Shadows Over Camp Darkness

Rolling Stone vs. Gathering Moss

Gideon was planning something that would either be phenomenally stupid or Machiavellian genius. She would train her kids to use their individual strength against a creature like herself; and yet not cross the line into abusive drill master.  That was going to be a task and a half. Furies are trained from a very young age that they live and die by their will, and their will alone. One of the hardest things that Gideon had ever done was learn to be alright on her own. Furies aren’t dependent on each other, but they are trained to always want to return to their ‘nest’ as it were, though Gideon always felt more catlike than bird, so the analogy had never fit her right. She was going to arm these little freaky darlings with skills they can use not just against her own kind, but other assailants too, and she was going to hit them with some hard truths. Gids wasn’t planning on checking in with Hasselberry or the Dragon either some would argue that it’s better to request forgiveness then beg permission, but Gideon was more pragmatic than that; doing it this way gave the Camp plausible deniability if the plan went epically awry. Strangely enough, it felt quite exhilarating to be on her own this way, able to help these kids see their fullest potential. Or are we just deluding ourselves into thinking we can control this? Gids asked herself honestly, rule one at its finest.

Intake One was standing in front of her, looking confused and expectant. They already knew well enough now to realize that Gideon was capable of some purely strange and most likely terrifying things. And right now she was sitting in front of the Intake House, simply staying quiet while her kids took in her appearance. Gideon wasn’t in her usual almost uniform of jeans and a t-shirt, she’d pulled out her real clothes and was wearing a grayish green pair of combat pants, and a shirt that looked super fitted but was a form of extremely light weight body armour.

“Alright Intake One, listen up. As you were party to yesterday, all I not well in Nottingham. Now I’m going to go a step further and let you all know the truth: there’s only so much we can do to make the Camp safe for you all. Something has gotten in and is causing a ruckus, and despite all the safeguards in place, we have no clue what it is skulking about.” Her words were plainly spoken and she watched comprehension and realization dawn on their faces. They weren’t 100% safe, and a couple of these kids KNEW what that could really mean. Time for the other shoe to drop. “So I am going to teach you all how best to use yourself. Step one: inside the House is a bag for each of you and a paper meant for your eyes only. Get inside the House, that’s the only task right now. One of you knows how to do this, figure it out.” Gideon stood smoothly, limbs loose and movements graceful. She stepped out of the way but none if the kids moved yet, as if needing more instructions. Virgil was standing idly by, not even trying to hide his presence while Gideon had her own fun this morning by giving up the ghost; she wasn’t hiding what she was any longer so her eyes were dead blackness, her voice dripped honeyed madness and her movements were hypnotic. For Gideon, it was akin to taking a full breath of pure, fresh air after spending the last year in a smoke filled room; she was seeing things deeper than eyes could offer, a more basic and pure reality of each life source.

Right now, none of her kids assumed that they could be the one with the skills needed to open the door. The vampire was in full withdrawal, hands spasm erratically and a sheen of sweat over his sunless skin. It seemed that Gids wasn’t the only one whom had noticed because she saw a ‘patch’ on the boy’s psyche to help hold off the worst symptoms of Faerie blood addiction withdrawal. Dilhil wasn’t the one Gids was talking about though and he knew it, so the vampire’s energy fluctuated with calming pulses and impatience. Teenagers. The High Elf was mentally reviewing all her skills and coming up with ideas to get around a locked door, but her poker face needed work. Gideon could read the doubt off the girl’s face; her fear of looking bad in front of others held her back from suggesting anything all because she didn’t want to be the first one wrong. Mardrom was staring at Gideon, all her energy blazing white hot because this was the same type outfit the Fury had worn when the strike occurred killing Mardrom’s family. The recall was messing with the Nightmare’s ability to focus and fear scented the air without a discernible source.  Angelspawn was staring at Gideon as well but his look was lost and confused not fearful, though there was an awareness now lurking in the half angel’s eyes and a fluctuation in his energy that revealed Omen’s presence under the surface. She hadn’t convinced the Nephilim to embrace his duality yet, but he was clearly listening. He had the Power to force the door open, but didn’t offer to do so yet because force wasn’t always the answer. Aglaope was frowning, knowing that if someone had been IN the house, she could Sing and have them unlock the door but her Magic needed a lure to call. The Goblin looked complacent waiting for one of the others to offer a solution, but this was the Goblin’s time to shine; once it occurred to the kids to think about their skills adaptability. Goblins are burrowers, their Magic works at opening up the path before them so if Hantu properly focused on the door, he could cajole it into opening. Gideon had left the hexes and wards off of the door just so that the kids could try this and not have to worry about backlash just yet.