2018.11.16: Bloody Bandages for Battle Singer
| Battle Singer's Bloody Bandages | |
|---|---|
| Puddle Jumper and Shieldbrother work together to create a Bloody Bandages talen for Battle Singer, while Faith watches from safety nearby. | |
| IC Date | Friday, November 16th, 2018 |
| Players | Waziyata Lleutrim Hjalmar Faith |
| Spheres | Shifter Gaian Garou |
Everything has been as prepared as Lleutrim and Faith can make it. The hidebed and the rug have been moved to clear a section of his small cabin's floor and a tarp laid out to catch any blood that might otherwise soak into the boards of the flooring. In the event Wazi should choose to step sideways into the Umbra, they could even go outside into the forest and a small piece of mirrored glass is set on the desk top for that purpose. Faith is here and pacing anxiously, intending to stay very much out of the way and silent, watching. One does not wish to distract the spirits or garou, though Lleu asked her to be here. Anything they could to to assist Wazi, they'll have been doing.
As for himself, Lleu has been cleansed and stripped himself down to boxer shorts. Several nasty scars now mar his body, some of them pretty bad such as claw marks from a bear that started at his back and curl around his side in such a way that suggest it did, or could have, ripped and gutted him open like a fish.
No electric lights are on in the cabin. Only candles are lit unless Wazi desires things otherwise.
Outside in the darkness of the forest at night, there is a sound of brush and grasses rustling. Then a four-legged shape can be seen prowling through the grass and up to the cabin. A white wolf is revealed in the moonlight, climbing up onto the porch. She gives herself a shake, before turning and looking toward the shape of a large man who is accompanying her. She chuffs softly, tail wagging high and body posture one of confident assurance. It's clear the wolf feels she is in charge at the moment, despite the difference in the ranks of those involved.
She grows into her usual blonde, teenage girl form and turns to open the door of the cabin. She steps inside and smiles at the sight of Lleutrim and Faith. She eyes the two and the array of candles in the cabin for a moment, before nodding slightly, "Must build fire," she informs them before asking Lleu, "Bandages?" A pause then, before she's glancing at the window and adding, "Better outside. We can make fire there?"
Hjalmar follows in Wazi's wake, he's a lot more quiet than usual and has a determined look on his face. He gives both Lleu and Faith a nod and then proceeds to do what Wazi asks.
Faith goes for the bandages - of which there is a laundry basket full of unopened packages. Rolls and rolls of gauze and many gauze pads. And not knowing how many they would need, there's a whole other large laundry basket full to brimming with more of the same. If they have too many, there's always the Kinfolk House they can donate anything they don't use to. If they need more? They can always rip up the freshly washed towels in a pinch.
Lleutrim turns from lighting a candle and then glances at Faith, then back to Wazi, "Puddle Jumper, Shieldbrother. Sure, we can move outside. Out behind the cabin is a good spot under the stars and the trees, back where others won't easily see and possibly come interrupt. Faith could intercept anyone who tries." Battle Singer turns to collect the canvas tarp /if/ Wazi wants it, otherwise he can carry bandages.
Wazi gives a slight nod as she sees the laundry hamper full of bandages. She wrinkles her nose a little at them, before nodding another time to Lleu's words. "Good," she agrees before adding, "Unwrap bandages. No plastic." Then she turns and steps back out of the cabin, stepping back into the grass and then making her way around the backside of the cabin. She looks to Hjalmar, "Help with wood. Fire is needing." There's no please, but the words aren't impolite, just blunt. She doesn't pay any attention to the canvas tarp, so there's a good chance she doesn't need it.
As the others bring bandages and wood, she drops down to her breed form and begins digging at the earth. She works steadily for several long minutes, until she's got a reasonably sized hole dug. Then she steps back and shakes herself off, growing back into her homid form a moment later and glancing up to the men, "Safe place for fire."
Hjalmar nods and goes to collect firewood which he places close to the spot Wazi is digging a pit at. He then helps unpacking any bandages and gauze if needed, before returning and setting up the required materials needed for a fire.
Firewood there is in ample supply all neatly stacked outside of the cabin. Lleu's been busy this summer and autumn taking down standing dead wood and sick trees all over the forest with Ghost on Water to make ready for winter fires when the cold fogs roll in from the sea. As soon as Wazi has cleared a space and Hjalmar brings wood they can lay the fire while Lleu and Faith open packages and stack them neatly, ready to grab. All of the thin plastic wrappings are collected for recycling and taken back into the cabin.
A smile is offered to Hjalmar, as Wazi moves to the firewood. She squats down, carefully moving it into the little firepit, brow furrowing in concerntration as she slowly arranges the wood and kindling. Afterward, she slips a hand into her jeans pocket, withdrawing a little firestarter. It's probably a surprise for those that know the lupus, as she sets to work and shortly has a spark, which she coaxes into a small flame.
Afterward, the firestarter disappears back into her pocket and her hands dive into her hoodie's pockets, instead. She glances to the two Garou nearby, eyeing them a moment before giving a slight nod as she pulls a small, cloth bag from her hoodie. From inside the bag she reveals a collection of odds and ends. Smooth stones, little bits of mirror, and tiny bones that look like they may have come from birds. She carefully arranges them about the fire, before standing up again and beginning to undress. As she peels her hoodie off, she tells those gathered, "Now wait. Mirror helps. Summoning is hard, more with Gauntlet."
Hjalmar stands there waiting for the next part he needs to do in order to help. He listens and observes closely, very closely..
Once the bandages have been all unwrapped and made ready, Faith has faded well back to watch and stand guard. Lleu has kissed her on the brow and then takes a seat to wait and watch, listening for directions from Wazi as she goes about making things ready. Donnachaidh is quiet, knowing this will be painful, bloody, and generally extremely unpleasant and maybe even a little scary. All the same, Lleu can learn from this so he says softly, "What are these things for that you have laid out?"
For her part, Wazi finishes stripping completely naked and then settles down before the fire, sitting on her heels with a quiet sigh and no sign of shame or embarrassment. She adjusts her weight a little, seemingly getting comfortable, then closes her eyes and just sits there, breathing very slowly, deeply, rhythmically. Her eyes don't open and she doesn't turn at Lleu's question. She answers him with her next exhalation, "Summoning tools."
Then, she's quiet again. The quiet breathing goes on for an interminable time. Or, if one has a good sense of time (or a clock) she stays that way for around half an hour. Eventually, she stands back up, moving a little stiffly and slowly. She licks her lips, then moves in a slow, shuffling walk around the now brightly burning fire, moving clockwise. She begins humming softly, eyes blinking against the bright fire and wispy smoke in the night air. She doesn't offer any explanations for what she's up to, and it might look as if she is lost in her own little world.
Lleutrim decides perhaps to keep his mouth shut and let Wazi focus on what she is doing. She can explain or not as she goes if she feels up to doing so. There is a glance to Hjalmar. Otherwise Lleu keeps silent, seated crosslegged and nearly naked but not entirely. He shifts into Glabro, there by growing significantly beefier. There by also being fit to produce a lot more blood.
The silence draws onwards. Lleu is relaxed. The fire burns, pops and crackles, producing a cheerful light cast flickering upon the forest that surrounds them.
Somewhere an owl hoots near by.
For her part, Wazi just continues her slow movements around the fire. Her humming is broken, uneven, completely off-key. The lupus is a horrifically bad singer. It might just be because she's in homid form. Or it might just be because wolves don't sing. Or she might be tone-deaf. Either way, she hums a little louder and her voice cracks. She grimaces, but then licks her lips and continues the awful humming. Whatever song she's 'singing' is mangled beyond any recognizability by the nude girl, even as she begins to step a little more deliberately, adding a little spring to her steps, almost as if she's getting ready to try dancing around the fire. That might make Lleu just as nervous as the idea of letting her bleed him.
This continues for several minutes, until the naked girl is outright dancing. Even if she can't sing at all, she dances very gracefully, if not moving with any particular training. She steps, pirouettes, bounces, even twirls a little, all with that awful sound buzzing in her throat.
Finally, it all draws to an end as Wazi dances a few more steps and grows into first a naked Glabro (eat your heart out, cave boys) and then her full war form. She stops the "singing" then, towering over the fire, and spreads her arms to the sky. <<Spirit of Leech! Come! Puddle Jumper is calling!>>
Hjalmar keeps quiet still. But he's cringing a little upon the molestation of his eardrums.. The sight's nice though.. But damn... That sound! He tries to tune it out a bit, focussing more on what he sees instead of what he hears. He watches her shift through different forms, and listens to her wolf tongue words.
You know the Galliard cant sit there and not do anything at all, right? Battle Singer takes up humming an interweaving melody to lend support to Wazi's droning, very softly at first so not to startle her. Lleu also the starts to softly drum his hands against his muscular thighs to provide a soft percussion in time to Waziyata's dancing.
If nothing else, Lleu seems intent to help inspire her in the performance of the Rite. His very pale grey eyes follow her form as the Ahroun dances around and around the crackling flames.
What on earth is poor Faith thinking of this??
The actually good singing and drumming that Battle Singer provides is probably part of why Wazi's dance is so graceful and well-timed. It would be a nightmare to dance in rhythm to the garbled noises the Ahroun has been making. When she cries out in the first tongue, nothing happens immediately. This doesn't seem to surprise the crinos, and she again dances a slow circuit around the fire, this time in her war form, now growling, groaning, and making occasional weird squeaking noises as she continues trying to sing, before finally coming before the fire again. She makes a new proclamation: <<Come to me, Leech! Come to drink your fill!>>
This time, there is a subtle distortion in the air before Puddle Jumper, directly above the little portable mirror provided by Faith upon Wazi's earlier request. The ahroun pants excitedly, tail wagging just a little behind her, ears perking up on her massive, monstrous head. She stands proud and expectant as a large, plump leech plops into existence on the ground before her.
Puddle Jumper then turns to Hjalmar and Lleutrim and gives a curt gesture toward Battle Singer. <<Blood.>>
Hjalmar nods at that as it is his cue. He turns to Lleutrim and unsheats his Seax. The knife is well maintained and nasty looking. He looks Lleutrim in his eyes and gives his knife a last look over before pressing the tip on Lleu's chest and dragging it down, creating a deep cut. And the knife is sharp, very much so. As Hjalmar cuts, not much resistance is felt.
Lleutrim has shucked off his boxer shorts as the bandages need to soak up his blood, not his clothing. Still seated cross legged, the Fianna Galliard Fostern growls low as the beautiful Seax cuts deep into the muscle of his chest. Aye, there is sharp, piercing pain as his flesh is sliced deeply. Blood, red and rich begins to spill forth over Battle Singer's fair skin. Hjal's slice bisects right through the scars across his chest where Lleu jad been struck hard by a Black Spiral Dancer while he had yet been a cub.
Nothing is said that might distract from the Rite. Pale gtey eyes watch the leech spirit when Battle Singer isn't watching Hjalmar with that handsome Seax blade.
Puddle Jumper stands tall and proud before the little materialized slug, tail wagging slowly as she watches Lleutrim get stuck and bled like a pig into the massive pile of readied bandages. She waits, shifting her weight a little from foot to foot, watching as the man bleeds. When he is pale and woozy and on the verge of collapse, she looks back down to the leech and chuffs at it. <<You are needed. Into the bandages, you will drink his blood when it flows. He will borrow strength. You will eat much. Agree.>> It isn't the most inspiring speech or persuasive argument, and the spirit makes a wet plopping noise in reply.
Puddle Jumper watches as the massive leech wiggles and squirms upon the ground with soft, wet plopping noises. To any that understand the speech of spirits, the thing is clearly protesting the Ahroun's proposal. It doesn't want to be bound. It would prefer to have its feast now, then return home. But it would like to help. It likes the Ahroun, but this is asking too much.
As the spirit leech continues its side of the argument, Puddle Jumper extends one massive, clawed hand toward Hjalmar and Lleutrim. She repeats her command to the Philodox: <<Blood!>>
Hjalmar nods and cuts another deep gash, this one acros Lleutrims back. A third added as well. Crossing the second one in the middle of his back. Blood flows.. And Hjalmar continues to apply some smaller cuts to the man as well. On his arms, legs.. Face...
Aye, Lleu bleeds. No doubt Faith is uneasy to watch this Rite. Battle Singer hrits his teeth and waits as his blood runs down his body, the bnandages drawn close. He may be cut again and again in order to bleed enough. When he begins to become lightheaded, Lleu lies back on the ground and draws more of the bandages close to press them against the painfully burning wounds.
The Galliard expends a measure of his will to activate a gift to resist pain. It may allow Lleu to keep his sense longer. Breathing more roughly, he lies there on the ground, trusting and hoping that Waziyata knows what she is doing.
Shit. The cuts to his face makes Battle Singer snarl. Aye. A mighty unpleasant ritual to submit to willingly! It is much to endure even with a gift to dull the pain. It will eventually leave Lleu lying there panting shallow breathes, bloody and pale, weakening and woozy on the edge of consciousness. His eyes barely slit open, less and less aware of what is going on around him.
Puddle Jumper's ears raise when Hjalmar wields the knife against Battle Singer once more. But she doesn't protest, instead watching, smelling, listening intently as the bleeding continues and more and more of the man's precious fluids seep into the many bandages. At last, she growls out. <<Good. Now me.>> And again she is brandishing her clawed hand at Hjalmar. Without waiting for the knife to strike her own flesh, she turns her attention back to the leech spirit, which also somehow seems intently focused on Lleu, though it doesn't have eyes or ears with which to determine that. There is a sense of hunger and need radiating from the thing.
<<You will do this thing,>> she growls at the little leech, and once Hjalmar's blade has sunk into her own flesh she snarls, head rearing back and fangs exposed in a sudden, animalistic GROWL. Every muscle in her body tenses as Rage dances in her eyes for just a moment, gaze fixating on the Philodox. If looks could kill, he'd be bleeding out the same as Battle Singer.
Then, the Ahroun exhales sharply and gives herself a shake, tossing her head as she comes back down from the precipice. Afterward, she grabs her wounded hand and digs her claws in, forcibly keeping the wound from healing as she holds both hands out over the leech, letting her own blood fall freely onto the spirit and the ground around it. She no longer seems interested in negotiation as she snarls another time: <<You WILL do this thing.>>
After having cut Puddle Jumper as well, Hjalmar steps to the side again, waiting in case more cutting is needed. He will remain observant, looking at the spirit, at Lleu and at Puddle Jumper.
Lleutrim lies quietly on the ground, unmoving. His eyes are closed for he has lost consciousness, still bleeding. Yet the older wounds are sealing as his body struggles to close his wounds and slow the blood loss. Slowly his weakened shallow breathes ease into more regular breathing. Battle Singer remains pale and nearly like a bloody corpse in the fire's light, yet he lives and the Rite continues...
Puddle Jumper drips more of her own blood onto the spirit, and before the onlookers' eyes, the materialized leech grows bigger and bigger, fatter and fatter, feasting on the Ahroun's offering. She growls at it, wordlessly urging the spirit to obey, hackles rising, tail standing straight out behind her, ears and head high in a show of dominance. And then, the moment the spirit gives in is obvious. It seems to flatten against the earth a moment, slick and covered with Wazi's blood, before it is wiggling and undulating across the ground toward the pile of bandages. Firelight flickers and dances across its ugly form as it draws nearer, and Puddle Jumper releases her hold on her wounded hand, allowing the wound to begin to knit itself shut as she watches the spirit wiggle and squirm its way to the unconscious Battle Singer.
At last, the spirit reaches the naked man and the piles upon piles of blood-stained bandages. It begins to fuzz around the edges, then, dissipating as it wiggles and squirms across the pile of bandages, leaving bits of itself behind with every movement as the spirit sinks into its new material home.
Finally, the work is done and Puddle Jumper relaxes her stance again, then looking to Hjalmar and giving a sharp nod of her massive, canid head. <<Wake him to heal. It is done.>>
Hjalmar nods and goes to work, trying to heal Lleu's wounds. He focusses hard in order to mend Lleu's wounds using the gift Grandmother's Touch... Warmth flows from his hands into Lleu's wounded body... And in front of their eyes, some of the worst wounds indeed start knitting close.
Hjalmar's healing using the gift not only begins to close some of Battle Singer's wounds more rapidly, but also restores some of Lleu's color. It makes his paler warm to a healthier living hue. After a long moment, Donnachaide opens his grey eyes to look upon his fellow Fianna, ?Shieldbrother...."
Puddle Jumper remains standing by the fire, eyes fixed on the scene at hand as Hjalmar works to restore Lleutrim. She gives a slow nod as the Galliard wakes up again. Then, she turns and steps away from the campfire, dropping down to all fours as she prowls over to the two men. As she moves, she shrinks down into her breed form. A moment later, there is a white and grey wolf nosing through the blood-soaked bandages, sniffing and pawing at them. As Lleu comes back from grogginess, he will feel fur brushing against him as the lupus picks her way among the bandages, pushing most of the bandages away from the man, ignoring a few of the ones closest to him. She offers no explanation for what she is doing.
Hjalmar smiles at Lleu as the man comes by again. "Aye my friend.. It is me." He looks at Puddle Jumper as she starts doing what she does, but focusses back on Lleu and the healing. "Hold still.." The warmth spreads again and might feel a little itchy as it heals another set of wounds on Lleu's body.
It is a very strange but not unpleasant feeling of one's flesh knitting. Better by far than the sensation of bleeding out to possible death.
Lleu pushes himself up onto one elbow. He is naked, covered in his own blood as well as what bandages yet stick to his body. A look to Faith, the to Hjalmar. "Thank you, Shieldbrother, and Puddle Jumper."
Battle Singer's gaze settles to watching what Waziyata is doing. Finally, Lleu sits up fully but does not yet rise.
Eventually, Waziyata finishes separating the bandages, nosing and pawing them about. In the end, she has a massive pile of bandages on one side, and just a small number of the dirty, soiled things bunched to one side. She then turns to look at the two men, tail wagging. <<Many talens. Leech was happy with us.>> Then, she turns about fully, slinking over to Lleutrim, invading the man's personal space as he pushes up onto his elbow. She noses in close and then begins licking his face and neck, tail wagging excitedly as she frisks about. Someone's in a good mood.
Hjalmar smiles at Lleu. "No problem my friend, it is the least I could do for you." Then as Lleu starts moving and Puddle Jumper tell them this, Hjalmar's concentration wavers and the warm sensation does not leave his hands this time..
Lleutrim of course tastes of blood, his own! Waziyata will have no trouble tracking the Galliard in future. Nonethe less, Lleu smiles and strokes a hand through Puddle Jumper's thick, pale coat. "You did it!" A breath, "Now I need a shower and a hearty meal with plenty to drink!"
He gets up. Lleu looks to them both, "Thank you." The bandages that Wazi says are good Lleu will gather up and figure out what to do with. "I will need to figure out a dedicated ruck to carry things in."
Waziyata frisks about, nuzzling and bumping against Lleutrim's hands as the man strokes her, tail still wagging crazily as she basks in the praise and attention for a few more moments. Then she steps away from him and turns to look up at the two men again, panting a wolfish grin as her tail wags still. At Lleutrim's comment, her tongue lolls out and she pants a silent laugh. <<Wear them. Cover yourself with many bandages. Dedicate. Then they are always ready for use.>>
Then, she turns about in a small circle and grows back into her homid form. Her very naked homid form. She is grinning as she rises to her feet from her initial four-limbed crouch, and then she's reaching for Hjalmar as if to put her hands on his shoulders. "Your good knife. Leeching flags and happy home." It's said as if it were an ordinary, everyday thing for a naked woman to say while grabbing a much larger man, grinning foolishly.
Lleutrim gets up and with all of the good bandages gathered up, he smiles to them both, "I will try that." He turns and goes to make sure Faith knows he is fine, and then to go and pour plenty of hot water to scrub up enough to dress and head to the Kinfolk house for a much needed shower!
Hjalmar rises from the crouch he was in, and nods to Wazi as she says this. A smile shows on his face again, and the silent and serious look is gone now as well. The smile broadening as she puts her hands on his shoulders. "Thank you Wazi, Puddle Jumper. I am glad to have been of help. It was very interesting to be partaking in." He wipes the knife clean and resheats it. "I made it myself." He looks proud at that and then places a hand on her shoulder as well. "You did good Wazi. It was a great succes, looking at the stack of bandages it brought Lleu." He nods appriciativly. "What other Talens could you make, if I may ask?"
