~~META: title = Hunt 35: Chapter 1 ~~ //Game was 3/13/21.// ====== Hunt 35: Emotional Fallout - Chapter 1 ====== ===== Tuesday November 23rd 2010 ===== ==== Heading Home ==== After leaving Local Burger, the cell splits up and goes their separate ways.((Game was 3/13/21. )) Sin-Eater Abby Henderson, Lucifuge hunter Leta Mackenzie, and her demon-familiar Veltis walk home and go straight to bed, while Sin-Eater Anita Perez-Montoya gets into her car and drives south on Route 5 to get to I-91 South. The changeling Doctor Ranjip and Detective Polly Wagner head to their respective homes as well, while William Troy and his grandson Josh bring Network 0 hunter Ray Curran and his little brother Dean back home. William decides to not even mention what he saw to Ray, knowing the teenager has enough on his mind. They get home and Josh lets the Curran boys dictate bedtime to a degree. However, they are all in bed before midnight. Anita drives south, back to Springfield, and arrives at her home at 11:40 PM. She walks into her house to find her //abuela// sitting in silent judgment; Anita kisses her on the forehead and says, "Goodnight, //Abuela//." She then heads upstairs to take a quick shower before she heads to bed. ===== Wednesday November 24th 2010 ===== ==== To The Wedding! ==== Anita stares at the ceiling for a while as she grapples with the insane concept that she went to the future. She also wrestles with future-Ray being a demon, but she decides to let her brain chew on all that as she sleeps. However, a stray thought arises regarding the alleged fact that in this future, Silas Black becomes her sister. Anita immediately decides that that is going into the box marked 'Deal With Later.' Josh's dream starts with him floating an inky black liquid. Recognizing New Friend, Josh cries out, "Consent!" as her liquid form starts oozing everywhere onto and into his body. He chides her about consent, but New Friend says unrepentantly, "I'm trying to slurp up all that magical energy you're carrying. It's like trauma, but with sprinkles!" Josh demands that she should try talking about this first, but then their exchange is interrupted when Mick appears over Josh and tells him, "Let's get going, we got to get ready for the wedding!" He helps Josh to his feet and Josh turns around and scolds the darkness before turning back and following Mick. His dream then takes a sharp left turn as he is suddenly dressed in traditional Punjabi attire and is standing next to a white horse. Josh has done enough research to realize he's somehow at a Punjabi wedding, and Mick tells him excitedly, "Amar is getting married!" Josh looks at him blankly and asks, "Who?" Mick looks askance at Josh before replying, "Doctor Ranjip, remember?" Josh admits that he forgot Doctor Ranjip even had a first name other than 'Doctor,' and he looks around to find he and Mick and the rest of the wedding are outdoors on a beautiful clear day on top of a cliff with a commanding view of the mountains below. Josh asks, "Where are we? And when are we?" Mick sighs with mild annoyance and replies, "We're in the Punjab province and it is 1910." He then frowns and blinks rapidly as he says carefully, "Wait, why are we here?" Josh immediately apologizes to the mountains for colonization, and then he tries to figure it out. He guesses that this is some sort of memory or shared dream of Doctor Ranjip since his memories of his wife were brought front and center during their gestalt. With that in mind, Josh decides to make this the best dinner and wedding that Doctor Ranjip has ever had! ==== The Road To Hell Is Paved With Good Intentions, And Apparently Relatives ==== Leta opens her eyes to find herself deep in Hell. Wherever she is, it was designed by M.C. Escher after he got off a six-day-bender with an ogre. On every available surface - many non-Euclidean - are cages. There are about a dozen cages, and half of the prisoners are 'bendier' in terms of reality. The room is filled with hissing, clucking, and insane jabbering. Behind Leta, a voice says, "Oh, hello." Leta turns to see an older man with eyes of pure black fire, and then she realizes and wonders, //"Why is Ray my grandfather?"// The Silent Duke raises an eyebrow and replies verbally, "Ask Anita or William. Well, this is an unexpected family reunion." Leta just stares at him, so he adds, "Hopefully that is. Don't you recognize your aunts and uncles? And your nieces and nephews?" Leta realizes that the slightly more stable monsters would be the nieces and nephews but is horrified at the thought of such a monstrous family. Suddenly, the Duke howls in rage, "No! That's impossible! Someone's overriding my own realm!" Hell starts to flicker briefly, and then her grandfather snarls, "Someone is using Josh as a battering ram!" Leta concedes, "That'll do it. Why do you look like an older Ray?" Her grandfather replies tersely, "Because Ray and I made a deal, and the clever little bastard tricked me." He is clearly fighting some sort of mental battle before he finally rages, "Fine! Get the fuck out of here!" The dream suddenly dissolves and Leta is now in front of Josh in his Punjabi attire as he announces, "We'll send you pictures! But now, it's henna time!" ==== Henna Time, Apparently ==== Leta is suddenly sitting with Polly, Abby, and Anita as they're all getting elaborate henna tattoos on their hands. There is a small Punjabi woman also with them, but she's getting henna tattoos on her feet as well as her hands, marking her as the bride. Several small children are running about, and Josh is with them, beaming with joy. Anita suddenly blinks and asks, "Wait, what's happening?" Leta shrugs but Josh replies excitedly, "It's Doctor Ranjip's wedding!" The assembled hunters suddenly realize that the two geists are also present and are getting henna tattoos... sort of. Petite looks confused and vaguely murderous, while the Witch is simply confused. Anita shrugs and tells her, "Shut up and get pretty." Josh smiles in agreement but then his smile falters as he suddenly realizes they are in some sort of shared dream, and one in the past. He starts looking for whatever item or trinket William's mummy wants him to steal! He warns the others and Anita retorts, "I don't think even he is stupid enough to try to steal from an Indian wedding." Josh looks Anita dead in the eyes and replies, "Have you met my grandpa?" Anita opens her mouth and then closes it as she realizes Josh is right, while Petite just starts cursing Josh in French. Josh heads out of the tent and looks around for any likely stealable object. He runs into Doctor Ranjip - Amar - and realize this man is both completely human at this point, and utterly terrified of the marriage. Josh walks around and judges everyone here to be solid middle caste, or the equivalent in early 20th century Punjab. He continues to look around, and realizes several people faces are blurred, and guesses the cell members are replacing family members that Amar can't quite remember anymore. He concentrates a bit and then suddenly realizes he knows the bride-to-be's name: Kanchana. ==== The Father Of The Bride ==== William finds himself standing in a tent, dressed in traditional Punjabi clothing, and looks around at all the bright colors, joy, and warmth of the large family gathering. He knows but this is a wedding, and he somehow also knows that he is the father of the bride, despite only having sired a son. There is a hand on his shoulder, and then his wife Wendy steps up behind him. William looks down at her and then knows, somehow without a shadow of a doubt, that this is actually her! She looks up at him with love shining in her eyes and says proudly, "Although this is an arranged marriage, I think our daughter will do well, and Amar is a nice boy." William grapples with the situation and tentatively asks, "We have a daughter?" Wendy smiles, slightly sadly, and replies, "It is not your dream yet." The two of them head out to formally start the ceremony. As everyone gathers, Wendy Troy makes it very clear by body language alone that tomfoolery will not be allowed. She eyes William's friends and muses, "Quite a motley crew if you will pardon the pun. However, the demon is not here yet." William struggles a bit to reconcile the image of his wife who's been dead for over ten years referring to his current friends and family as if she knows them. As people take their places for the marriage ceremony and Josh and Mick escort Amar in on the white horse, the officiant steps out of one of the tents, and it is Veltis! He is in his golden incubi form and he cries out, "Someone's logic is really wrong here!" However, he plays his part and William formally gives his not-daughter Kanchana to Amar. As William steps back he scans the crowd and notices that almost everyone's faces, except for his friends, are slightly blurred, and he comes to the same conclusion that Josh did earlier: they are replacing people in the good doctor's memory. Somehow, he knows that today is November 26th, 1910, but then he spots a dark-skinned man amongst the guests whose face is crystal clear. The other members of the cell see William scrutinizing this man and they see him too! Before they can investigate, the ceremony - distorted by memory and dream logic - comes to a head and Amar and Kanchana start walking around the fire to say their vows. Both start flickering in and out of the dream for a few seconds before partially stabilizing; Doctor Ranjip flickers between his younger human self and his older changeling self, while Kanchana flickers between the radiant young woman she is now and the much older woman she will become. The dream starts to dissolve as Amar and Kanchana continue walking around the fire. In the real world, Anita exits the dream and continues in a deep sleep. Josh sees his friends start to fade and then runs towards the dark-skinned man to try to introduce himself before he is lost as well! Strangely, the dark-skinned man remains solid and calls out to Josh, "Do you not get sun where you are from?" Josh tries to reply but then he dissolves from the dream as well and slips into a deep sleep. ==== Kef-Ahmekh ==== Everyone fades from the dream except for William, the dark-skinned man, and the white horse, although the setting does not change. The dark-skinned man approaches William and asks, "Forgive me, were they your family?" William nods and the man continues, "If I may say so, your wife is a beautiful woman." William replies simply, "Thank you." The dark-skinned man nods and then studies the scene; he then asks, "Where am I?" William says, "Some sort of dream set in the early 1900s in India. Who are you?" The man smiles briefly and replies, "I am Kef-Ahmekh, the Weaponsmith. And you, you are a future-version of me?" William shakes his head and briefly explains his inadvertent deal with the Penitent. Kef-Ahmekh nods and says, "Perhaps we can call upon my Judge and have him remove those marks from you." William retorts sarcastically, "Thanks, but I don't think it will work. These Judges are the 'no-take-back-sies' type." Kef-Ahmekh smiles and nods in agreement. He then leans forward an asked softly, "So, what's with the horse?" William answers frankly, "I have no idea. And I really don't want to ask the horse anything." Kef-Ahmekh nods in agreement again and then studies William for a few moments before hesitantly saying, "Do you know of the Rite of Return?" William shakes his head and replies, "No, I have no idea." Kef-Ahmekh shrugs and muses, "Have you met my wife?" William nods so he continues, "I guess sex is okay. With Merat-Su, I mean." William dodges the question as he definitely does not want to get into that here, but then Kef-Ahmekh shakes his head and asks, "What is a peanut gallery and why do we have one?"((The other players were… contributing. )) Williams snorts and assumes Josh is somehow still trying to get back into the dream. William hesitantly reveals that Kef-Ahmekh will fall to corruption and consume William's soul as he claims the body. Kef-Ahmekh frowns and then studies William's marks much more closely. He asks softly, "How reliable is this information?" William admits, "Not reliable at all," and shrugs. Kef-Ahmekh asks, "What sort of corruption do you speak of?" William reveals that the source referred to him as a 'shank-soon' or some such term; Kef-Ahmekh steps away from William and says sadly, "I'm afraid that source may be accurate in this case. You need to speak to my wife and warn her I am coming back as a Shuankhsen. That is the proper name. Tell her followers before telling her." William nods in agreement and Kef-Ahmekh says softly, "Good, she has a temper." William nods again and tentatively reveals what little information they received from Merat-Su's cult. Kef-Ahmekh listens carefully and then warns William, "Do not speak to the Shade. That is the fifth member of the //meret//. However, he is Shuankhsen now." He frowns and mutters, "Is that it? Does he somehow corrupt me?" William has no answers but Kef-Ahmekh turns to him and asks, "How well do you deal with clashing egos?" William shrugs and retorts, "You've met my friends." Kef-Ahmekh smirks and then says, "Let me clarify, friend William. How well would you deal with clashing //immortal// egos? I believe you need to get //meret// back together. And let me make one thing clear to you, William. Do not hesitate to do what must be done to protect yourself and your family. Especially from me." ==== A Horse's Ass ==== With that final warning Kef-Ahmekh fades away, leaving only William and the white horse. William turns the horse and asks, "So, what do you think?" The horse replies, - in Solomon's voice - "What the fuck is going on? I'm in a goddamned horse and I can't leave!" William laughs and wonders, "If I stay asleep, do you stay as a horse?" Solomon retorts, "I don't know, but let me remind you of something. Your grandson won't let you stay asleep. He will stop at nothing to revive you." William admits, "True, but I can get some rest while he does that." Solomon grumbles, "I came here to show you something, but that will have to wait until tomorrow." William feels an unsubtle tug on the reality of the dream as Solomon punches through it to escape. As the dream starts to truly dissolve, William catches a glimpse of a tall, bald, heavyset man in a smoking jacket. Although he lacks any context clues, Solomon roars in outrage and violently kicks him out of the dream! William jolts awake at 3:30 AM. Thankfully he falls back asleep after about half an hour. ==== Nightmares ==== Anita wakes up at 6:30 AM and drags herself into clothing before heading downstairs, to her surprise she finds no //Abuela// and no one in the kitchen at all. She shrugs and starts breakfast and the coffee before deciding to check on //Abuela//. //Abuela's// room is on the first floor, as tackling the stairs is getting harder for her aging hips. Anita cracks open the door to the bedroom but then barges in when she realizes //Abuela// is having fitful sleep and trouble breathing! Anita shakes //Abuela//, calling her name, and //Abuela// wakes up screaming and lashes out! Anita dodges the flailing and says sternly, "//Abuela//! It's me!" //Abuela// stares at her without comprehension for a few seconds before she nearly doubles over and shoves Anita violently to the side! She runs into the bathroom and then is violently sick in the tub! She left the door open, so Anita follows her in and finds her retching and crying. Anita grabs her and tries to push her hair out of the way, but //Abuela// pushes her out and slams the door shut. Anita calls out, "I'll come in when you're ready, and I'll make breakfast." Anita returns to the kitchen and makes a full breakfast. A few minutes later Del stumbles in, grabs some coffee, and pops a plate down to get food. Anita refuses to initiate conversation but does feed her little sister before realizing //Abuela// is still not here. She moves to check on her, but then //Abuela// strides in forcefully and Anita backs off. //Abuela// sits at the table, accepts her plate, and just methodically eats, ignoring her granddaughters. That catches Del's attention, and she eyes //Abuela// carefully. Anita relents and texts her sister, //"She had some nightmare, but no idea further."// Del texts back, //"Got it."// Strangely, //Abuela// doesn't react to the cell phones at the table, which worries both sisters. Anita tries to gently probe for answers, but //Abuela// outright refuses to talk about this. Anita is taken aback, so she texts Del, //"Try to get it out of her, will ya?"// Anita finishes her breakfast, throws on her coat and shoes, and heads out to the botanica. She gets a text, presumably from Del, on her way to the store but she ignores it until she pulls into her parking lot, turns off her car, and heads to the front steps. She finds the text is indeed from her sister, and it reads, //"Fuck that, get Josh!"// Anita considers the idea and replies, //"Good idea. It might piss her off more."// Anita enters her store and calls Josh immediately. ==== Josh To The Rescue? ==== Josh wakes up at 8 o'clock in the morning and has no clue about the rest of the dream as William is following his normal routine and remains silent. Josh intends to help the kids today, as their parents are being released at 11:00 o'clock. Anita calls at about 8:15 and Josh immediately answers, "Hello?" Anita greets him and apologizes for calling so early. She adds, *"Can I ask you a favor? I need you to work your silver-tongued magic... that was a bad choice of words... on my* Abuela//. But first, did you have a dream about Doctor Ranjip's wedding?"// Josh replies,"Yes I did, and we were all there. I'm a bit sad about it, but I think it was necessary that we were with him on that day." Anita replies, *"I guess so. In that same vein* Abuela //had some sort of very bad dream and she won't tell me or Del. Can you call her and check on her later?"// Josh enthusiastically agrees and replies,"I'll let you know when I'm on my way down, it'll be after we hand off the boys." Anita starts to protest that a physical visit isn't necessary but then she realizes Josh will not be dissuaded, so she drops it. ==== The Well-Dressed Brick Wall ==== The botanica opens at 9:00 o'clock, and at 9:10 a familiar well-dressed brick wall walks in. Anita looks up to see Silas Black as he rumbles, "Good morning Miss Perez-Montoya, are you alright?" Taken aback, Anita retorts, "Why?" Black replies, "Last night I had the distinct sensation that you vanished from the firmament for a while." Anita frowns and asks, "For about thirty minutes?" Black nods so Anita states, "The Troys are involved in this. I'm alright now mostly, but I was rattled by bad dreams. If I may say so, you seem to be expending a lot of energy on a business asset." Black replies, "You are not just a business asset to me, Miss Perez-Montoya." Anita raises an eyebrow but Black simply says, "I am glad you are alright. Good day." Black turns and walks out of the botanica. Anita watches him walk away, towards the warehouse where she usually meets him on Monday mornings. She then decides to not think about this too hard right now and returns to focusing on the botanica. She has a quiet morning, although with Advent coming, she knows she will be doing brisk business in food prep supplies and house blessings. ==== A Hurtful Joke ==== Leta wakes up a little after 9:00 AM and finds Veltis sprawled on her. She attempts to roll on side but Veltis grumbles as he wakes up. Leta says, "Sorry, but I need breakfast." Veltis opens his eyes and asks, "Sorry, who are you?" Leta freezes in horror and snaps, "Tell me you're shitting me!" Veltis retorts, "No thanks, not unless I've been paid." Leta is uncertain if he's trolling her or not, but then she essentially blanks out as she has no reserves left and this final indignity has broken her brain. Veltis hops off the bed and waddles out of the bedroom and into the kitchen. Leta just stares blankly for several minutes before Abby suddenly bursts into the room carrying Veltis by the scruff! She drops Veltis on Leta and snaps, "Apologize to her or there will be silver sharp things involved!" Veltis drawls come up and snarks, "Fine, are you going to get me breakfast or not?" Visibly angry, Abby yells, "Oh, you'll get breakfast. After you apologize!" Abby storms out and Veltis crawls into Leta's lap. Leta stands up, dumping him on the bed, and he protests, "It was a joke! Of course I know who you are." Leta struggles not to cry as she snaps at him, "A shitty, mean joke." Veltis realizes he seriously crossed a line and scrambles out of the bedroom. He comes back a few moments later the size of a large dog and silently hands Leta her breakfast. He climbs back into bed and eats his breakfast next to her.((Veltis realizes what he did is shitty, but he made the joke as a defense mechanism for feeling so helpless and vulnerable. )) ==== Giving Up Custody ==== After breakfast in the Troy household, Josh sits Ray and Dean down and talks with them a bit before they head out to Cooley Dickinson Hospital. Dean seems upset to be leaving, but that is matched by his desire to see his parents again. Ray seems serene but Josh can tell he is secretly relieved to not be a burden anymore while saddened by leaving and resentful of having to go back to a dysfunctional family unit. William drives Josh and the boys to the hospital in his Skylark. As they're driving Josh texts Leta, //"How is Veltis?"// Leta responds in a moment, //"Back to his dickish self, so feeling better?"// Josh is glad to hear that and admits he's not entirely sure how to keep Veltis a secret from the Currans as Dean will inevitably say something about a talking rat and he doesn't want to gaslight a child. Leta agrees but realizes Josh is better at this sort of thing anyway. Leta spends the morning with Abby and Veltis and notes that Veltis is still grappling with memory issues and seems genuinely tired. However, their bond is partially restored as Veltis formally apologizes for the bad joke. The Troy's meet Mick at the hospital; Mick is wearing a pressed, crisp police uniform with his hat. William and Josh realize his choice of clothing is to make a statement to the Curran parents and then they hear Doctor Ranjip when they enter the main lobby. They find the good doctor is escorting the Curran parents to the door and seems the very model of a professional Indian doctor; so much so that his accent is twice as thick as it normally is. The Troys and Mick realize the Doctor Ranjip is extremely pissed off as he approaches them, still talking to the parents and insisting that for the good of the family they need to pay special attention to the boys after such a disruptive stay in the hospital. He reaches them and says, "Now, please allow me to introduce Officer Michael McManus, who answered your son Dean's emergency call. This is William and Josh Troy, personal friends of mine and Michael; they watched the boys to avoid any issues with the foster system." The other three men keep their faces blank as they recognize the good doctor's vaguely subtle criticism of the parents. Josh interacts with the boys in front of their parents while William remains quiet to see how this plays out. The boys' mother thanks them and hints at a cash payment in return for their services. Their father seems more sincere in his thanks but gently probes them to find out who they are and what is their connection to their sons. ==== Josh Works That Silver-Tongued Magic ==== Doctor Ranjip bids the boys goodbye in warm tones before turning and walking away. Mick escorts everyone outside and to the Curran family SUV which he arranged to be dropped off here. They stop at the SUV and then Dean grabs Josh's leg and starts crying. Feeling a little guilty Josh realizes this is the perfect opening and he kneels at Dean's eye level but addresses his parents. He says, "Your kids are great, a pleasure, and no cash payment is needed. We would just like to spend some time with them in the future." Josh works that silver-tongued magic and the Curran parents buy in completely. They introduce themselves as Frederick and Sophia and are all for Josh seeing their sons later and then Frederick remembers that Ray and Josh met at Pulaski Park a few weeks back. They share contact info as Dean attaches to William's leg. Josh adds, "The boys became part of our extended friends' group, including our friend with a pet rat that the boys bonded with." Ray wants to shake Josh's hand like a man, but also seems to want a hug. Josh hugs him without shame and says quietly, "Contact us if you need anything. You are family now." William kneels down to Dean's eye level and says something quiet to the boy before getting up. He then shakes Ray's hand and says, "You're a good older brother, and you've been very helpful." William says nothing more but realizes he needs to talk to Ray later. With goodbyes said, the Currans bundle into the SUV and depart, leaving William, Josh, and Mick in the parking lot. They eye each other for a split-second before they all turn and head back into the hospital to check in with Doctor Ranjip. ---- [[{}wod:hunter:recap:34_chapter_7|<= Hunt 34 Chapter 7]] [[{}wod:hunter:recap:35_chapter_2|Chapter 2 =>]]