on to the next, Holly, who is standing by, reaching out to touch her face. ~Stay calm Wendigo.. I got you.~ When suddenly the child that is Cole 'grows up' in her arms, she simply /stares/ at him. Holding him up like a rag doll, she says. ~ You are older... ~
Yi doesn't even need Rifthealer to say - she's off like a shot, panicked into a shift to her fastest form of lupus and off into the woods. No one's going to stop her for sure - not now that she's fox frenzied.
White Bear bursts out, looking terribly frantic. The white Ahroun whines and turns about frantically, the wolf form terribly panicked splays his ears back. While he's not much taller than before, he's filled out considerably: definitely not the juvenile he started out at the beginning. The wolf looks like a fully grown adult.
Jacinta pushes herself up to hands and knees, eventually into an upright kneeling posture. She blinks, raising her hands to brush sand from her eyes, and finds long hair in the way. She pulls it to the side. As her eyes clear, she starts looking for the rest of her pack. "Horace? White Bear! Bites!"
Rifthealer pumps herself back up into Crinos form and moves straight for Flood-of-Flames, kneeling down beside him, her face tight with restraint. Her paw-like hand is set against him and invoked her healing gifts, inwardly praying for all she is worth.
Cole meets Guards-The-Flame's eyes. "I.." He goes quiet, obviously having to work at assimilating all this information. He's got a bushy red beard and long hair that remains surprisingly well kempt.
Julie whimpers quietly in pain and fright, then gets to her hands and knees and feels her way along, to find a place to curl up and rest.
Horace is still for a long time, playing possum, as his mind tries to put all the pieces of the last five minutes back together. When he finally blinks his eyes open and looks around, it's too a slightly larger world than he'd left, as the boy's lost more than a few inches. He peels himself from the ground, looking around blearily, everything about him changed. His face is rounder, pudgier, and lower than it had been, it's like a raphaelite cherub with the eyes forced down with hooks where his pronounced epicanthal folds hang. He's no taller than 5'2"; the boy doesn't look like he could be that much older than thirteen. He looks around himself uncertainly, like everything's gone strange, until he hears Jacinta's voice, which jerks his head around to her. "Hi," he says slowly, not sure of anything.
Reggie is out cold as the explosion deposits its fallout, but he's soon to stir about again, and he shakes his head quickly, winces, then slowly, as he tries to figure out if he's in the same caern as before, or if he's awake.
~You look cute.~ Guards-The-Flame says, putting him down, then starts to heal at Holly's face, shifting back down into the Glabro form, placing her hands against her cheeks.
Ashley has disconnected.
Dillen stays on the ground, trying not to move. He moves his hands from his eyes and he stutters. "Can't see." He covers his eyes again. "Oh shit..." As he lays back again.
By the waterfall, Finds-The-Path lays where he landed, curled up in the best foetal-position his Crinos form can manage. He hears nothing but the ringing in his shredded ears, his world a burning darkness... Most of his skull is exposed, with thousands of sand particles firmly embedded into it.
Cole stands unsteadily on his legs, running his hands over his face. "No. No. No." He continues that mantra for a long moment, before he hears Dillen's words. "Dillen?" He blanches when he sees the extent of the injury. "Oh fuck. Dillen! Stay homid!" Cole shifts into crinos, and scoops to pick up the Get. ~I will take you to a safe place. Hold your hands over your eyes.~
Alicia snaps slightly. "Cole, make sure he stays in a form he can heal in!" She says, concentrating on the Wendigo for a few moments, before making her way over to Dillen. "Dakota, get Karl after this." She says with a grunt. "Once he's fine, have him get to someone else that needs it, maybe Reggie again. Everyone, stay PUT an be calm, alright? We got healers making rounds."
Flood-of-Flame would moan as Dakota heals him, but his skeletal muzzle just opens and shuts. Slowly, as the healing light eminates from the Theurge's hands, the Ahroun stops bleeding and oozing so much as the healing helps his skin along in growing back. The blind Ahroun suddenly thrashes his head around, and grumbles crudely. ~Rrraaa?~ Seems his vocal chords haven't totally healed.
~Getting there!~ Rifthealer huffs in frustration and with a sigh pushes Flood-of-Flame to the ground. ~Stay still! You will be fine, try to relax, I will be back.~ And as much as she'd rather not leave him, she does, and goes over to Pathfinder to repeat the process of healing.
Dillen lets out a grunt as Cole picks him up. "Fuck. Not changing." He spits out some sand. "Never going to a beach." He says.
Reggie senses his name being used by a familiar voice. Reassured that he's among familiar people, if not surroundings, Reggie tries out his voice, is choked by sand, starts a bout of coughing, combined with grimaces about his still-healing ribs. Speechlessly, he shoves out his hands impatiently, attempting to mime that healers should go move off to someone more in need.
White Bear looks panicked around, his ears pinned back as he jerks around and sees each of the horribly wounded. Bites! he barks, running off to the Theurge from his pack. His expression doesn't change, dancing between paws as he struggles to think what he can do to help his packmate.
Howls-For-Glory sets Dillen down. ~Yes, Guards-Rhya.~ He shakes his head. ~She is right. Change, and heal. The Theurges will find you. I will stay here.~ He takes his position near to his Get friend, close enough to be sensed, for those that can't see.
Jacinta turns toward Horace's voice, still looking for the rest of her pack. When she spots Alicia healing the Theurge, she is quick to rise to her feet, and even as Josh rushes to Holly's side, Jacinta moves in a circuit, first grabbing the younger Ragabash.
Flood-of-Flame whines softly as Dakota pushes him down, and goes... well, she goes away. He's blind, can't speak, and hears chaos all around him. It's no fun.
White Bear calms down considerably, ears still pinned back. Creeping forward to the elder, he comes along side Jacinta and looks up at the pair. Horace, of the two, dominates his attention.
Kneeling next to Dillen now, Alicia uses the last of her healing abilities upon him, pressing her hands into him. She lets out a tired breath, feeling her head start to buzz as one gift wears off.
Howls-For-Glory looks back and forth, clearing his throat. ~We need to get everyone to the farmhouse infirmary. Who's able to carry, and who needs to be carried?~ The Galliard stands up, doing his best not to panic and to forget the massive changes that have taken place. To do this, he distracts himself by taking charge.
Horace allows himself to be grabbed, barely even seeming to notice. He staggers along behind her, his sense of balance slightly off, but he seems reassured to see, at least, that his Alpha is alive. The boy scans his eyes quickly around, another wave of relief passing over him as he sees White Bear, though in his frantic scan he fails to recognize any difference. "Where's Holly?" he asks, plaintively, until he sees her, at which he rips himself out of Jacinta's arm, as well as he's able at least, to go to her.
Reggie manages to get himself to his feet, and shuffles about on his feet tentatively to gawk at all the changes in the caern, and gawk directly into the damaged faces of the Garou at ground zero, then gawk at the glyphs that've reappeared, and look about for any more surprises.
By the waterfall, Despite the best healing efforts, Pathfinder is looking better, but still has a lot of sensitive structures that need time to heal, namely those of sight and smell. His hearing will also return in due course, but for now at least, he couldn't find his way around if his life depended on it.
Rifthealer whines softly in her throat as she looks down at Karl, but again, she can't stay and stands up to see who else needs healing. Julie is spotted and she heads over to her, to repeat the gift again, the theurge looking progressivly more and more exhausted.
Jacinta looks on the unconscious form of her former cub. She gives a sharp nod to no one in particular and looks again at the boy Horace has become. Her back stiffens, chin lifting as she takes a moment to assess the caern. Then, another sharp nod and she turns her focus to her pack. "White Bear, take Holly to heal at the Bluff. Take the boy, too, and see that he is ... protected. Watch him, until we know what all of this means." That said, she looks around the caern again and calls out to the others. "I need 3 who are well enough to guard this night. Who will follow me?"
White Bear shifts from paw to paw nervously before finally seizing on the task. He announces he will do that, before turning to. Hurrying the short way, he shifts up into Crinos: the previously obtrusive mane is totally in the way, and he has to brush it out of the way before he can gather up the Theurge.
Dillen reaches and pats Alicia. "Thanks." he says quietly. His head shakes some. "Someone get me somewhere?"
"I got your back Jacinta." Alicia says as she rises upwards after healing Dillen. "No problem. I still got some work to do around here. Dakota, stay with me tonight. Someone needs to go get Megan and bring her out here."
Julie thrashes an arm out as she is touched, but calms when familiar sense of healing starts to flow through her. A groan, and she is at least able to get to a sitting position, the bleeding stopped, the scream of raw nerves subsiding. "Thank you" is managed, somehow, to whoever the healing soul is.
Howls-For-Glory looks up. ~Pierces-Ice-Rhya. I will guard tonight, if you will have me. I will bring whoever needs it to the infirmary, first. Bloods-Bane, are you ready?~
Dillen nods his head a little. "Yeah."
Horace tries to follow along with Jacinta's instructions, but he's unable to properly put them together, and he struggles visibly. "What do you want me to do?" he asks her, not finding his name in the list of addressees. It's only later, after a moment of looking at his Alpha uncomprehendingly, that he realizes he is the `boy` she spoke of. He looks worriedly around, settling his eyes on White Bear for the first time fully seeing him in his new skin, mature and adult. He shrinks from him, like his packmate's been replaced, and then again looks around nervously, waiting for someone to explain it all to him, to tell him it all makes sense and will be alright.
Flood-of-Flame just growls softly. Though he can't speak, he can hear what the others are up to, and he indicates, as best he can through lupine body language, that he doesn't want to be moved. Staying put! The stubborn Ahroun would flatten his ears and puff out his fur, if he had such luxuries at the moment.
Rifthealer stands back up and settles down into her homid form with a loud, tired exhale of breath. Nodding to Alicia, she heads over to Flood-of-Flames side and kneels back down beside him, placing a hand on his big crinos shoulder. "Holding in there, Aug?"
Reggie attempts to speak up to Jacinta's call, starts coughing, and smothers his cough as he stands, movements slow and tentative, and manages a raised crinos hand and a firm nod.
By the waterfall, Finds-The-Path shrinks down to Lupus and rolls onto his stomach, wherever the hell he is, he figures he'll stay.
Jacinta nods appreciation to Cole and Alicia, moving to examine the changes to the caern. When Horace speaks she turns to him, a calming smile aimed his way, though the perceptive may notice it is forced. "Untangler, go with White Bear and look after Holly. We will understand more, later." Reggie's attempted acceptance of her request gets a quirk of an eyebrow followed by a shake of the head. "No. Heal tonight. Help tomorrow."
White Bear gestures eastward, holding Holly in his broad arms. ~Come with me.~ He repeats, before starting to plod off to the Bluff at a slow and steady pace.
Jacinta gestures to Finds-The-Path and Auggie, including them in her admonition to Reggie.
Howls-For-Glory picks up Dillen as delicately as possible in his corded arms. ~I'm taking you to the sick-place, in the big building. You will be safe there, and can heal. We will guard the Caern and work this all out.~ He keeps up a steady stream of chatter in the mother tongue as he trundles off, to occupy his friend's mind.
Horace nods slowly, the movement strangely flaccid in his new body. He doesn't move at first though, he just looks at his hands, and by the frustrated, confused look on his face, like his own body isn't his anymore, it's clear he understands something. Finally he begins to move after White Bear, not looking at him, keeping his eyes fixed on the ground.
Flood-of-Flame nearly snaps at the hand Dakota places on him - being blind, he had no warning that the contact was coming. But when he hears her voice, he just whines at Dakota. It's a strange noise, tinny and gurgly, not much like what one would expect from a Crinos throat. He just concentrates on keeping his breathing slow, trying to calm himself in the wake of all this pain and chaos.
Endures-Pain sprints after Flood-of-Flame once she has finished her howl, ready for the battle.
Flood-of-Flame makes a surpised, high-pitched bark as Reggie goes flying, and watches with horror as Artemis' arrow simply rots at the touch of the creature. ~Don't touch it!~ he howls, and tries to darts to the the side, trying to get out of range of the creature's attacks. Bloods-Bane's eyes go wide at the sight. He starts looking around the beast for any weakness or some way to defeat it. Howls-For-Glory stands behind the sand monster, and throws a rock at it experimentally. Blotches, looking as dismayed as everyone else at the thing's seeming immunity, tries to sneak around the creature, to join Cole at the rear.
Pierces Ice snarls as the Uktena gets battered to the side. One of her ears flicks backward, all of the hesitation she allows before she rushes to attack the beast. True to wolven form, she strikes for the legs to disable. The intent is to keep it from getting to the heart of the caern. If breaking a leg is enough to turn it away, all the better, but if not, at least it will be slowed. Right behind her in the attack, White Bear rushes forward with his spear in a massive paw-hand, striking higher than his alpha. Untangler moves as the Glass Walker does. His hispo jaws seek purchase low on the leg opposite Jacinta. Bites the Belly of the Spider, after a signal from her alpha, hangs back. Crashing head over heels, Reggie finally drags to a stop, and untangles himself as he spits out a good amount of sand. Eyes watering as he blinks furiously, he scrambles to his feet and blurrily looks one way or the other to reorient himself, hands raised defensively, should the golem be right by him.
By the waterfall, ~The Stag said it rivals Chimera - can we summon Chimera to help deal with it?~ Pathfinder calls, still hanging far back from the creature.
Rifthealer turns and races back to Guards-the-Flame's side, gritting her teeth hard, frustrated. ~Can any call Chimera? If this thing is as powerful as the Lady is...~ Guards-the-Flame howls, ~Someone make sure Reggie didn't end up like that arrow!~ as she starts to dance back and forth before the creature, trying to draw its gaze for a moment, before rushing in with her claws blazing, becoming a fast, silver blur, hoping to find a spot behind the other knee. Three-Blades, at a loss, flattens her ears back as she sees Reggie get knocked aside like a child's toy. Hearing the theurge's suggestion, she perks, shifting to her warform as well and crouching to get a good idea of where to start attacking.
By the steam vents, Blurring fowrad, Lures-The-Beast and Endures-Pain zig zag towards the creature quickly. The Black Fury goes high as the Silver Fang aims low. The Fury's claws dive for the creature's eye as she leaps high, hoping to strike true and hard, while the other goes for about the mid waist, using her claws to try and find purchase and knock it over with her weight.
The thrown rock is merely absorbed into the creatures body, disappearing inside of its mass. The attacking Garou certainly seem to be irritating the creature, as it comes to a stop and rises up. Supporting its weight on two massive pillars of sand. Pierces Ice's claws sink into the soft sand and out again, any damage she causes is just covered up by fresh sand. The same happens to all the others that are attacking the beast. Their natural weapons tear out hunks of sand, only to have the creature heal as swiftly as it is harmed. Teeth grind and the great eyes closes, before more pillars of sand shoot out of its body. These are smaller then the earlier attack, only two by two feet, but they still have enough power to knock Pierces-Ice, White-Bear, Untangler, Bites-The-Belly-Of-The Spider, and Guards-Flam and good five meters distant. Other then being a bit winded, with sand in their eyes, ears, and mouths, they are unharmed. As Lures-The-Beast attacks, her momentum allows her to be absorbed to the waste. She hangs inside the creature's middle, before being 'spit' out. Thrown head over heels, like some Garou cannon-ball. As all this is happening, the mouth extends, swallows Endures-Pain whole. The Silver Fang becomes a second Garou Cannon-ball, as he gets spit out the back end.
After hitting the ground and getting back up, Guards-The-Flame snarls loudly and glances over to Pierces Ice and Sifhuil, looking for help with this one. ~We can't hurt this thing physically. I'm out of ideas.~ Three-Blades backs up more as the beast easily defends itself against the attacking Garou. The Gnawer's lips pull back in an uncomfortable 'grin' with teeth bared. ~Does not look like we can stop it, but...~ Rifthealer can only nod in agreement. The two packmates seem to give ground in sync, one looking ready to run in and heal if necessary, and the other staring hard at the enigma of the Wyld spirit. The ragabash eventually backs up far enough that she stands right before the small cairn of shattered crystals, and waits.
~Dig at it! Dig the sand away!~ Blotches suggests, while charging forth from the rear, hands cupping like shovels. She sets to work on one of the creature's legs. Howls-For-Glory quickly moves to dodge the flying Silver Fang. He looks over his shoulder at the other Garou and remarks, ~That was successful,~ then moves in to dig at one leg of the creature, next to Blotches. Blood's-Bane shifts down to Glabro. Calling on his Rage for speed, he runs out of the area and straight to the waterfall. He pulls off his leather jacket and does his best to make some kind of water carrying vessel, getting as much water as possible before coming back. Once he makes it, he throws his jacket at the beast, hoping to hit with the water-bomb. Flood-of-Flame growls low in his throat as he watches the guardians scattered, along with his tribal Elder, and the Silver Fang jettisoned out of the creature's rear. Noticing Dillen as he runs to get the water, he grumbles, ~Make water. Good idea.~ He drops to all fours, steps up to the creature's leg as if it were a urinal, lifts a leg and lets fly.
Pierces Ice rolls with the blow and scrapes to a halt on all fours. She turns back to the attack once more. This time, as she reaches for the creature, it is not to cause biting or crushing damage, but instead to tear as much sand free from the mass as she can. Returning alongside her, White Bear continues to use his spear, stabbing deeply into the mass, while Horace takes his cue from his alpha and uses his claws to pull sand free. Holly, once she returns to her feet, puts her arms out straight before her and a look of concentration comes over her face as a sharp breeze starts to form around her.Blinking out sand, Reggie regains vision in time to see others fall to sandblasting, and he howls a promise of vengeance, spitting out more sand. Moving over to the caern's waterfall, he scoops up a crinos hands' worth of water to dash at the moving sandpile.
By the waterfall, Finds-The-Path frets by the water's edge, personally disagreeing with the whole strategy, but realising there's not much to do but join in. Hopeful he's doing the right thing, he lowers his head to the water and slurps up the largest Crinos mouthful he can, bounding towards the thing, and firing a stream into it's chest.
After rolling back to her feet, Endures-Pain growls in mixed anger and embarrassment, then starts at the back of the creatures legs, trying to use her claws to scoop away the sand furiously with a determined speed. Lures-The-Beast once more comes from the front, howling her rage, barreling forward in an attempt to join in with the others, shoveling away at the joint in where its knee would be.
Sifhuil has disconnected.
Well, if nothing else, the materialized spirit seems rightly pissed off now. The water attacks do seem to be affecting it. As Auggie pees on its leg, a patch of yellow sand becomes, well, more yellow and sloughs off, while the water bomb causes a bit more in the way of apparent damage. The physical attacks seem to be working as well; even as White-Bear's Spear gets sucked right out of his hand. Rising up onto its hind legs, the Spirit uses those massive arms to swat at the attacking Garou like flies. The thing is amazingly fast, as it once again bats away its attackers. As before, they are sent flying, further this time. Still, as in the previous attack, they are not seriously hurt. Holly is the last one to go, as she gets nailed with another one of those sand pillars and is smashed into the ground. Ow, broken ribs. Seems that Call of the Breeze was working very well and earned Holly special attention. The creature appears, at most, to be half a foot shorter now and maybe a little slimmer. Still, any sense of victory is short lived, as the spirit starts to shake. Sand clouds out around its body, as it turns back time. Removing the water(and urine) from the sand that was soaked and returning the dry sand to its body.
"Get it into the water!" Dillen cries out as he heads for the waterfall again, dousing himself under the water, letting his clothes get good and soaked before running back to the beast. Blotches follows the others' lead, and gets to her feet, to run for the waterfall, while others keep the thing from reaching the caern's Center. Howls-For-Glory goes tumbling, pushing himself up while he shakes his head. ~Knock it into the pool,~ the Galliard cries. He follows the actions of his companions, and dives into the water and making his way back. Flood-of-Flame roars in frustration as the creature uses it's powers to somehow turn back the time. He also runs toward the pool, rumbling out, ~How can we knock it in? Our attacks do not drive it back! Can we get water into the eye?~ Still, he douses himself like the others, soaking his fur and getting a mouthful, before running back toward the creature.
Shifting back down to the Glabro form, Alicia slips her jacket out of dedication and makes her way to the waterfall. Seeing how this was working, she tries to gather up as much as she can and then rush back over, hoping to get the creature in the eye if possible. Rifthealer jerks away from Three-Blade's side and goes for the waterfall, shifting to glabro once she gets there so she can make use of her own leather trench coat. It's filled with water, and right beside Alicia, aims for the same location. Yi also gets the idea, and hurries her way down to the pool of the waterfall as well. Shifting to Glabro, she strips off her enlarged jacket and creates a similar water'bomb'. In tribute, the Gnawer ragabash smirks as something comes to mind before she throws and she shouts out, "SQUIRTLE!"
Angered by once again being thrown, enraged by seeing the spirit's swift recovery, Pierces the Ice once more returns to the fray. White Bear seems right and pissed about the loss of his beloved weapon, even as he gets knocked far and back again. Shifting down to Hispo, he storms after to bat at it with his paw, invoking the old Ahroun domino gift. Horace turns instead to his fallen packmate, and as Holly pulls herself to her feet, the Ragabash puts himself in a position to protect her. Bites the Belly of the Spider, meanwhile, once again reaches inward for the gift from her Tribe. Shaken at watching the sandpile's recover, Reggie makes a short sprint for its feet, sliding to his amble belly before it, and becomes a Uktena speedbump.
The pair of Theurges, Fang and Fury, follow along with the other's brillance of getting themselves soaked, landing in the water and making sure they are utterly drenched. After which, they blur back forward in a speed of rage, diving for one of its legs, hoping to give it the 'hug' of its life.
More water, ugg! All in all, this as been an extremely patient Wyld spirit, but it now looses its temper. Endures-Pain and Lures-The-Beat, are absorbed into the creatures form, as soon as they come into contact with it. Only this time, they are not spit back out. Just as White Bear attempts to take a swat at the monster, it slams a heavy hand down. The poor Glass Walker never makes it too his target and when the hand is lifted, he is no-where to be seen. Pierces-Ice's arm gets stuck up to the elbow, before she is slurped into the heart of the beast. Howls-For-Glory meets a similar fate to Pierces-Ice, only he gets spit out again as a year old toddler. Huge chunks of sand fall away and the Spirit takes several steps forward, covering a surprising amount of ground and stepping on Reggie in the process. Crushing most of the Uktena's ribs. An arm lifts and aims for Holly, but engulfs Untangler instead. No-one re-appears, or is absorbed, as the creature falls forward, covering the shattered Quartz in the center of the Caern. It becomes a giant pile of unmoving yellow sand.
Staring, Guards-The-Flame watches the world become full of leaves. She takes a few steps confused, spinning in a circle, growling, feeling her ears ring. ~Is everyone still alive?!~ She calls out, growling loudly as her body shimmers with its silver armor.
Bloods-Bane stops in his tracks, blinks, and then vaults into the sand pit, digging furiously to try and get the others out. not caring about the beast. His hands fly quickly as he does. "Fuck it. Just dig." He growls out.
Cole looks around, swimming in a pile of clothing that are many sizes to big for the child. Surrounded by a monsters of both fur and sand, he does what any sensible toddler would do. He screams, loud and lustily.
Yi looks without doubt like she's going to freak, but manages to hold it down. At least with the heat of battle she could blame the adrenaline and Rage, but this... this is a bit much. She starts to back peddle away from the scene. "I... We better go get the Warder and the Alpha..." she says to Dakota.
A slightly broken Rags struggles to raise his head, using his elbows as leverage, but fails, as he spasms in pain from breathing not being compatible with his ribs. He shivers as the process of Garou healing shifts his ribs back into their proper places, and is immobile, listening to the screams filling the caern.
Blotches lunges for the once-monster, and pile of sand to help dig her sept-mates out, ears flattening back at the child's wailing.
Dakota flips down into the lupus form and does the fasted damned backtracking she can to get /away/ from the creature, not that everything hasn't gone to hell. They need to get help. She whines and looks between her packmates, eyes gone wide and her fur puffed out in alarm. Let us go get the Alpha.
Flood-of-Flame howls out in frustration and rage at the disappearance of so many. Not seeing any other use for his claws at the moment, he also sets upon the pile of sand, digging furiously in the hopes to unearth someone.
By the waterfall, Finds-The-Path ignores the falling leaves, when they let him see, and rushes forth to assist with the shifting of sand. Checking nobody is behind him, he tunnels in, letting his lupine instincts take over, sending sand flying back between his hind legs.
Lumbering through the grass, Guards-The-Flame makes her way over to Reggie, kneeling down next to him. One heavy paw is placed upon his chest, starting the healing process as she concentrates.
Holly is shocked, she stands there for a short moment with her eyes wide open, uncomprehending, like the sight of the consumption of three-quarters of her pack is still flashing before her eyes. Suddenly she starts, like everything's clear again, reality has set in, and she too rushes off to the sandpile as fast as her legs can drag her, to try and dig out her pack, her face a contorted mess, played over with rage, guilt, fear, and already sorrow.
Cole still squalls, for lack of anything more productive to do. And boy, does the Galliard's heritage show through in the size and capacity of his lungs.
Yi backs up into a tree, and looks down at Dakota, her expression just one that conveys one having seen something so utterly horrible to render one speechless. Cole's wailing doesn't help either. "Let's... let's go get them." Swallowing hard, she turns to look back towards the sandpile. "Alicia," she calls out hoarsely, "Dakota and I will get Megan and Seeker..."
What was an inert pile of sand literally explodes with a deafening bang. The entire body of the creature is scattered the length and width of the caern and everything is thrown into total chaos. Autumn leaves fill the air obscuring vision and making it impossible to see more then two feet. The steam vets go berserk, as massive amounts of steam make their way to the surface. Somewhere, over the screaming steam of the vents, a giant tree can be heard crashing to the ground. Those close to the sand pile get blasted nicely, taking a fair amount of damage and loosing some skin. Those on top of the pile, loose more then that. First their eyelids are blasted out of existence, followed by their eyes and most of their skin. Only their Garou abilities to heal save them from dying.
Guards-Flame grunts loudly as she feels the armor protect her, but not enough to stop the blast from taking off some fur. Good thing she can't feel the pain at least. She glances down to Reggie, then whips her head around once more, moving over to scoop up the child that is Cole, curling his small infant body close to her chest.
Blotches howls in pain as the sandblasting scours most of her skin off and sends her reeling back. Instinct has her shifting down to Glabro as she falls to the ground in serious agony.
As the sand blows, Dillen falls back onto the pile itself, screaming out. His hands go to his eyes to try and stop more sand from entering them now that he can no longer close his eye lids.
The sensation of a facial scouring, like steel wool against skin, is a new one to Bites the Spider, and she responds with a piercing howl of pain before shutting her mouth as tight as she can get it, when the sand tries to force its way down her throat. It's just as her lips begin to peel away that it stops, and she finds herself blind and palsied, struggling to get her paws beneath her.
Ashley wakes up and slowly pushes her way to her feet, glancing around slowly with a blink of her eyes. She looks older, by almost ten years or so. She stares, just.. stares... blinkingly, not saying a single word.
By the waterfall, Finds-The-Path yelps in pain as the explosion scours away most of his face, simultaneously sending the beast hurtling back, mouth gaping with pain and the grit of sand in soft places.
Rifthealer looks like she wants nothing more to run and not stop, and then everything explodes. She's far enough back to avoid the full force of the damaging blast, not that she could feel it right now anyway thanks to her gift. Whining, she jerks her head to Yi. Go! She howls. I must stay to heal! It looks like it's taking every effort she has not to flee, her limbs shaking with the effort.
Flood-of-Flame lets out a weird, gurgling shreik as his fur, then his skin, then his eyes and all other sensitive parts are sand-blasted from his body. Then, the shreik falls short and the Ahroun is quiet - his tongue and now vocal chords are also gone. All muscle and bone, he just lies there - his mouth open in a silent scream, oozing blood.
Well, when Ali goes to pick up the infant Cole, there's quite a surprise. In somewhat tattered and ill-fitting clothing, a very much changed Cole is looking confusedly up at the elder of the Children. "Alicia?" His voice! Well, it's deeper, now, and his features have lost the remaining babyfat he may have kept. The Galliard who sits there looks to be almost twenty years old, now.
When things finally start to settle down, the Caern looks a fair bit different from before. Where once there were tree-stumps and saplings, massive oaks, firs, and hardwoods now stand. Aged only Gaia knows how years in a matter of seconds. There are far fewer trees then before, but the ones that remain are healthy. Between the new trees, there are those that have fallen. Some seem to have done so recently, while others are well imbued with rot and moss. Some may notice that all the trees are not new and that the largest ones are those that were chopped down by the Dancers a few years ago. Having miraculously re-sprung form their stumps. Not that all the trees that were chopped down have returned to their former glory, as most remain as stumps. The quartz stone at the center of the Caern is whole once more, while the spray-painted Dancer glyphs and markings have re-appeared near the rock slab. Those that were 'eaten, have re-appeared. If looking a little different from before, but all are healthy and alive. Even Cole is back, only he looks older then before. Some look a little older, while others a little younger. Pierces-Ice doesn't seem to have changed much at all.
~Rifthealer, I need you here!~ Shouts Guards-The-Flame over the roar of confusion among the Garou, curling the screaming child tighter in her arms. With that, she moves on to the next, Holly, who is standing by, reaching out to touch her face. ~Stay calm Wendigo.. I got you.~ When suddenly the child that is Cole 'grows up' in her arms, she simply /stares/ at him. Holding him up like a rag doll, she says. ~ You are older... ~
Yi doesn't even need Rifthealer to say - she's off like a shot, panicked into a shift to her fastest form of lupus and off into the woods. No one's going to stop her for sure - not now that she's fox frenzied.
White Bear bursts out, looking terribly frantic. The white Ahroun whines and turns about frantically, the wolf form terribly panicked splays his ears back. While he's not much taller than before, he's filled out considerably: definitely not the juvenile he started out at the beginning. The wolf looks like a fully grown adult.
Jacinta pushes herself up to hands and knees, eventually into an upright kneeling posture. She blinks, raising her hands to brush sand from her eyes, and finds long hair in the way. She pulls it to the side. As her eyes clear, she starts looking for the rest of her pack. "Horace? White Bear! Bites!"
Rifthealer pumps herself back up into Crinos form and moves straight for Flood-of-Flames, kneeling down beside him, her face tight with restraint. Her paw-like hand is set against him and invoked her healing gifts, inwardly praying for all she is worth.
Cole meets Guards-The-Flame's eyes. "I.." He goes quiet, obviously having to work at assimilating all this information. He's got a bushy red beard and long hair that remains surprisingly well kempt.
Julie whimpers quietly in pain and fright, then gets to her hands and knees and feels her way along, to find a place to curl up and rest.
Horace is still for a long time, playing possum, as his mind tries to put all the pieces of the last five minutes back together. When he finally blinks his eyes open and looks around, it's too a slightly larger world than he'd left, as the boy's lost more than a few inches. He peels himself from the ground, looking around blearily, everything about him changed. His face is rounder, pudgier, and lower than it had been, it's like a raphaelite cherub with the eyes forced down with hooks where his pronounced epicanthal folds hang. He's no taller than 5'2"; the boy doesn't look like he could be that much older than thirteen. He looks around himself uncertainly, like everything's gone strange, until he hears Jacinta's voice, which jerks his head around to her. "Hi," he says slowly, not sure of anything.
Reggie is out cold as the explosion deposits its fallout, but he's soon to stir about again, and he shakes his head quickly, winces, then slowly, as he tries to figure out if he's in the same caern as before, or if he's awake.
~You look cute.~ Guards-The-Flame says, putting him down, then starts to heal at Holly's face, shifting back down into the Glabro form, placing her hands against her cheeks.
Ashley has disconnected.
Dillen stays on the ground, trying not to move. He moves his hands from his eyes and he stutters. "Can't see." He covers his eyes again. "Oh shit..." As he lays back again.
By the waterfall, Finds-The-Path lays where he landed, curled up in the best foetal-position his Crinos form can manage. He hears nothing but the ringing in his shredded ears, his world a burning darkness... Most of his skull is exposed, with thousands of sand particles firmly embedded into it.
Cole stands unsteadily on his legs, running his hands over his face. "No. No. No." He continues that mantra for a long moment, before he hears Dillen's words. "Dillen?" He blanches when he sees the extent of the injury. "Oh fuck. Dillen! Stay homid!" Cole shifts into crinos, and scoops to pick up the Get. ~I will take you to a safe place. Hold your hands over your eyes.~
Alicia snaps slightly. "Cole, make sure he stays in a form he can heal in!" She says, concentrating on the Wendigo for a few moments, before making her way over to Dillen. "Dakota, get Karl after this." She says with a grunt. "Once he's fine, have him get to someone else that needs it, maybe Reggie again. Everyone, stay PUT an be calm, alright? We got healers making rounds."
Flood-of-Flame would moan as Dakota heals him, but his skeletal muzzle just opens and shuts. Slowly, as the healing light eminates from the Theurge's hands, the Ahroun stops bleeding and oozing so much as the healing helps his skin along in growing back. The blind Ahroun suddenly thrashes his head around, and grumbles crudely. ~Rrraaa?~ Seems his vocal chords haven't totally healed.
~Getting there!~ Rifthealer huffs in frustration and with a sigh pushes Flood-of-Flame to the ground. ~Stay still! You will be fine, try to relax, I will be back.~ And as much as she'd rather not leave him, she does, and goes over to Pathfinder to repeat the process of healing.
Dillen lets out a grunt as Cole picks him up. "Fuck. Not changing." He spits out some sand. "Never going to a beach." He says.
Reggie senses his name being used by a familiar voice. Reassured that he's among familiar people, if not surroundings, Reggie tries out his voice, is choked by sand, starts a bout of coughing, combined with grimaces about his still-healing ribs. Speechlessly, he shoves out his hands impatiently, attempting to mime that healers should go move off to someone more in need.
White Bear looks panicked around, his ears pinned back as he jerks around and sees each of the horribly wounded. Bites! he barks, running off to the Theurge from his pack. His expression doesn't change, dancing between paws as he struggles to think what he can do to help his packmate.
Howls-For-Glory sets Dillen down. ~Yes, Guards-Rhya.~ He shakes his head. ~She is right. Change, and heal. The Theurges will find you. I will stay here.~ He takes his position near to his Get friend, close enough to be sensed, for those that can't see.
Jacinta turns toward Horace's voice, still looking for the rest of her pack. When she spots Alicia healing the Theurge, she is quick to rise to her feet, and even as Josh rushes to Holly's side, Jacinta moves in a circuit, first grabbing the younger Ragabash.
Flood-of-Flame whines softly as Dakota pushes him down, and goes... well, she goes away. He's blind, can't speak, and hears chaos all around him. It's no fun.
White Bear calms down considerably, ears still pinned back. Creeping forward to the elder, he comes along side Jacinta and looks up at the pair. Horace, of the two, dominates his attention.
Kneeling next to Dillen now, Alicia uses the last of her healing abilities upon him, pressing her hands into him. She lets out a tired breath, feeling her head start to buzz as one gift wears off.
Howls-For-Glory looks back and forth, clearing his throat. ~We need to get everyone to the farmhouse infirmary. Who's able to carry, and who needs to be carried?~ The Galliard stands up, doing his best not to panic and to forget the massive changes that have taken place. To do this, he distracts himself by taking charge.
Horace allows himself to be grabbed, barely even seeming to notice. He staggers along behind her, his sense of balance slightly off, but he seems reassured to see, at least, that his Alpha is alive. The boy scans his eyes quickly around, another wave of relief passing over him as he sees White Bear, though in his frantic scan he fails to recognize any difference. "Where's Holly?" he asks, plaintively, until he sees her, at which he rips himself out of Jacinta's arm, as well as he's able at least, to go to her.
Reggie manages to get himself to his feet, and shuffles about on his feet tentatively to gawk at all the changes in the caern, and gawk directly into the damaged faces of the Garou at ground zero, then gawk at the glyphs that've reappeared, and look about for any more surprises.
By the waterfall, Despite the best healing efforts, Pathfinder is looking better, but still has a lot of sensitive structures that need time to heal, namely those of sight and smell. His hearing will also return in due course, but for now at least, he couldn't find his way around if his life depended on it.
Rifthealer whines softly in her throat as she looks down at Karl, but again, she can't stay and stands up to see who else needs healing. Julie is spotted and she heads over to her, to repeat the gift again, the theurge looking progressivly more and more exhausted.
Jacinta looks on the unconscious form of her former cub. She gives a sharp nod to no one in particular and looks again at the boy Horace has become. Her back stiffens, chin lifting as she takes a moment to assess the caern. Then, another sharp nod and she turns her focus to her pack. "White Bear, take Holly to heal at the Bluff. Take the boy, too, and see that he is ... protected. Watch him, until we know what all of this means." That said, she looks around the caern again and calls out to the others. "I need 3 who are well enough to guard this night. Who will follow me?"
White Bear shifts from paw to paw nervously before finally seizing on the task. He announces he will do that, before turning to. Hurrying the short way, he shifts up into Crinos: the previously obtrusive mane is totally in the way, and he has to brush it out of the way before he can gather up the Theurge.
Dillen reaches and pats Alicia. "Thanks." he says quietly. His head shakes some. "Someone get me somewhere?"
"I got your back Jacinta." Alicia says as she rises upwards after healing Dillen. "No problem. I still got some work to do around here. Dakota, stay with me tonight. Someone needs to go get Megan and bring her out here."
Julie thrashes an arm out as she is touched, but calms when familiar sense of healing starts to flow through her. A groan, and she is at least able to get to a sitting position, the bleeding stopped, the scream of raw nerves subsiding. "Thank you" is managed, somehow, to whoever the healing soul is.
Howls-For-Glory looks up. ~Pierces-Ice-Rhya. I will guard tonight, if you will have me. I will bring whoever needs it to the infirmary, first. Bloods-Bane, are you ready?~
Dillen nods his head a little. "Yeah."
Horace tries to follow along with Jacinta's instructions, but he's unable to properly put them together, and he struggles visibly. "What do you want me to do?" he asks her, not finding his name in the list of addressees. It's only later, after a moment of looking at his Alpha uncomprehendingly, that he realizes he is the `boy` she spoke of. He looks worriedly around, settling his eyes on White Bear for the first time fully seeing him in his new skin, mature and adult. He shrinks from him, like his packmate's been replaced, and then again looks around nervously, waiting for someone to explain it all to him, to tell him it all makes sense and will be alright.
Flood-of-Flame just growls softly. Though he can't speak, he can hear what the others are up to, and he indicates, as best he can through lupine body language, that he doesn't want to be moved. Staying put! The stubborn Ahroun would flatten his ears and puff out his fur, if he had such luxuries at the moment.
Rifthealer stands back up and settles down into her homid form with a loud, tired exhale of breath. Nodding to Alicia, she heads over to Flood-of-Flames side and kneels back down beside him, placing a hand on his big crinos shoulder. "Holding in there, Aug?"
Reggie attempts to speak up to Jacinta's call, starts coughing, and smothers his cough as he stands, movements slow and tentative, and manages a raised crinos hand and a firm nod.
By the waterfall, Finds-The-Path shrinks down to Lupus and rolls onto his stomach, wherever the hell he is, he figures he'll stay.
Jacinta nods appreciation to Cole and Alicia, moving to examine the changes to the caern. When Horace speaks she turns to him, a calming smile aimed his way, though the perceptive may notice it is forced. "Untangler, go with White Bear and look after Holly. We will understand more, later." Reggie's attempted acceptance of her request gets a quirk of an eyebrow followed by a shake of the head. "No. Heal tonight. Help tomorrow."
White Bear gestures eastward, holding Holly in his broad arms. ~Come with me.~ He repeats, before starting to plod off to the Bluff at a slow and steady pace.
Jacinta gestures to Finds-The-Path and Auggie, including them in her admonition to Reggie.
Howls-For-Glory picks up Dillen as delicately as possible in his corded arms. ~I'm taking you to the sick-place, in the big building. You will be safe there, and can heal. We will guard the Caern and work this all out.~ He keeps up a steady stream of chatter in the mother tongue as he trundles off, to occupy his friend's mind.
Horace nods slowly, the movement strangely flaccid in his new body. He doesn't move at first though, he just looks at his hands, and by the frustrated, confused look on his face, like his own body isn't his anymore, it's clear he understands something. Finally he begins to move after White Bear, not looking at him, keeping his eyes fixed on the ground.
Flood-of-Flame nearly snaps at the hand Dakota places on him - being blind, he had no warning that the contact was coming. But when he hears her voice, he just whines at Dakota. It's a strange noise, tinny and gurgly, not much like what one would expect from a Crinos throat. He just concentrates on keeping his breathing slow, trying to calm himself in the wake of all this pain and chaos.