Inside 67: Shadow over Innside

[Rebonack]

[Market Street]

Zee opens her mouth, raising one finger.

Then closes it.

Then touches her finger to her chin and looks thoughtful.

"Well, okay. You got socks, which might be a compromise. And your personality isn't very edgy at all. Maybe I read something wrong? That does happen sometimes. Maybe we were just supposed to be here for some reason?" Zee wonders aloud. Then she gives Ravanys a scrutinizing look. "Were you just headed to Hansel's Bakery for bagels and right back home? Or did you have something else you were going to do?"

Hansel's...

Oh right. The bread guy. That's the name of the baker there, isn't it?

"Because I've still got a ton of stuff I have to buy for Trog's. Have you ever been to Trog's before? I guess things have been kinda slow there for a while, which is a shame. It's a pretty great place."

Our heroines pass by a little shop that sells salt water taffy and various types of candied popcorn. It's a cute little shop in a rickety, hole in the wall building crammed between two larger buildings. A scruffy old crow sits atop the 'Asalt and Taffery' sign, which depicts a gumbee-like character punching a stereotypical robber. The bird appears to be waiting for shoppers to drop popcorn on the ground. There's a little bench outside the shop next to some large planters full of flowers. At present, the bench is unoccupied.

A cloud briefly passes in front of the sun.

[KerfuffleMach2]

[Market Street]

Ravanys rolls her eye a bit. Again with the edgy. Yes, I just went to get a bunch of bagels. Nothing else planned today.

That was a lot of bagels for one person.

She nods her head. Yep. Been to Trog's a bunch. Good drinks. Occasional fights. Great place.

[Rebonack]

[Market Street]

"It was just an impression. I guess I shouldn't always be so quick to read a book by its cover, 'cuz I think I got this one pretty wrong," Zee reasons. "But! You still got some nice socks and free smoked fish out of the encounter, so it couldn't be all bad, right?"

Riiiiight?

Zee frowns a bit at the mention that Ravvy frequents Trog's. "Geeze, I feel so out of the loop. If I'm reading things right, I've been gone about seven years, give or take. That may as well be FOREVER in Nexus time. All those people at Trog's I never got to meet. People who have come and gone that I never got a chance to know. But! Hey! If you go to Trog's frequently then you'll be seeing me frequently, too! I'm back doing the barmaid-ing again. Which is great. Not so great is this cloud cover. Does it seem like it's getting darker to you?" Zee asks.

Sure enough, the clouds blocking the sun are getting steadily thicker and more ominous as a cold wind whips through the streets. The shoppers seem to pick up on something being off, a few looking skyward while others hold out a hand to check for the first drops of a rainstorm.

Then a bolt of lightning strikes the earth, blasting a stand selling colorful corn on the cob. With a shout the vendor leaps aside as the stand is rent, corn spontaneously popping! The crow, no doubt, will be pleased. The remains of the stand form a rough archway, and from the archway step several supernaturally graceful, ravishingly beautiful beings in green togas that reach to the ground. Some sport a Venus-like figure, others chiseled like Adonis. They move with poise and purpose, one of them grabbing a terrified shopper by the arm and hurling them through the archway bodily. "Take as many cattle as you can," the tallest of them says, their voice cold and imperious, a crown of black stone sitting upon their brow and a high collar of grey feathers framing their cruel face.

The otherworldly figures begin spreading through the crowd, leaping and lashing with claws like bird talons. Everyone they wound falls into a trance, staring off into space blankly as they begin a slow waltz with no-one.

Zee blinks, then glances up at the sky. "Cloudy with a chance of fae? That wasn't in the weather report," she mutters as she draws a pair of wooden tonfa from holsters on her thighs. She glances over at Ravays. "Ever fight a baobhan sith before?" she asks as one of the eldritch monsters is making its way toward them, lashing at horrified shoppers with preternatural agility. It'll be just a few seconds before it is close enough to strike at our heroes.

[KerfuffleMach2]

[Market Street]

Ravanys shrugs a bit. Yeah, today's been a good day so far. Can't complain.

...now, see, when you hand the universe a line like that...

Ravanys will look up when Zee mentions the clouds. It did get dark kinda fast.

When the lightning strikes, the tiefling jumps back out of reflex, right hand behind her back. Her tattoos glow slightly.

Her eye focuses on the figures walking out from where the lightning struck. She swears. What is it with all the fairies lately?

Hm...normal, she'd bust out a shotgun and go to town on these guys. But, too many bystanders around. A dodged shot could take out an innocent. Can't have that.

So, Ravanys gives a wiggle of her fingers behind her back, and suddenly a handgun and a large knife appears. She tosses the knife to her left hand as she gives a shrug to Zee. Maybe. Haven't heard that name, but I've fought a lot of things before.

Then she brings the gun up, aims it at the being approaching them, and fires.

[Rebonack]

[Market Street]

"Some of the daoine sidhe are working on a big play, I think," Zee answers Ravays' question conversationally. "They want to plunge the Waking World into the Dreamlands, which would be terrible. We probably shouldn't let them."

She glances briefly to one side at the booth she and Ravays are standing next to, a grin spreading across her face. "Hee, serendipity."

And then a gunshot!

Guns are really loud! Zee winces at a bit at the noise. As for the fae, it staggers as the bullet rips a small hole in its front and a rattles around its organs a bit. But... it keeps coming. Fast. One claw is raised toward our heroes and-! Zee deflects the attack with her one tonfa and pops the eldritch monster in the face with the other. Again, it staggers back slightly and leers. "Your weapons can't harm me, mortals, you will be meat for-"

WONK!

This time the monster shrieks as the left side of its face sizzles and burns as if acid had been thrown on it, flesh giving way to moss and spiderwebs and bits of bone and blood.

Zee is still grinning, now holding a cast iron skillet in her right hand. "You sure about that not harming thing?"

The booth our heroes are standing next to?

Akbar's Quality Cast Iron Kitchen Supplies.

[KerfuffleMach2]

[Market Street]

Seeing this opening, Ravanys will move in and stab her knife right into the fae's heart. Given that the blade is steel, that should be enough to finish it.

Ravanys turns and gives Zee a grin. Nice. Forgot about fairies and iron. Hang on.

She tosses her knife into her right hand, brings her left behind her back, and suddenly she's holding more ammo for her handgun. She switches it out, and sends the old ammo away.

There. Steel jacketed. Should work fine.

Then she searches for the next closest target.

[Rebonack]

[Market Street]

The shocked baobhan sith gets knifed! The glamour holding its form together comes unwound, leaving nothing more than a heap of moss and spiderwebs behind. There's some physicality to these things, but it is pretty tentative. As soon as the illusion is destroyed, they can't exist anymore.

By this time quite a few normal people citizens are staring off into space, making it difficult to line up a clear shot. One of the sith joins a dancer, waltzing along with them, and then yawning a mouth full of wolf-like teeth open wide before plunging the fangs into the person's neck. Blood spurts, but the ensorcelled man doesn't seem to notice.

Did Zee mention that baobhan sith are basically fae vampires?

Because baobhan sith are basically fae vampires.

Zee should have mentioned that.

Others decline to feed, instead leading the dazed people back toward the archway.

Zee flings her skillet at one of the eldritch horrors, pegging the thing in the back of the head and giving Ravanys a clear shot. "Try to keep them busy," Zee suggests. "I'm going to try to bust their threshold."

Because as long as that gate is up, they can just keep stealing people.

[KerfuffleMach2]

[Market Street]

Ravanys gives Zee a nod as she takes advantage of the opening she created. The tiefling may only have one good eye, but she's still a pretty good shot.

So Ravanys starts moving forward, firing at any fae she gas a shot at. Faces, torsos, limbs, doesn't matter. If the shot doesn't kill, it'll hurt. And maybe get their attention away from the bystanders. When she runs out of ammo, she'll just teleport more in.

And for any that get close to her? Knife. Or, if they're behind her, tail slap. Then knife.

[Rebonack]

[Market Street]

She must be one of those 4e+ tieflings with the giant tails.

Anywho!

Several more fae go down under the hail of steel-jacketed bullets. The effect of the steel isn't quite as dramatic as the purer iron is, but the fact that it's tied to a bullet rather than getting clonked with a pot more than makes up for it with raw lethality. Once they realizes they're both under fire AND under fire from weapons that can do them real harm, the fae begin taking cover.

And then they start shooting back.

With bows, of course!

Bows with arrowheads made of obsidian. There is a high probability that getting hit by those would be really uncomfortable.

Zee, meanwhile, finds a fire escape and begins climbing it to the roof of a nearby building overlooking the threshold. "I really wish I could teleport," she grumbles. "That would be cool."

[KerfuffleMach2]

[Market Street]

Oh, yeah, a hail of obsidian arrows are totally a bad thing to get hit by.

Ravanys dives behind a stand for cover. Not quite quick enough to avoid all the arrows, though. She swears as a couple leave long scratches on her leg.

Stupid armed fairies.

Now starts the time of Ravanys staying behind cover, poking her head up, and shooting at whoever she can. And keeping an eye out for fairies trying to flank her.

[Rebonack]

[Intersection HQ]

Behind the reception counter is a gnome.

No, not a D&D sort of gnome. Or even a Warcraft gnome.

No, this is a David the Gnome sort of gnome. A tomte. Bushy white beard, conical red hat, and of course a tiny intersection uniform. He looks to be about six inches tall, though when he speaks his voice REALLY carries. "That would be Commander Richards. Do you have an appointment?" the gnome inquires.

Appointments!

Dreadful things.

The bane of adventurers everywhere.

[Market Street]

You know what a great way to distract a bunch of people is?

Get in a cover-based fire-fight with them.

Their aim is great and their reaction times are pretty quick, but they're all doing their own thing. Thankfully fae are a little too free-spirited and chaotic to possess the needed discipline to engage in proper squad combat, things like covering fire and overwatch. If they were, several would be pinning Ravanys down with arrow fire while others approach. As it stands, they're just taking pot shots when the opportunity arises. The jerks never seem to run out of arrows, though. Stupid fae cheatery.

Zee, meanwhile, has made it up to roof of the building. She moves in a low crouch, peering down over the roofline. Yep. Fae haven't noticed her. Two steps back, a deep breath, and then she performs a twisting leap, her back facing toward the threshold with her arms outspread-

-only to blossom into a huge dragon-like creature of metallic black scales and rust-colored fur. The air is immediately filled with a heavy scent of apples, cinnamon, and chocolate.

"Trust fall! Lol!"

The monster plows into the arch, smashing it to kindling and mooshing at least one fae under her weight. Just as quickly she's human again, kicking back to her feet!

At the display the faces of the fae become contorted with rage and hate.
"She's a seraph!"
"Kill her!"
"Soulless empyreal bastard!"

"Death to the Storm Cloaks!" Zee hollers back as she sprints off down a side street, better than half the remain baobhan sith in hot pursuit.

Several of the fae who had been shooting at Ravanys are busy rubber-necking at the previously dragon, leaving themselves totally exposed.

[KerfuffleMach2]

[Market Street]

Well.

There's something you don't see every day.

Ravanys reminds herself to ask Zee about the dragon shenanigans later. For now, she pops up from behind her cover, wincing a bit from the pain in her leg, and starts taking advantage of the distracted fairies.

[Rebonack]

[Market Street]

Not every day?

How many shape-shifting dragons are lurking around the Nexus? Probably lots.

Ravanys really needs to get out more.

BLAMBLAMBLAM!

Two more fae cut down, the third reacting fast enough to dart around a corner and duck inside a building. Which means Ravanys might be getting arrows shot at her out of a window here pretty soon.

Fantastic.

But... Most of the dazed normal person civilians are still dancing around slowly, all of them injured to some degree.

Might there be a way to break the spell?

Zee, meanwhile, comes running out of the alley and onto the next main street over. The people over here have heard the commotion, but no one is fleeing in terror just yet. Good enough! She slips into the crowd, blending into the sea of faces and the press of bodies.

The four fae pause at the edge of the road, scowling. "This is a disaster, how did she know we would be coming out here? That seraph must have been waiting for us!" one of them hisses. "We'll open another threshold to the dreamlands. But not with that abomination lurking around. She'll foul everything," another replies.

They'll probably be heading back to collect their victims soon...

[UncleWolf]

Unfortunate Meeting

As Nora and the goons dive into the car two massive wings appear, their span long enough to encircle the entire car. No one ever surrenders. Warnings are lost on your ilk. The voice declares as Nimix frantically types in strings of code. "I need like a minute!" He yells to no one in particular.

Therese is deadly silent, firing off a round of bullets at the wings.

Deadly force. Is that really necessary? The voice remarks dryly as the bullets seem unable to penetrate the wings.
Then several golden chains shoot out from the wings and attempt to penetrate Nora's shield with sheer force. The chains that manage to force themselves through the shield will attempt to wrap themselves around either parts of their ride or the KABAL members themselves.

Unfortunate meeting

Hopefully the bullets are blocked by the shield as well since it covers the car entirely, but the chains seem to make it wobble a bit under their force. With a growl, Nora pumps more power into the shield, reinforcing it and forcing herself to stay outside of the car as she strains and breaks out into a sweat. "And who the hell are you? All we're trying to do is leave!" She explains.

[Shadowcaller]

Unfortunate Meeting

You've just destroyed two apartments. 'Just leaving' is a crime until you've proven yourself innocent. The voice declares. The suffering you have caused here must be punished-

But longer than that the voice doesn't get further than that as with a sudden flash the vehicle is gone as suddenly as it appeared.

...I'll find you.

[Intersection HQ]

"Pssh, no! This is apocalypse business my friend! No time for appointments!" Anika declares as she slams her fist into gnomes table. Her tone is still friendly though, despite her rash actions. "We need to stop the spread of evil."

[Rebonack]

[Intersection HQ]

The table rattles with the impact and the gnome has to grab his hat to keep it from popping right off his head. "Evil isn't strictly illegal Inside," the gnome points out. Which is true! Depending on what sort of evil we're talking about. Some beings around the Nexus made of pure evil are unusually nice, after all. "What sort of apocalypse are we talking about?"

What?

Did you expect him to just let people go talk to the boss because they throw the word apocalypse around?

Nah, that would be silly.

Nick wouldn't have a moment's rest from all the apocalypse scarce, threats, and hoaxes if that were the case.

Sounds like Anika is going to have to lay things out.

Because they already had that whole thing with evil paintings and that was resolved swiftly maybe? Hopefully this problem isn't evil paintings. Trying to figure out how to remove cognitohazardous material when knowing anything about said material is dangerous is a huge pain in the giant conical hat.

[KerfuffleMach2]

[Market Street]

Right. Innocent people still around. And still dazed.

Hm...only magic Ravanys could really do was fire. Probably not the best option here. Hm...

Ravanys will start walking towards where the third fairy went, roughly shoving people as she goes. Maybe the impact will wake them up? Worth a shot for now.

Hey. What the hell are you fairies doing here anyways? Rounding people up for what?

[Rebonack]

[Market Street]

Weirdly enough?

Giving the dazed people a good shake is all it takes to bring them back to their senses. They look confused for a moment before fleeing to safety!

Well.

That's probably going to upset the baobhan sith, isn't it?

Ravanys ducks into the building the fae had fled inside of, discovering-!

A coffee shop.

One of those trendy coffee shops, the ones that are found every couple blocks. And it's full of dancing people. Darn it! They're really obscuring the view. And spilling their coffee all over the floor. That stupid fae couldbe lurking around just about anywhere in here, just waiting for the right moment to stab Ravanys with its claws or stick an arrow in her.

And both of those things would be terrible.

There most be some distinguishing characteristic she can keep an eye out for...

[KerfuffleMach2]

[Market Street]

Hm...

Ravanys stays at the door for now, her eye carefully watching everything.

Hey! Did you hear me, you stupid fairy?Asked you a question.

Trying to piss off the fairy might achieve results. Might not be good ones, but oh well.

[Chaotic Bob]

Autumnal Equinox Ball
Feia, Jack, Kramolagh

Oh and of course I accept your thanks Jacqueline dear. Maldwyn tells her, apparently still very sympathetic despite the strengthening of the bond between them that occurs. He laughs merrily at Feia. Oh Feia, please! Such a character you are. He tells her. No I'm sure you're very careful with who you associate with. He doesn't even sound condescending as he says it.

"Not as careful as I should be, apparently."
It's a dry reply with a dry stare at Maldwyn.
She absolutely means him. Probably.

"I wonder. Do you have family?"

[Cafe Davit]

"Hm."
The idea mostly has merit. There is a complication in his lack of normal flesh and blood, giving the Professor an excuse to burrow further into his mind rather than simply seizing the nerves, but...there is little that would be particularly important to keep away from him.
Nothing particularly useful to give to him. Not here, at least.

Edict picks up the other frame and dons it, withholding a weary sigh in the process.
"Let's get this over with. It has been hanging over me for long enough."

[Rebonack]

[Market Street]

No reply.

Just a bunch of coffee addicts dancing in a daze.

Hmm...

It might have gone into the employees section of the store.

And there's a flight of stairs in the back there that appears to go up to the second floor.

Either way, the baobhan sith doesn't seem keen on revealing itself. It did, after all, see Ravanys shoot its fellows in the face.

Or in the torso.

Somewhere lethal, anyway.

[Gnrlshrimp]

AEB: N&I

"I will need to inquire of my Lady, but I believe my evening to be free.
The meal was lovely." Naku attempts to thank without thanking, standing, though taking Ithuriel up on her offer of a hand up.



"Of course. I would be honoured." Naku says, taking the hand, and walking out with Ithuriel.

Ithuriel walks out hand in hand with Naku. They survived. Good job, guys! Once they're clear of the building and a little ways away (out of fae earshot at least), Ithuriel stops, slumps against the wall and lets out a huge sigh of relief. "Hey, we got through it. No lingering debts, no weird mind-control stuff, nothing." Well we're not entirely sure about that mind control bit, are we Ithuriel? She's still struggling to take her eyes off Naku - her wings, her face, her...physique. Mostly the wings though. Those are some really fascinating wings.

She's not particularly good at hiding where she's looking either. The constant staring at Naku's wings probably seems kind of weird.

"A-anyway, are you okay? That fae lord guy was doing everything he could to provoke a reaction from us. I hope it wasn't all a bit too much. Some of the stuff you had to say in there, it seemed kind of personal." It could've been much worse though - much, much worse. She was still going to have some words with a few of the guys back at HQ, but she at did get to meet Naku as a result of it, so all in all it felt like a good evening for her. "Oh, um, you danced very well. It's been a long time since I got to dance like that - longer still since I last got to lead. It was nice. I wish we could've just kept dancing."

[Cafe Davit]

"Hm."
The idea mostly has merit. There is a complication in his lack of normal flesh and blood, giving the Professor an excuse to burrow further into his mind rather than simply seizing the nerves, but...there is little that would be particularly important to keep away from him.
Nothing particularly useful to give to him. Not here, at least.

Edict picks up the other frame and dons it, withholding a weary sigh in the process.
"Let's get this over with. It has been hanging over me for long enough."

[Cafe Davit]

"Then let me in."

Once both frames are on, the connection is made - a bridge between their minds. A two-way bridge, as it happens. Edict could try and be nosy himself, if he wanted. But Affy's probably already accounted for that, right? The option is there though, if Edict feels like reaching out.

The Prof has no intention of wasting time though, his consciousness stretching out over the bridge and prying its way into Edict's mind. He needs to pinpoint every possible route the pain could take to get to his shadowy sort-of-companion and redirect them. The possibility of trying to subdue the pain entirely is there, but without a much more detailed understanding of Edict's anatomy (and he doubts he'd be allowed to disect the shade any time soon), that's off the table. No chances. No risk of failure.

...well, there's a risk of Affy suffering irreparable damage or shutting down entirely in the process of doing this, but he'll cross that bridge when he comes to it.

Keep calm, Edict. Direct me. Help me find everything I need. This is your home after all - a good host would show their guest around, yes?

Affy is of course going to have a little look around as he goes. Nothing too intrusive, unless it proves necessary. Just skimming the surface for any interesting little details.

[billtodamax]

[Autumnal Equinox Ball]

Ivaz actually laughs at that. Ha! No, no, I'm all for having fun. On my terms.

She leans forward a bit, changing up the view of her dress.

Now, see, if you wanted to drop all this debt **** and actually cut loose? Sign me up for that. She gives a wide grin, then takes a swig from her flask.

Did...did she just offer a deal of her own?

Autumnal Equinox Ball

Anulhi and Ivaz

Eiriol lets off a light peal of laughter at Ivaz's suggestion. Oh my. Well Zavi, what a wonderful suggestion, but I am very happy with the current arrangement. She says, reaching out to pat Ivaz's hand in what is definitely a warm and nurturing way. She glances about the hall, noting it empty around them, before turning back to Ivaz. For now I believe I should escort Anulhi home. She's become quite intoxicated. She glances at Anulhi, predatory smile growing across her face. Oh, but don't worry. We'll see each other again soon I am sure. She says, before rising to stand and trying to lead Anulhi out of the ball and home where she will likely then try to draw the curtain with her. Ivaz will feel that the lingering link of the debt is still in place as she's left to her own devices at the table.

[KerfuffleMach2]

[Market Street]

Most people tend to avoid anybody shooting lethal bullets.

Ravanys carefully moves towards the stairs, waking people up as she goes.

You know, you guys bursting into flames when you get hit by iron? Actually kind of satisfying.

------------------------

[Autumnal Equinox Ball]

Ivaz gives Eiriol a playful smile as the fae walks away. As soon as she's gone, Ivaz swears and downs the rest of flask.

Stupid friggin' fairies and their stupid friggin' magic.

It's not long before Ivaz rises and staggers out the door, stepping into a shadowy corner to go home.

[Rebonack]

[Market Street]

Most people will avoid getting shot by non-lethal bullets. The rubber ones still hurt!

Maybe not that effective against a fae, but still! Fae aren't most people.

The stairs are old. The pitted, rough wood flooring is old. Both of these facts are good things. Because that means it creaks and groans when people move around on it. That's good for trying to find the elusive faerie. But... that's also bad. Makes being sneaky harder for Ravanys'. But considering her personality, maybe being sneaky really isn't her thing? Either way, up the stairs she goes. The little stairwell is tight and a bit windy, framed pictures of coffee related things hung on the walls. A sack of beans, a scoop, and some grounds. A steaming mug. Coffee beans being harvested. And...

A palm civet?

What the heck do little cat looking things have to do with coffee?

If Ravanys' ears are especially keen, she might pick up on the sound of hooves clacking on wood, the creak of a taut bow, and then the whistle of an arrow let fly.

Assuming she reacts quickly, she might not have to invest in a second eye-patch.

[Shadowcaller]

[Intersection HQ]

The table rattles with the impact and the gnome has to grab his hat to keep it from popping right off his head. "Evil isn't strictly illegal Inside," the gnome points out. Which is true! Depending on what sort of evil we're talking about. Some beings around the Nexus made of pure evil are unusually nice, after all. "What sort of apocalypse are we talking about?"

What?

Did you expect him to just let people go talk to the boss because they throw the word apocalypse around?

Nah, that would be silly.

Nick wouldn't have a moment's rest from all the apocalypse scarce, threats, and hoaxes if that were the case.

Sounds like Anika is going to have to lay things out.

Because they already had that whole thing with evil paintings and that was resolved swiftly maybe? Hopefully this problem isn't evil paintings. Trying to figure out how to remove cognitohazardous material when knowing anything about said material is dangerous is a huge pain in the giant conical hat.

[Intersection HQ]

"Come on..." Her eyes narrow as she looks at the gnomes name plate. "David! I'm with VIGIL! Look, I even got that badge-thingy here somewhere..." She looks through her pockets and satchel and eventually produces a VIGIL-badge which she puts on the table in front of David. "You really thing we'd make this sort of thing up? It's very important! Evil shapeshifters are taking over Inside from within." Or something, she wasn't clear on the exact details but it seemed pretty straightforward to her.

[Rebonack]

[Intersection HQ]

So he's David the Gnome, now.

What is this world coming to?

David eyes the badge, stroking his disproportionately large (for him anyway) beard. "So it would appear. So, your organization has been very dependable so far and your service is appreciated," says the gnome.

And then evil shape-shifters are mentioned.

"So VIGIL has become aware of the threat of these so-called 'skinwalkers'," the gnome replies. "Please understand that Intersection has worked to keep the nature of this threat quiet. If the general population were aware of the specifics it could cause mass panic.

Awful infections shapeshifters?

Yeah. That would cause plenty of panic.

"First, would you be willing to have blood drawn as a test to ensure that you aren't one of them? Given the nature of this threat, you'll have to pardon us for being overly cautious."

Wouldn't want to let a skinwalker into the room with Nick, for example.

That would be terrible.

[Shadowcaller]

[Intersection HQ]

Anika raises an eyebrow. "Blood? Is that supposed to reveal if they're fake or something?" She knew blood could have magical properties, so she supposed that made sense. She didn't really like the idea of giving it away again though, apparently the whole body-switching deal had happened since some evil mage had gotten their hands on her blood.

She lets out a groan. "Isn't there some other way I can prove myself? I don't want to hand out my blood to people. Last time someone got their hands on my blood, they cast dark magic at me." Why did things have to be so complicated all of sudden?

[Rebonack]

[Intersection HQ]

Things get complicated with you start dealing with The Thing(s).

"Several Intersection agents reported that pieces separated from the creatures still act in self-preservation," David replies. "But the pieces aren't smart. So we draw some blood and burn it. If it begins screeching and growing legs, then we know you're a skinwalker. And then you get set on fire."

Oh boy, that sounds like fun.

"If you aren't a skin walker, the blood sample is destroyed and you get some cookies and orange juice."

Because you always get cookies and orange juice for having your blood drawn.

Except if you're in an antarctic research station.

Then you get tied to a chair.

[Chaotic Bob]

[A Supermarket]

A cat-eared woman in casual dress makes her way down the cereal eye of the store. She tosses a couple boxes of down into her cart and moves on.
She drifts towards the colder regions of the store and checks a few cartons of milk, before selecting one.

A little further onwards, towards the various preserved meats.
Here she is a little more selective, picking up various wrapped beef, ham, and...whatever that peculiar blue blob thing is. Most are placed back, of package after package inspected and handled.

After a few minutes, and a brief discussion with another store-goer (who is passed a recommended steak option), the cat-eared woman makes her way towards the front to pay.
She leaves the store hums and grinning.

[Cafe Davit]

Most of Edict's reluctance at this point is just annoying stubbornness.
But he doesn't obstruct the Professor much.

The vast majority of what's going on in that head is about what is expected: sadistic memories, a stray urge to tear apart that man he saw walking down the street earlier, a vague concern that this whole experiment with Page is going to get out of control in a hurry and that he won't be able to enjoy it properly.
Okay, maybe that one is interesting.

Generally seems to be predicated on stealing the little monster from ####################.
Something shrouded in Feia's magic, apparently.
There's a few spots like this in his mind, details that are apparently under lock and key, and a few that would be metaphorically similar to doors leading to rooms torn completely out of the house. Suspiciously, almost anything that seems to involve the witch.

I doubt you will have to look terribly hard, follow the magic.
And indeed he won't have to look very hard.
It's everywhere. His mind is steeped in some small measure of Feia's influence everywhere, though most of it seems to be leakage from the prior observed blockages and removals.

That and that large central mass of BEHAVEcurse over there, seeding little tendrils of observation all over the place.


Edict is totally going snoop back, too.
Although his is more a curiosity about what the Professor's mind is like at all, as opposed to wanting to dig through his every thought and memory.