Vasily's New Home

Deep Forest - Northwest

        Majestic and serene, this place lies before you. The sheer beauty of nature's poetic art surrounded by the essence of creation, life and death spells a resonation of natural peace within the area surrounding these parts. Like the mists of Avalon in a kingdom of everglades the magnificence is simply astounding to behold. Silvery pools, a reflection of hope and serenity lie down upon the rich ground as the simple, sorrowful melody of the morning dove coos softly upon the gentle, sweet wind.
        The glory of the skies up above whether day or night shine down streams of light in past through the high tops of the giant trees and piercing the thick canopies that lie overhead. The beams of light spill like moonfire out on to the rich soil in patches of gentle warmth. No possible disturbance seems to be able to break the soothing quiescence of this sacred place.


        Vasily had arrived at the Perlman Estate less than an hour after sunrise but he didn't knock on the door, choosing to instead text Morgan of his arrival to allow most of the residents to remain undisturbed. Even at a glance it would have been easy to tell the Russian had been awake for several hours, though there were also fresh wounds along both of his forearms, and likely other locations, but they weren't bandaged not were they bleeding at the time.
        The more conventional travel within a rented car would end south of the city, surrounded with thin brush and straggling trees all around them. "Remember before, 'No heels, only flats'?" is asked with a slight smirk on his lips before stepping out of the car and motioning further south, motioning towards one of the somewhat tended to footpaths leading into the thickening lush trees. "It is.. more off grid than most. You will see, and understand soon." Never stepping that far away from Morgan, Vasily extends his right hand out for her to take, just incase.
        "Watch your step, after the first kilometers, there isn't a human trail, only natural trails. Then the mists when we draw close."


        Morgan understood clearly, her expertise in respecting traditions and cultures made her really easy to convince for her to wear tennis shoes, and respecting his space was easy for her to do. She wiggles her feet at him to show her tennis shoes. "No heels unless special occassions My Friend." She was concerned with his fresh wounds though and thought to ask while they were walking, "What happened Vasily?" She does take his hand as he guides her through the terrain though as she is not familar and does not know what to expect, but her senses are heightened, and she is looking around and watching, curiously, like she sees things, most would not, and she takes a deep breath to steady herself through each step. "Thank you for trusting me so much Vasily. I was not sure if you did or not."


        "Are you good with secrets 'Sister'?" is asked rather than directly answering Morgan's question. For his part Vasily walked somewhat lazily through the forest, the trail and the uneven footing was memorized down to a routine for the Russian despite having arrived into the region only a few months prior. "We share the same 'Den Mother', so I am protective of my second home, and all the cubs inside."
        As they traveled, despite the sun rising higher into the sky, the world around them dimmed from the thick foliage casting a shadow evenly onto the wild-grasses that try to reclaim the well treaded trails. "This den.. home I am needing help with is 'special'. You are half awake, maybe you will be able to feel what makes it special when we stand in the heart?"
        At the casual pace, it would likely be close to an hour since they began the trek that visibility significantly reduces as does their elevation, descending into a grove shrouded in water vapor, as the dew turns into steam only to condense again in an unending loop between the forest floor and close to the peak of the canopy.


        Morgan smiles warmly at him, "I have had to keep a lot of secrets Brother, and I will keep yours very close to my heart, none will know what you tell me, unless you decide to reveal it to them. I swear to you." She was careful with each of her steps. "I see a lot of things, and maybe I will, it is not always clear Vasily, and I may not be able to interact with it, but I tell you what I see. As best I can." She seems to be able to keep pace easily, but is careful of her steps since she is not familar with that terrain like he is, "How did you find this place Vasily?"


        "This body is a sacrifice.." With a slight chuckle, Vasily continue to explain, "This body is.. my creation. I anoint it with blood of a blessed sacrifice, cut my own.. 'soul'? No, my Pattern." With a sudden nod, he settles on his own terms for the moment. Rolling his left shoulder, he flares open his hand and then curls it into a loose fist, "Along with other rites during twilight, this body you see is made firm, agile. This used to be my limit, but now.. it is growing easy every passing dawn."
        Coming to a thinning grove, a wider smile spreads across Vasily's lips, "I can smell power.." Moving a hand up, he taps the side of his nose gently commenting, "I can smell many things, some times it is people like you.. other times, places." Walking forward, Vasily moves around shallow depressions where trees used to be and towards a set of trees in the middle of a small clearing, no more than a fifty yards across, planted in two rings, one inner, one outer but in reverse order.
        Kneeling down by one of the outer-ringed trees, Vasily lightly touches the bark, "This is a quiet Node.. I was surprised many didn't notice, think the mists made many wary, it is not common the condition here.. but here is where I need my home."


        Morgan listens intently as he talks about his body, listening to how he says it and the context, "Your body, It grows and changes with your knowledge, your sacrifices, makes you stronger? There is still so much about the world of magic and how it works, I am unfamilar with Vasily. I hope in some way you can help me understand too. I know there are no limits except by imagination, or lack of it."
        Morgan blushes lightly, "You know my abilities are of the mind, innate abilities, that grow the more I practice with them, the more I concentrate. I see the world a little differently as a psychic. I can see the dreaming, but I can not step into it." She quiets then as they step into that clearing, and she watches him kneel down by one of the outer-ringed trees, and she kneels down beside him to set her hands upon the earth to try to feel as much as see with her spirit sight, what this place is willing to show her. "The mists..make it enchanting to behold." She offers in a soft whisper.


        "I see things different than Caressa.. How did she put it.." Turning to the side, Vasily starts to grin slightly towards Morgan as he found the word, "Savage. Like those pair that are being beaten by Xiu for disrespect, they were the ones at the Yule?" Looking forward again Vasily closed his eyes and lowers his head slightly in a bow while his breathing relented for the moment. "Too soon. Too soon for me to nurture more, need this wound to relent first.."
        When Morgan begins to sense the very land for emotional echos, one was on the surface.. Vasily slitting the throats of various beasts, prey and hunters alike, unfortunately for Morgan among the predators were a few bobcats. Each of the slain were bled at the pair of rings which she now kneeled, parts of different rites. Satisfaction radiated from Vasily at the time, not seeming to hold any guilt or pity within him at the torment of the sacrifices. Trying to reach further would echo that the clearing wasn't always so clear, less than a season ago this was deep forest as well, leaving only an weak echo of hunters stalking a buck during the fall season. Trying to reach further back would be blurry but unsettling, creatures, not human in the slightest were hunting poachers within the spring season, and consuming them wholesale on the site of their death.
        Oblivious to what Morgan was seeing, Vasily began to speak again. "I need to study more.. I need to warm the stones in the soil more, radiate heat.. make more steam. Cool the branches and leaves more, trap the mist and fog all the time, not just near twilight." Moving his hands to the ground, Vasily rises to his feet once again and slowly starts to walk through the outer ring to walk between the pair.

A sudden breeze sweeps through the forest, rustling trees and bushes and sending old leaves floating to the ground.

        Morgan can feel the wound of the land, the loss of life that washes over her, and his satisfaction at being the one who caused it. She can feel those emotions and her fingers curl into the soil at the emotional echoes, and it was overwhelming to her. All the death she can feel he has caused, he caused part of the wound, she could feel that, but others too, the land dripping with the blood of the dead, spirits haunting here, and the memories flooding over her. Her heart is racing as she kneels there, her breath coming out raggedly, as she can feel the wound here, not just caused by Vasily but it is the history of death here. Her hands finally coming up to her head as she can't help being overwhelmed, somehow losing his voice in the middle of all the echoes. "So much..death.." is all she can manage as tears fall down her cheeks. "Hurt..It is hurt.." She gasps the further she goes back like the land is pulling her back further, wanting her to see it, even the vague impressions leave her gasping for air.


        "The mists.. I think Johnathan was the one who spoke of advancing tricks of the mind making people too lost to walk?" is said without much confidence as Vasily walked the small loop. At the completion of the first round, Vasily could see Morgan was acting somewhat oddly. Walking over to her, he could hear her ragged breaths and furls his brow, and knowing nothing of her gifts assumed something unsaid. "If you were still ill, you should have not come this far.. You wanted to suffer out the pain, not while I am the cause.."
        Moving his right hand towards her brow, his left moved to the side of her neck with modest pressure as he began checking her condition directly. Vasily's handling of Morgan was less than gentle and slow, "You do not have permission to die, is that clear?" is said in a growingly loud voice. A moment after his hand leaves her brow, she would be able to watch as he moves his hand up towards his face, allowing his teeth to not only bite but easily pierce his own skin enough to cause blood to seep with only modest pressure. "Lay down, you will be treated. Understand?"


        She is shaking and at his touch, flinching. Those tears falling uncontrolled from her cheeks but trying so hard to push the overwhelming vision away. It takes her a few more moments before she can manage to push it away, and longer for her to calm back down, trying so hard to regain her focus on the world around her again. Before she offers softly, "Not me...Others..Died here." She is trying her best to explain but it is taking her time to regain her barings and trying to wipe the tears from her eyes. It isn't her memories, she has to remember that, "Not me.." Unclear what she is speaking about because at the moment she doesn't make a lot of sense.


        "The living die, always will. It is part of the cycle," is said somewhat confused by what Morgan was managing to stammer out. Reaching forward with his left hand, Vasily tries to grasp onto her bicep while his bleeding fingers return to his lips. Suckling his own blood, he draws back his upper lip briefly before spitting to the left and then the right of the trembling Morgan, still not understanding what she was going through. "I don't feel a fever from you, what is wrong with you.." is slowly said as he exhales steadily, the breath that leaves him, sparks his renewed focus as he stares at the young woman before him.


        As the vision fades away, she starts to calm down. Her breathing is starting to return to normal, and she opens her eyes to look up at him. "I see things Vasily. Things others can't see." She takes another deep breath. "There is death all around this place..those lives you have taken, hunters from the past..even before..so much death surrounds this place." She is starting to look better and calm down the more she tries to explain to him. "The land leaves an impression and I can feel it. I can..see it." She offers softly, "I am alright. It is just a lot at once."

A sudden breeze sweeps through the forest, rustling trees and bushes and sending old leaves floating to the ground.

        At first Vasily assumed he did something wrong, he could find nothing wrong with Morgan yet she still quivered and.. without his aid, he was even more dumbfounded as Morgan began to stabilize. "See thing.. cause this?" is asked in disbelief. As he listened, her words did little to wash away his confusion, "Morgan.. Goal of life, is death. Without death, there is stagnation." Even as she continued to explain, it was clear he understood the words, but the meaning and the pain she felt and echoed were deadened to him, as she likely felt, even performing the acts he felt nothing negative, much less now just hearing them. "You should sit.. Stay still, maybe rest against tree? I think there are still things I will need lessons on to understand.."


        Morgan did lean against one of the trees, as her head cleared, "I can show you. I can try to show you what I see, how it feels, if you will trust me." She did close her eyes and explain. "You cause death to breath life, but I feel the emotions, the satisfaction you feel, but the death as well. It is so hard to explain. I feel the emotions of everyone around me, I feel the emotions of the past, I see the truth of what happened when everyone else forgets." If she were listening to this she would think she was crazy but she reaches out for his hand, "Trust me please?"

A sudden breeze sweeps through the forest, rustling trees and bushes and sending old leaves floating to the ground.

        Nodding his head gently, "Feeling close to death, that is where you should find strength, not sorrow. Find your will, stop thinking of next year, think of just next breath or become someone else's power." Bowing his head, Vasily left it well within her grasp to touch, assuming she needed to. "Trust you will not fill me with faux thoughts? I trust, you are near my node.. you know the route, you could destroy or damage it if I am not here. If that is not trust, I need better words," is said with a bit of a chuckle. "Just because I do not understand, does not mean I do not trust."


        Morgan closes her eyes and offers softly, "I always feel close to death Vasily, I see the spirits of the dead around me, I hear them, I talk to them, it is not the future I look to, it is the past to understand, to see what others have forgotten." She gently takes his hand and offers reassuringly, "I will not fill you with false thoughts, I promise you. I could never do that. You asked me to help you with your home, and you trusted me to tell you the truth, it is all I wish to show you."


        Morgan shares with him what she could see, sharing with him the emotions that she felt, a gentle tickling in his mind, that she is there, showing him the memories she felt from those whose lives he had taken, and that satifaction he felt, and the flashes keep going back, she takes it slowly as she shows him, slowly meaning that it took maybe a few seconds for her to share that with him, what the lands shared with her, maybe a chance for him to connect in a different way with this place he called home, through her conenction to it. The words were not needed, just the visual and the emotions, so he could see and feel and perhaps understand. Her connection different than a mage and maybe he understands her a little bit better.


        The more she showed Vasily the more his expressions began to ripple, heightening one, until it was washed over by another, and then a third yet Morgan would notice not one of those emotions was regret. "Slabyy.." is muttered in his native Russian as his eyes lazily shift from one side to the next, watching each scene before him. "This is why everything is permitted.. The hunter is prey for another hunter.." Tensing slightly, at the sensation of death of both his own prey and the poachers, the grin on Vasily's lips was tainting with a snarled expression. "Not this far north.. they should be south.. I will -not- be prey.. I will eat that hunter," is said absentmindedly, for a moment forgetting Morgan was the one beside him, and even under her touch, she could feel as if he was torn between preparing to fight or running, despite knowing it was just an echo of someone else's feelings.


        No Morgan does not want him to forget, or feel torn, or threatened and tries to project calm to him, her voice soft, and the visions fade away. "They are in the past, they are not here, it is all in the past Vasily. It is what was, not what will be. This is why I do the work I do, I try to restore past memories in the pieces I find, to help others remember, and never forget those who are special to them. I almost died, I guess for a moment I did, but I was brought back, and in that moment, I began to see things different."


        "Oh no.. they are here.." is chided as Vasily shifts his gaze towards Morgan, the odd snarling grin still on his lips. "Those were mutts, I smell them when I travel south.." Lifting his right hand, he points towards Morgan and starts to chuckle, "They will be skinned when this home is finish if they come to consume you next." Shifting backwards, he rests onto his heels at first before rocking forward again, supporting himself up onto the balls of his feet. "You went backwards, against the flow.. Not natural, now you are in neither. Makes some sense, but changes little, Sister.. I will need to cleanse this land's echo, keep those sights from you."


        Morgan shakes her head, "You can not keep the sights from me.." but then she stops in mid sentence.. "Yet it has been kept from me. Why would they come after me? Why did you choose me? I am not sure I can help you cleanse the land, but maybe I can help speak to the spirits that reside here and find out what can be done to calm them." She is confused by him, moreso than she was a moment ago, or maybe there is more confusing her. "Backwards..not natural..But what am I supposed to do Vasily, I sometimes see flashes of the future, but I can't understand it, always the past I see and understand but when trying to see the future, it confuses me more than anything."


        "This place is blessed, woven, shaped by.. Hmm.. It is Vulgar to you." With a slight smile, Morgan would be able to see there was no happiness or pleasure in the expression. "Don't try to understand the mutts. They betrayed other blessed by Luna from jealousy. Never assume they are sane.. Never." Looking away from Morgan and looking towards the center of the rings of trees, at the heart of the Node. "This place is to be a special place, one of peace.. If you cannot relax, then a failure."
        Shifting, Vasily stands up fully and offers both of his hands to Morgan to help her stand. "What you are to do, is live. To stay in this stage until your task is done. Then die, then rebirth as cycle continues." Pausing again, he nods lightly but then slowly shakes his head simply saying, "Beyond me. I do not speak to spirits, or see prophecies.. I only understand this stage. I can create life. I can mutate life. I can destroy life. Start to end.. not the before, not the after." Nodding towards Morgan, he smirks slightly and says, "You are both before and after, more than here. Opposite to me."


        Morgan shakes her head, "It is not vulgar, Visaly, It is honest, it is the truth. I just see it for what it is, not hidden behind a veil. I see..the grand old trees that are here, and parts of them starting to die out, I see the beautiful rich brilliant sunset colors that surround us, warm and welcoming like a mother wrapping a child in a blanket for the first time. I smell the scent of smoke from fresh burnt wood, pushing back the chill of the cold air on a beautifully perfect fall day. There is more than just the death that resides here, but the beauty of what was too. You can not have one without the other. Surely you know that too. It was Majestic and so serene here. It could be again if you believe and give it a chance." She is holding to his hands gently as she stands again, with better footing than a moment again. "Do not give up on this place Vaslily, help it live again, and breath life back into it."


        "Morgan.. Maybe my words were poor?" After gently tugging Morgan back onto her feet, a soft smile appears on his lips again as Vasily explains, "There is beauty in decay, there is warmth in death. I do not see this place as taint, but true life.." Turning away from looking at her, he looks at the grass around them as he says, "This death caused you to tremble, so I seek a way to make new family relaxed. I will -not- stop. More life will be taken by my hand. More life will be created by my hand. More will heal here, and more will suffer here."
        Taking a step away, Vasily relaxes his hands, trying to slip them from her grasp so they could stroke along the bark of the outer ring before slipping between them and to touch the inner circle. "I created these.. Created not planted. They host no insects, no ivy, thickened.. hardened to be my supports." Turning to look towards the side, "Soon I will birth wasps, small and large to protect this land from outsides, like the Mutts. To create this life, I will take life.. I will sacrifice some of my life." Turning around, Vasily rests his back against one of the trunks of the inner ring of trees to look at Morgan. "This is what I have been taught for over two decades, even before I awoke fully, before I forced from slumber partially."
        Lifting his right hand, Vasily points towards Morgan's bust, namely her heart. "If your heart is uneasy, how can you guide me? I need it still, calm, or even delighted as I make these trees twist for me. I.. Weave them, into a home. The home I asked you for."

A sudden breeze sweeps through the forest, rustling trees and bushes and sending old leaves floating to the ground.

        "I am trying to be calm Vasily, but I can't be right now. I am scared." She closes her eyes, "I am scared because I can't..figure out who is trying to hurt me Vasily. I can't go home, I can barely do what I love, because I can't find the peace from all the chaos." There are tears falling down her cheeks. "I want you to be happy and I want your home to be perfect. Because it should always be your sanctuary." She sniffles back her tears, trying to wipe them away as she just sits down where she is. "I want to move on, but I can't."


        "I brought you partly to show you a safe place.. A safeplace for you out of eye of soon even the Technophiles," is said, the term once again rather than Technocracy. "I will see who I can hunt that knows more than skittish Joel. He does not sound like he is as good as he says," with a slight shrug Vasily starts to smile towards Morgan. "We can use older methods to keep bakery from setting on fire. Weak metal that snaps at high heat, when broken sends signal, nothing digital, all physical. Old, but reliable." Shifting forward, Vasily walks over towards Morgan and places his hands onto her shoulders, gently squeezing them. "Once we find the cause, I will make sure a slow death, maybe here, their hearts blood to christen new home of safety? Would that make you feel better?"


        "Vasily. it was my fault the shop burned.." Her eyes looking at his, "The suppression system was sabotaged though, it was disabled..at my home and the shop. Joel was able to confirm that. He tried but there is something else going on, someone is trying to hurt me. Someone knows what I can do, they know about my nightmares, they know about my fears. It is someone, has to be someone old, because in my heart, no one I know here in Prospect, would try to hurt me. I don't want anyone hurt. I just want them to let me be and live in peace. I don't hurt anyone, I just help when I can." Her voice sad, and she looks down, as his hands are squeezing his shoulder. "Killing someone does not make me feel peaceful."


        "Accident is one thing, you has protection in place to keep it safe. Someone destroyed that. Not your fault then, it is their's." Shifting his thumbs, Vasily gently begins too massage small circles along Morgan's sleeve as he keeps a grip onto her shoulders, but it also relented. "You can say that, but if they torture you now.. they try to kill you now? They will always try to hurt you." Shifting his head to one side, Vasily starts to smile more softly. "If they die, their soul sealed in a charm.. they will 'never' hurt you again. If you are like the Mu.. Garou, then you can turn the soul from a hunting, to a familiar. Helpful." Moving his hands from her, he wags a finger towards her once, "Remember, I travel a lot. If I need to travel again, visa is good for.. another year?"


        Morgan smiles at him as he tries to take the blame from her shoulders, reassured by him, and takes a breath, just breathing in the scent of where they are, free from the city, "I can't figure out who they are though. That is the part that puzzles me. Why would anyone want to hurt me?" She offers softly, "Slavery, even in spirit form, has never set right with me for some reason. I think of spirits as trapped souls needing to find peace, and keeping them trapped, feels wrong."


         "You and Caressa are alike. Too.. not soft, this insult umm.. 'Gentle'?" is almost asked, unsure if that likewise was an insult. "Neither of you are interested in making others who wrong you suffer. Peace over vengeance." Moving his hands to his side, Vasily furls the bitten one into a fist again to not stain his clothes. "I don't know how these computers work, close to sorcery before the Virtuals touch them. Should we find a Sleeper to help Joel?"


        Morgan offers softly, "No not Peace...Justice, understanding, I need to know who and why, sadly I do not know anyone other than Joel that I would trust with computers. If you do, and you trust them Visaly, I might consider accepting their help. It is hard for me to see anyone hurt though, unless they are trying to hurt my family."


         "Sister.. They are trying to hurt my second family, why should I not hurt them?" is said, using her own words before moving his hand to his phone that had no signal. Turning it around, Vasily showed off a Contact by the name 'Blair'. "This is one Anyu spoke highly of, not met them before. Maybe you talk to Anyu about formal meeting?"
Long distance to Caressa: Vasily nods. "Sadly no +requests unless important right now from backlog."
Caressa pages: get on help me chan and ask there


        She bites her lip, considering him a moment, "I can try to talk to them if they are willing to meet, I am concerned about to many people becoming involved, all drawing more risk and more attention, but I will give them a chance. The meeting needs to be private though. "I know you are right, but it is still hard to see anyone hurt."

A sudden breeze sweeps through the forest, rustling trees and bushes and sending old leaves floating to the ground.

         "Then close your eyes," is said with a chuckle. Lifting his curled hand, Vasily audibly strikes his chest with the flat of his fist. "Leave blood letting to the blades. You will be the seeker, not the blade." Moving his hand then to point towards Morgan, he continues.. "It is justice to punish stalkers in this country. Like wise attempted killers so.. I will be doing justice. Nothing more."


        Morgan bites her lip as she does, for a moment, close her eyes, inhaling deeply before letting out a slow calm breath. "I think I need someone to dig into the past of my family. because for the life of me, I can't figure out why anyone here would hurt me. My friends have done everything I know to help me and protect me, but..my family is different."

A sudden breeze sweeps through the forest, rustling trees and bushes and sending old leaves floating to the ground.

         "Different than adopted family.. now? All sleepers?" With just a few words, Morgan had already caused Vasily to become curious once again. "Also, could be simply rival Baker. Remove rival, improve customers, more profit." With a slight shrug, Vasily looked at her eyes, studying her face before asking "Why does it need to be complicated?"


        She looks up into his eyes, "I am not sure if they are sleepers, or like me Vasily. I know my parents tried to keep things from me when I was a little girl, but my uncle tried to teach me to embrace who I was anyway. He is dead, and my parents are not answering my calls. Maybe it is not complicated, maybe I am just forgetting something. Because my business here, is restoration and I can't figure out why anyone would care about what I do?"


         "If he is dead, why not call him? You speak and hear.. perform the rite of Ancestors then." Moving to the side, Vasily rests his shoulder against the trunk of the tree Morgan lingered at. "You could ask directly all your questions, or do you need to visit their grave first to speak?"


        Her shoulders slump as he asks that question, "I hear so many other voices, I never thought to ask him, I never wanted to disturb him Vasily, I wanted to let him rest, but now I am not so sure." She looks torn and closes her eyes as she takes a deep breath. "I spoke to My Twin, once in a dream, I don't know if it was entirely real or a dream, he was so child like then, much like I remembered him, but I have not tried to speak with my Uncle." She shakes her head and sits down where she is. "I should have, he was always there for me and I ran from home. I should have tried to talk to him. He was my rock growing up. I would not have made it without him." Her eyes are filling with tears. "He was amazing, trying to teach me not to be afraid of what I was. He wanted to teach me more but my parents always discouraged him, unless I was staying with him alone. I liked his home better than my own."