"Yakkity yak, don't talk back?" she asked with a giggle as she checked out the gear he brought, then stood and hurried back to him for a big hug. "Visis goin' t'be grand!" With that, she spun Simon about, then caught him in another hug so he wouldn't fall over, but also because she liked hugs.

"What should we do fehst? Got somefing you never done, yeah?"

⋯﴾﴿⋯

Bear frowned, squinting down through swollen eyes at Hecate. "I may have something that could help. I'm not sure how effectively, but if you don't have treatments for this, it may be useful to try."

Eve spoke up suddenly, and he turned his head slightly toward her. "I'm... not sure. To help against the horrors, I think. Seela and I are just soldiers. For real answers, Councilman Leauge is... probably your best bet..."

For a man who showed no fear against the Byakhee, he grew noticeably uneasy at mere mention of his leader's name.

⋯﴾﴿⋯

Elizabeth knew plenty of reasons why Pearl was important, but they didn't always apply... Then again, Simon looked like a teenaged boy, and her daughter had a certain magnetism with those.

However, it sounded a little bit like Simon wasn't wholly that sort of person, either.

As Worm started talking, she pulled her attention from her thoughts to keep up with the introduction to this place she'd rushed off to in such a hurry.

Ark. Underneath Arkham.

It was like she never left home, with a name like that.

Still, she didn't let her mind wander, and as he asked about her familiarity with the knowledge of the horrors, she ran a hand slowly through her hair. "I'm no expert, but I have studied a little bit—enough to know that it's dangerous enough that I may have to become involved personally, regardless of the curses on my person."

She closed her eyes.

"It seems like my sudden arrival has caused a lot of stress all around. I'm... sorry about that." She opened her eyes, letting her gaze fall away. "With Pearl in this universe, and Hecate saying a group of young kids was dying fighting the horrors here, I hurried here without thinking that I should give more warning or gather more soldiers."
 
"...so let's watch out for the Yak..."
He began to reach for the cutlass when he suddenly felt Pearl's arms wrap around him, triggering the almost reflexive response of his arms locking to his sides while his head sank subtly deeper onto hos scarf in an action comparable to a startled turtle retreating to the safety of it's shell.

Her spinning him into another earned an even more extreme response. His face remained as red as ever and he held his breath, always conscious of how loud he felt it got when he was nervous like this. He nodded idly as words came out of her mouth, and quickly but futiely searched his brain for a proper response.
"..."

With great effort, he managed to get ahold of his breathing withourlt an initial gasp for air, and when he managed to speak, he did so quickly, and softly.
"...I... haven't actually put much thought into it..."

He ran a hand through the back of his head.
"...if we wanna do something wild we could hijack a black galley and crash it into Kadath..."
He laughed nervously.

"...I'm not serious... That's a bad idea even in the Dreamlands..."

He stared forward for a moment, his eyes turning to her tail... he almost forgot.
"...probably best we head back to Ulthar for now... The Cats there have their own language, wage wars with monsters, and can jump to the moon to hang out on it's dark side."

---

"Normally there's not much we can do... It's damage on more than a physical level... But if you got something that might work I'll hear it."

Eve began to focus on clearing the way, and being eight feet tall proved to be a significant aid in that effort.
"Clear now! Clear! Nothing to see..."
She waved her hands and gestured widly, and as the stretcher was able to pick up the pace, she swung back around toward the others, walking alongside and leaning over Hecate.

"...Heck..."
The tall figure muttered, voice muffled by the gasmask.

Her head shot in Bear's direction.
"You speak her name the way our Wizards speak the name of Cthulhu. You fear her. Should we fear her?"

---

Worm burst into a deranged cackle the moment Eliza stopped talking, raising a hand and stopping in his tracks, until his laughter slowly died down.
"Fighting? Ha! Was the last mosquito you slapped dead fighting you? We're doing our best to just survive. We're not in shape to take on anything, let alone anything
serious."

He kept going, beckoning again.
"Since the eighteen hundreds, what started out as a few young men exchanging letters about their pursuits into the supernatural led to this mess... Before us, people had to face this crazy shit all by themselves. One day... You're poking your nose around some weird report or some haunted castle you've never heard of... and next thing you know, you're looking at something that just... shatters your reality. Now you're at a higher level of perception, and just like suddenly hearing a word before hearing it everywhere, you'll slowly realize more and more that this world just... Isn't ours..."

Slitted pupils shifted downward to glance at a deformed hand. His tongue slid across his sharp teeth. He blinked once, slowly, heavily...
"Humanity isn't even what you think it is here... It won't take much to wipe 'em out... And it won't take much to wipe our little coven out..."

Slowly, they came across a door marked with an exit sign.
"It's a short walk to the Lobby through this upcoming hall. We're gonna need to stomp out these rumors and whispers flying around before they get out of hand. Start coming up with an introduction-slash-rousing speech for all the children and I'll make sure everybody hears it."

He stepped forward only to immediately come to a halt. He felt his teeth pushing together. He hated every second of this, but hated chaos more, and if he wasn't bringing his best, this could turn into chaos fast.

He turned toward Eliza with an eyebrow raised.
"Unless, of course, the proffessional has any ideas of her own..."
 
Poppy's eyes lit. "Oi'd be up fer'at!" she beamed, only then pausing as she processed how she'd freaked poor Simon out just a moment ago. "Sah'y bou'the dancin an givin' ye a roit spook, Oi'm feelin more'n a lil daff-a-down dilly, I guess!"

She had enough awareness to look ashamed, though it didn't last long thanks to her excitement.

"Really, yeah? Ain't it cold 'ere? Fink 'ey'll teach us the lingo if we ask 'em noice?"

⋯﴾﴿⋯

"It's nothing miraculous—just a breed of cannabis that I've discovered during my travels. It's effective on people who struggle with sensory overloads and anxiety. No side-effects aside from the high people usually try for. If needed, I can distill it to just the oil to get rid of the high, though that'll take a lot longer."

As Eve suddenly demanded answers of him, he frowned.

"You and your friends don't need to fear the Councilman. She won't willfully endanger you." He closed his eyes. "I'm scared of her for... mostly... personal reasons." As he trailed off, he looked away. "The Council keep us Hunters from becoming wild animals, so we can give our lives purpose by protecting humans from monsters." He lowered his head thoughtfully. "They're... powerful, though. They sacrifice their memories for the sake of protecting existence and humans, and they let themselves fall under a geas and curses, and in exchange, they're given the power they need to control Hunters and to overcome threats we can't."

Seela's lazy gaze moved to Eve. "We're the lions and she's the one with the whip," she muttered, eyes half-lidded as she looked forward again, keeping Bear from running into the stretcher.

⋯﴾﴿⋯

"I meant fighting to stay alive," she muttered with a roll of her eyes, though otherwise let it slide with a shake of her head. He read too deeply into what she said, or she misspoke, but it didn't really matter.

He went on to explain about perception and the strangeness that wasn't at all uncommon. He sounded tired. Halfway defeated already. He said he'd get everyone together for her to introduce herself, and then asked if she had any ideas of her own, sounding just a bit sarcastic, though she chose to ignore it. She closed her eyes, taking a moment to think.

She could smell his stress on the air. Poor kid.

"On the Hunter headquarters, we usually let rumors fly freely, but that would be a disaster here."

With Hunters, who were functionally immune to poison, the quickest way to earn their goodwill and prevent panic was to offer food. Humans, lacking such pseudo-immunities, and in a setting like this where they were distrustful already, food offerings would be suspicious.

"Honestly, gathering them up and offering an introduction is probably the best way to go about it... Unless you think I should become a cat initially. In my experience, it's hard to be afraid of a house cat, even one that talks." She let a heavy breath escape her nose as a near-silent and brief laugh. "Downside is that I can't change when observed, so that might be a drawback."
 
A small smile crept across Simon's face, and spoke while adjusting his scarf.
"Believe me, this forest is nothing compared to some of the other sights. If I could, I'd have an elephant ready to take us to Ulthar... sadly they're not particularly fond of me..."

He blinked a few times, running a hand through his hair, managing to dislodge one of the webs still stuck, which he promptly shook free from his glove.
"...I'm not so sure about learning their language... but maybe they could teach you to jump to The Moon... or maybe help us hijack a Black Galley and not crash it into Kadath... You're not scared of monsters are you..? I don't have much of a stomach for them, but between knowig this is a dream and well, present company, I think I can manage..."

His expression slowly turned nervous, as his head started to fill with impressions of the things that lurked in the dark... He shook out those thoughts before they got out of hand, remembering he had what was essentially a guest to entertain.
"...so, would you like the spear or the sword?"

---

The doctor chuckled as they passed through the door.
"Lord know's she'd appreciate it once she's lucid... but for now we gotta-"

He was suddenly cut of by Hecate, breaking out into a slow giggle that went on for some time, which became fast and heavy breaths which at times resembled sobs, before quieting back down. Her shuddering continued.

Eve place a hand on her forehead.
"...Heck..."
She spoke in what was almost a whimper.

They passed through a set of doors into what was marked as "Infirmiry A." The place reeked of fear. Coven members going through what Hecate was in various stages of intensity. Some cackled. Some cried. Some stared forward, motionless. One smiled softly, lifting their hand in acknowledgement... which was all they could do with the restrains that bound them to a bed...

Eve's discomfort grew, but her questioning did not cease, and her tone did not shift.
"And what constitutes a Human to you Hunters?"

---

Worm stared at her for a moment as if she were a madwoman. His eyes shot to various areas of the room, before he tapped his forehead with a clawed finger in thought.
"...okay, you do whatever you think is best. Whenever somebody wants everybody to shut the fuck up and listen, they hop up to the top of this half-excavated structure, set up some speakers, and blast their voice throughout the whole Lobby. You'll know it when you see it, it's huge. It's also got tons of little tunnels poking in and out so you could probably just hop in, transform, and hop out if you need to..."

He opened the gate tothe greater hall. The area they had been in was only one branching part of what must have been the habitation area for the more magically inclined, for this area was replete with marked shelves, strange artifacts... Intriquite geometric patterns centered inevitably around the mystic Elder Sign. Sinister smells hung in the air as well, distinct from, yet calling back to, the effects of Hecate's closing of the rift... In every place, there were coven members. Some dressed as average people their age, others in strange robes, none much older than twenty, a few not entirely human...
"Seriously though, is there anything else we should know? ...Or are we gonna have to wait until it bites more than just Hecate in the ass to find out?"
 
"Um... Monstahs..." She frowned as her mind flashed back to a tree-like being with tentacles and many eyes, though it wasn't the Shoggoth. No, instead it was a supposed friend of her mother's.

"Oi fink I can 'andle 'em, but... ain't much of a fightah, yeah?" She grinned, then looked at the two weapons. "Mum says spear's easier ter learn, y'just stick 'em wiv the pointy end, yeah? Swords, you gotta learn fancier fings... and someone wiv a long stick can beat someone wiv a sword... so..." She picked up the spear and grinned. "'Issun!"

⋯﴾﴿⋯

Hecate frightened Bear, mostly because he was scared they wouldn't be able to help her... especially once they entered Infirmary A. All around, similar sufferers of the condition seemed to be in various states, none of them able to do much.

All of them kids.

He almost didn't hear Eve's question over his worry, and he looked at her after a moment, processing as Seela stopped him and used a thin knife to cut around his eyes. The swelling eased, especially as Bear pulled out some sterile gauze from one of his pockets and began to press various points of his face, helping the pooled blood to escape.

As his vision began to clear, he forced a deep breath before he answered the young woman.

"That's... hard to answer. The important thing is that you and the other members of your group count. If the Councilman's here to help you—" He paused, uncertain for a moment before he continued. "She... frightens me... but I've never seen her abandon those she sets out to protect." He scowled. "Even the ones that were too far gone to care anymore."

Memories teased at him, but he shook them off. "Sorry, Miss. I'd like to concentrate on doing what I can to help in here. Could you... direct these questions toward Seela, instead?"

Seela blinked at being mentioned, then looked up, blinking slowly. "Huh...? Oh. Yeah, I can answer—" she yawned, "—Questions."

⋯﴾﴿⋯

"Nothing that I would choose to use against you or your group," she assured. "I do prefer to keep some things to myself, for my own safety, since there are those who travel between worlds who would love nothing more than to bring me low."

Unless they turned against her, she wouldn't turn against them.

"However, if you're anywhere near as paranoid as I am, you won't be satisfied with just that, and given what I've seen so far, you likely are." She sighed. "Normally, my blazer is a set of robes that make me look like a cultist, protect me from attacks, and if the hood is up, they cover my scent and any mental signatures, and the shadow of the hood is impenetrable."
 
"I'm afraid so..."
Simon blinked.

"There's all kinds of nasty things. Ghasts, Shantaks, Leng Spiders and Nightgaunts, to name a few... that yak out there might as well count... Zoogs too, I guess..."

When she chose the spear, he grabbed the cutlass and nearby sheath, befpre putting the sword away at his belt. He grabbed the torch, an open bronze lantern atop a leather-wrapped wooden handle. It appeared sturdy enough to serve as a weapon on it's own right, should the need arise. He chuckled slightly.

"Oh, I almost forgot."
He reached a hand in his jacket, and drew a fearsome revolver pistol, the kind someone his stature should have had no business handling. He grinned mischeviously, and spoke in a
"If we encounter any human threats, this'll send the fuckahs runnin'."

He stared blankly for a second, running a hand through his hair.
"...I got twenty-one bullets..."

---

Eve nodded as Bear spoke, and sucked in air through her teeth at the sight of his flesh being cut. Hecate was subsequently lifted onto a rolling bed with only moderate difficulty. A young woman in white who had taken up walking beside them responded.
"Ah uh... She's goin' to a bunch of her wizard friends first. They have to sever any psychic links astral projections, or contacts she may be experiencing."

As they walked, a number of individuaks in large dull-colored robes and white masks of various origins and designs (one may have in fact been a hockey mask) though the other feature they all shared was an etched or painted on Elder Sign. Many hurried to get a closer look at Hecate, who had now fallen silent.

Eve turned to Seela. A hand stretched behind her head to unlatch her gasmask. She pulled it from her head to reveal her face. It was not structurall ugly, but was a strange patchwork of different pallid and sickly hews, sepperated by dark stitch scars. Her lips were black and her eyes were sunken into dark circles which high lighted their off-white scleras and vivid heterochromatism. In her dense black hair, there was a single coiling lock of white, sprouting from a patch of pallid flesh unique from the other component sheets.

---

Worm paused, and thought for a moment. He squinted slowly.
"Yeah then this place is not good for your daughter if knowledge of her, particularly her relationship to you, starts getting around. With the 'not good' levels directly proportional to how tough you are."

Eventually, they made it to a large sheet-metal gate peering out into a very large underground complex, and she could barely see a very large ruin crossed up and down with scaffolding. Many voices could be heard from within, and there was tye unlikely sound of fast flowing water...
"So..."

Worm said, staring into a tablet he was now typing quickly into.
"You got an idea in your head of what you're gonna say?"
 
He knew a lot about the types of monsters, and most of them weren't familiar to her, though ghasts were a concept she had passing familiarity with—though they differed everywhere.

He took the sword and put it on his belt, and then revealed a big revolver, of the sort that her mother's agent used, based on the size of it, and then stated with a grin that it'd send any human threats running.

Her own grin widened in turn, and he spaced out a moment—enough to worry her a little, before he told her how many bullets he had. It wasn't a lot, unless he was a good shot.

Still though, his grin at the reveal of the gun said he was at least a little confident in it, despite spacing out.

"Big mean gun, 'at one." Her tail swished slightly. "Reminds me of Falren's gun... er... Da's, Oi mean." She giggled, slightly nervous.

⋯﴾﴿⋯

Bear nodded at the new woman in white. "Didn't even think of that," he admitted. "The others here, I assume the same was done for them already?" He wanted to try his idea, but not without permission from whoever ran the infirmary. He doubted the patients could give their consent, after all.

He took the opportunity to look around again. "Who's in charge of this infirmary?" he asked, hopeful he'd get an answer from someone nearby.

Seela tilted her head slightly at the sight of Eve, then blinked, equally slow.

"I like your face," she said simply. The strangeness of it appealed to her, similar to a pebbly lake bottom.

⋯﴾﴿⋯

"Hopefully the people who already know are limited," she murmured, lips forming a thin white line as the lines on her brow grew more pronounced. Her thoughts turned toward her daughter as she continued after Worm, but once she heard flowing water, her attention returned to the current reality.

Her eyes turned toward Worm as he asked if she had an idea of what she was going to say, and she nodded as she absently adjusted her blazer, and then her hair.

"Yes. Yes, I believe I do."

She looked around and spotted a place, then murmured "One moment" before she slipped out of sight.

Instead of a woman, a long-haired white cat with yellow eyes emerged, then jumped up onto Worm's shoulder, surprisingly light, and sure enough of her landing that no claws touched the young man's skin.

Eliza's voice emerged, slightly higher than before, but otherwise the same.

"And now, I'm ready."

Her tail swished with uncertainty that didn't color her voice.
 
Simon laughed slightly as well.
"Then I bet he's smart..."

He ran a hand through his hair and looked straight up, leaninh to the sude with a scrutinizing stare before looking back to Pearl, spinning slightly, and pointing dead ahead to a point left of Pearl.
"That way's East I think."

He unpocketed a compass to double check.
"Yeah, let's head southeast and get out fast, we'll follow the river once we run into it."

He lifted the torch into the air, providing a more efficient light-source than the glowing fungi all around them. He frowned at the gathering insects which had come to investigate the flame, and fruitlessly tried shooing them away. They were strange colorful beetle things, with large dark wings that flapped rather than buzzed.

---

At this point, the robed figures had completely replaced the prrvious group, save for Eve and the Hunters.

The tall woman spoke immediately, almost automatically, as to the location of the head of Infirmiry A.
"The office is down the next branching hall to the left, the one at the very end, you can communicate with the director there."

Her head swiveled toward Seela, and smiled softly.
"Aw, Thanks... I actually hear that a lot..."

Indeed, in the short years since her creation, the Coven has been thorough in trying to keep her calm and happy... usually in the form of acting like they practically worship her... In truth it was incredibly refreshing to hear a compliment from a stranger.
"...I'm Eve, in case either of you didn't catch my name..."

Still, her eyes wouldn't stay off the floating specks of dye on Hecate's invisible body.

Hecate began to mumble.
"...oh no no nooo noooo."

The reaction was instantaneous. Two masked figured towards the front held down her arms while two more at the back held diwn her legs. A fifth calmly walked around, placing a strap around each while Hecate fell quiet again. Masked figures exchanged glances, there was the sound of whispers. One took a pen and began to draw Elder Signs across Hecate's body, leaning over her like she was a desk.

---

Worm scowled when Eliza landed on his shoulder, and hesitantly turned his head to hear her speak. When she did, his eyebrows raised in amusement at her higher pitched voice. He shook his head, breathing very lightly, and spoke.
"Heck would have had a field day with you if her brain hadn't fallen off the hamster wheel back there."

He turned forward, his face contorting as he rubbed his nose.
"She'd probably try and convince your daughter to help with some damn shennanigan if she can turn into a cat too."

He rubbed his eye, and spoke.
"Yeah uh, I hate to break this to you but I gotta go hook the a sound system uo there to all the intercoms. Tech stuff. I'm gonna go do that, announce the speech, and then you can start meowing into the mic up there. Everybody in this complex is gonna hear it if I do things right."
 
Poppy nodded, eager to get going, and began to walk alongside him. She couldn't help but admire the pretty beetles and her surroundings more as they went.

"What're the beetles?" she asked as she reached for one, pupils and eyes wide with playfulness as she tried to catch one of the bugs.

⋯﴾﴿⋯

"Thank you," Bear said, then began to follow the directions. Down the next branching hall, to the left, at the very end. Seemed straightforward enough, and so he went.

He couldn't do much of anything in the infirmary at the moment, but if he spoke to the director, that would be something

~*~

"I'm Seela," the woman said, "And the male is Bear." She tilted her head thoughtfully and followed Eve's gaze. The sign, she's seen it often since arrival, and realized she might want to know what it was.

"That sign... What is it?"

⋯﴾﴿⋯

Elizabeth's ears drew back, and her tail flicked from side to side as he said 'daughter' again, especially so soon after he himself stated the obvious, that her daughter was her weak point.

"Please, just refer to her as Pearl. I realize you probably trust most of the people here, but... I've only just arrived, and my biggest secret is out."

It was a bit off the topic, but to her, it was important.

"As for the 'tech stuff', please take your time. If there's any parts of it you need another set of hands for, let me know and I'll change back."

Her tail calmed with the change of topic towards the current situation, and her ears lifted again. She couldn't deny she was curious about how the sound system worked—and wanted something similar for HQ, though with the way the local magicks sped the wear and tear on delicate technologies, she had no doubts that such a nice system wouldn't last more than a decade—if even that long!
 
Simon, holding the fire as far away as he could, took a moment to look closely at the small flying creatures. To his untrained eyes, all he could make out was the glint of their shells and the cacophonous flapping of their unfurled wings.
"...I'm wondering the same thing..."

The cat was successful in catching one of the flying creatures. It's reaction was fairly predictable, large wings beating furiously as powerful segmented legs attempted to pry themselves from her grip, tiny claws poked at her, but did not breach the skin of her palm. It was red and shiny, as if it's shell was made of a polished crimson metal. Two large compound eyes with a prominent spike between them sparkled with a dark blue tint, and membranous black wings which were neither quite like those of a butterfly or a bat. Two long, thin antenae swept randomly through the air in front of it.

Simon stepped up swiftly to examine it, the creature fluttering more furiously at his proximity.
"They weren't here last time..."

He looked up at Pearl.
"Any new thing thing happening in the Dreamlands is because a Dreamer made it happen. It could very well be that somebody created these."

He suddenly began looking all around, before speaking, almost excitedly.
"We should catch some, they might..."

He stopped suddenly, then laughed sheepishly.
"Oh look at me, trying to work again."

---

Bear managed to pass through to the Director's office without incident, save for passing a familiar blonde-haired young man of childlike stature, who jumped up from his seat with an eager expression before the woman in white from earlier redirected his attention.

The door was a large metal double-door with no discernable locks or handles, with a small glass lense and a speaker on the wall just to the right.

---

Eve looked around, nodding once and turning to Seela.
"The one all over the place? It's the Elder Sign. It's comparabable a cross or a ward. You put one down, and use rituals to create barriers that can block out harmful magic... without all these..."
She motioned around to the various Elder Signs surrounding them at every moment.

"There could have been hundreds of Byakhee coming in through that rift..."
She said nervously.

"...they come in swarms..."
Eve said, eyes blinking heavily for a moment before she coughed into her elbow and continued walking.

She placed a hand on Hecate's forehead as they came to a stop, standing before a staircase leading downward into a great torchlit room.

---

"Alright, Pearl it is."
He said blankly.

He looked into his phone, specifically, an unfamiliar app leading to what must have been a sort of group chat, which he swiftly scrolled through.
"All that's gotten out is Hecate summoned people, opened a rift, and fucked herself up closing it. So we are out of Simon and Pearl's hair at the moment."

He rubbed his eye again and suddenly said.
"Hey I'm kind of allergic so could you uh... hop down?"
 
Poppy giggled and stuffed it into her pocket with a broad grin, though after a moment, her brow furrowed, hand still in her pocket.

Dreamers made things happen. Created things. They just... came to be, between now and some point in the past within Simon's lifetime, new beetles just... appeared.

Did she count as a Dreamer now? Would her normal dreams affect this place? The thought turned her fingers icy.

"'Ow izzit 'at people kin... create 'is stuff? 'Ey don't... do it on accident, yeah?" Wide, pleading eyes searched him for an answer.

⋯﴾﴿⋯

The male Hunter looked over the door and area before he walked to the speaker and pressed a button. He was pretty sure this was how secure doors like this worked. You push the button, and you maybe talk, and then you're let in.

He hoped his guess was right, and absently used one of his feet to rub the back of his calf.

⋯﴾﴿⋯

Seela looked around, then returned her attention to Eve as she described how the rift could have been much larger, how they came in swarms.

She wasn't scared, though. Seela rarely felt much at all, and what she did, she didn't feel strongly. She tilted her head at the random spooky staircase that people seemed eager to take Hecate down. Seela followed, too curious not to.

"Spooky," she murmured as she looked, craning a little to see better.

⋯﴾﴿⋯

Elizabeth nodded to his summary, relieved. However, her relief faded partway through his request, and she jumped down immediately, ears pricked up as she looked him over, pupils large as she sought any signs that his reaction might be life-threatening.

"I'm so sorry. I'm in the habit of shoulder-riding, and should have asked first. Do you need any meds? I have a little bit of some over-the-counter stuff—"

She cut off and began to groom herself as she kept going, unable to shut up.

"I like to keep a variety of medications on hand, just in case."
 
Simon had almost started to continue walking, but something in Pearl's tone had urged him to look back quickly, and the look in her eyes stirred something in him. He remembered her mention of her own nightmares, and stepped slightly closer, lightly patting her shoulder, wanting very much to reassure her.
"That's not a problem, it takes a very powerful Dreamer to create things, especially on accident."

He wanted to say something more, but had no words for it. He opted for positivity, at least.
"Remember, I'm right here with you, in the motel room."
He said, smiling softly, before reaching atop a tree to grab a large backpack he had hung.

"Now let's get going before the Zoogs catch wind of us..."
He said quickly and quietly, casting a glance around before putting on the backpack and beckoning.

The small creatures continued to flutter around the flame.

---

A couple seconds after Bear had pressed the button, a voice shot out of a small overhead intercomm, mechanical in tone.
"Who is this?"

---

Eve's hand suddenly tapped Seela's shoulder.
"Oh! Hold on!..."

Her eyes shot to the left, then back to the Hunter. Pointing at a sign on a door to the left.
"The observation room is this way... The Rites can be very delicate procedures."

She gently opened the door, leading to a narrow hall that turned at a ninety degree angle to the right.
---

Worm shrugged.
"Nah, no thanks."

He checked his phone.
"A few of my buddies are hooking everything up... Should be done by the time you get up there... Good luck..."
 
Last edited:
Poppy leaned slightly into his hand, unable to look him in the eye until he mentioned that they were still asleep, next to each other. She felt a little better at that, and looked at him with a smile. She wasn't a strong dreamer, either, so... she wouldn't unleash some stillborn-kitten horrors on this world. It probably had enough scary things without her help, she was sure.

His cheer helped to reassure as well, and she looked around at mention of the zoogs before she followed after him at a trot to catch up before she fell in step with him.

"Everyfing is so pretty," she purred.

⋯﴾﴿⋯

"My name is Bear. I'm a new arrival, a doctor." He paused as he realized this person likely knew nothing of any of what happened in Hecate's room. "Hecate recently... One of the others said she's on the border of a condition called 'Overperception'. I have an idea that I hope will ease it, and I wanted to speak with you about trying it on someone."

⋯﴾﴿⋯

Seela blinked, then went along with Eve. "Makes sense," she murmured. "I'm not into magic so much, but it seems like something..." she trailed off, thinking a moment. "It seems like the sort of thing you need precision for."

She hadn't been told to watch, but with Bear away, and being away from the Councilman with no standing orders, it seemed like a good idea to observe, even if she lacked an eye for magic. Learning what she could about this place would be wise, if only so she could share it with the Councilman and Bear, who would better know what to do with the information.

⋯﴾﴿⋯

"Thank you." She nodded, then looked up. For a short few moments, she planned her path before she began to trot to the mic, jumping where needed to get to it before she looked in Worm's direction a moment, then tapped the mic gently with a paw, listening for the amplified sound.

Once she was sure she heard it, she gave a little trill as she sat and tucked her tail delicately over her paws.

"Hello. My name is Eliza Leauge, and I was summoned here by Hecate along with two Hunters who serve me."

It seemed a solid start. A greeting, an introduction. A common tie. The last part of a good introduction was to communicate expectations.

"The Hunters and I are oathbound to protect people who are preyed upon by monsters."

She inhaled through her nose, then let it out with a heave of her chest, the sound quiet.

"You will recognize the Hunters, Bear and Seela, by their long, dark duster-jackets. As for me, I will be either a white cat with yellow eyes or a woman with dark skin, white hair, and yellow eyes, like so."

She hopped into an out of sight area, and then stepped out in her human form.

To help ease any tension that remained, she gave another trilling chirrup. "Thank you all for your time, and thank you, Worm for setting this up so I could introduce myself."

Don't ramble, she reminded herself, and before she could start to babble on like her nerves so demanded, she gave a brief nod, ready to head down unless someone came to say something to her while she was still on the mic.
 
“It is… isn’t it?”
He said, eyes scanning the area as he noted the various plants and fungi which grew in abundance along the trunks and exposed roots of elderly oaks. In particular, he scanned for zoogs. He would surely see their eyes first, as luminescent as the cats they warred with. They soon came upon an incline descending into a grotto formed by where time weathered the soil out from underneath a gargantuan tree. Between the glowing turquoise mushrooms growing in great abundance, and a sudden influx of the beetle creatures swarming at Simon's light, he decided it was just bright enough for him to make his way, and he shut off the lantern. He lightly her arm and grasping smaller trees to try and keep them both from slipping on the dead leaves leading downward. They passed through without any disturbance, and Simon re-lit his lantern on the way out. Pearl, with her advanced sense of smell, would have been able to detect traces of creatures they have not encountered yet.

Though not yet in sight, they soon became within earshot of the river.
“Can you see anything in the dark spots?”
Simon asked, looking around swiftly, his eyes squinting and his face one of intense focus.

---

Yes- One moment.
The mechanical voice stated.

Bear could hear distinct metallic sounds ring out from behind the door. There was a sound like the releasing of steam. The lense to the side of the door glowed red suddenly, and the distinct was sounded a second time as the door stood, and there stood a roughly six-foot figure in a white hazmat suit with a bizarre tank on the back. The robotic voice sounded again as the figure clasped it’s hands together.
I am Carpenter., the Director of Infirmary A.

It reached out a two-fingered glove to shake Bear’s hand. Underneath the glove, the hand must have been chitinous.
I am open to ideas.

He withdrew his hands, clasped them together, and tilted his head.

--

They entered a dim concrete room with a low roof and a dial switch, eve turned it up just enough to see clearly. There was single long rectangular window which peered onto the scene playing out below, and Eve unfolded a few chairs as a handful of additional coven members followed. They sat, and once everyone had a seat Eve unfolded one for herself and rested, looking almost comical for how big she was compared to the chair. She rested her elbows on her thighs and her chin in her hands and watched.

The lights were dimmed in the ritual room with the exception of five candles placed equidistant from each other upon altars across the walls of the room. In the center was a large stone slab laying atop a circular platform. A worn black carpet lay from the slab to the entrance. One by one, they poured in single-file, taking position surrounding the platform with practiced discipline. One-by-one, they began a chant, inaudible from behind the dense glass, and slowly the flickering flames of the candles turned into pulsing orbs of dim light.

Something about the shadows in both rooms seemed to shift, and there was a distinct presence that could be felt emanating from within both rooms.

There was another exit to the ritual room. Another staircase, wider and more sinister, that led downward, with an electric glow emanating from within. The cultists looked to it almost simultaneously, as if alerted by some noise.

--

As Eliza made her way through the “Lobby” as Worm had called, she could see the main hall of The Ark in all it’s glory. It was an enormous cavern, replete with structures of scaffolds palettes and sheet metal, bright electric lights shone down from high structures, including the scaffold-crossed ruin rising magnificently high into the air, crossed with weathered symbols and new grafiti, with the Elder Sign used in great abundance. As she made her way along, there seemed to be considerable bustle. Signs pointed to various facilities, and it seemed very much like this was an underground town, a city beneath the city. She had even passed a structure advertising itself as a restaurant, though it was closed at the moment. It must have been late, for many of those she passed appeared quite tired. She eventually crossed a surprisingly sturdy bridge over what appeared to be an underground river, and looking down she could see pale shapes gliding through the clear water. In many spots, there were small wheels being spun by the flow of the river. All over the place, where were crossed wires. On many lightposts, she could see attached speakers of countless brands.

She ascended the scaffold without incident. The mic sounded and Eliza saw hundreds of heads shoot toward her in a second. The moment she said Hecate, there was movement among the crowd, them looking to each other and murmuring. The same happened with the next statement, and the third. When she returned in her human form, the crowd went louder and livelier, but calmed quickly, and now hundreds of wide-eyes looked up the the Councilwoman. Worm, who had retreated to his room the moment he was out of sight of Eliza, heard the mention of his name. He scrunched his face together and started counting.
“...one Missisipi…”

There was fast series of knocks at his door, he groaned and cracked his knuckles together, mentally preparing for the attention this was going to get him. The crowd fell silent, and sent one among themselves, who stood on a box and shouted into a megaphone passed to them. She was short and, her tan skin had a faint reddish tint.
"What can you do?"
She inquired.
 
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In the dimmer light without the lantern, Poppy marveled at the bioluminescence of the mushrooms, the size of the tree and the shade beneath its ancient roots, and even some palm-sized butterflies whose closed wings made them blend into the rest of the world, but when they opened, they became a burst of reflective electric blue.

She followed Simon, keeping a hand on him as well as she kept on, her feline balance and tail helping her avoid a tumble as much as Simon and his grip on the smaller trees.

Poppy was almost disappointed when relit the lantern, though that wasn't the only thing she could smell—something else, something she couldn't quite put her finger on. Simon remained wary of their surroundings, but Poppy, raised by a protective mother, lacked such suspicion of the world.

Only rarely did she feel unsafe, and surrounded by such beauty, it was hard to imagine why Simon wanted her to check the dark spots. Still, despite blinking at him like she didn't understand why, she began to look around a bit harder. She could smell something, after all, and surely Simon wasn't so paranoid that there wasn't something dangerous around. He'd warned her before about something...

"Oi do smell sommat, but Oi don't recognize it... Is 'ard t'see wiv the loight on, 'ough... What wazzat?" She blinked and leaned forward, trying to get a better look at a place where she thought she saw movement.

⋯﴾﴿⋯

Bear nodded and shook Carpenter's hand, managing somehow not to stare at the whole getup. As the head of the infirmary withdrew his hand, Bear couldn't help as he looked back the way he'd come, worried about all of those children.

He returned his attention to Carpenter after only a moment before he took a deep breath.

"During some traveling, I found several interesting strains of marijuana. It's a common drug, used for a variety of conditions, though in many places its medical and recreational use is controversial. The strain I have in mind was bred for the sake of an autistic child who suffered from sensory overloads and anxiety.

"While not the same thing, the medical effect of this strain dulls perception."

He took a slow, deep breath before he continued.

"It doesn't take a high dose for effectiveness, either."

⋯﴾﴿⋯

Seela watched Eve, then looked toward the large window. She thanked Eve for the seat, but instead stood to one side of the window, out of the way of others, but able to get a better view this way, and less likely to accidentally start napping.

The ritual began, and she couldn't have felt more uneasiness than if satan's fingers started tickling and grabbing at her in that moment.

⋯﴾﴿⋯

What can she do, hm? It was strange to her that was the only question, and all was otherwise silent. No, not strang—eerie.

Still, she kept her calm as she tilted her head.

"While I cannot enter combats directly, I have very high physical strength. I am accustomed to managing people and resources, and I have powerful sense of sight, hearing, and scent."

She tilted her head slightly, opting to answer about the Hunters as well, since they would be her hands more often than not.

"As for the Hunters, they have similarly powerful senses. They are also very strong and more than capable in combat. One is a doctor and has great endurance, and the other specializes in aquatics and stealth. Both have high regenerative ability, as well."
 
Simon looked back as Pearl said she could see better in the dark. His large eyes shot to the lantern, then the surrounding area, then back to her. He nodded subtly, then shut the lantern back off, deciding to put trust in her to be his eyes.

When Pearl said she saw something, he jumped a little and drew his revolver, peering into the dark with an intense stare. Slowly, the moving shadow became clear. It was not so much one thing, as a mass of moving shapes, jumping from tree to tree with near-silent grace. A single shape stopped among the jumping figures, taking a stance like that of a meerkat. It eyes were like hers in their intense shine, yet unlike hers, in that the pupils were like those of a cephalopod. It looked directly at her.

A few more flashed by, their eyes taking on different colors and their pupils taking on different forms, until the last lept behind a mass of leaves.

“...Pearl what was that?”
Simon said, unsure whether to brandish his sword or revolver.

---

Carpenter clasped his hands and leaned forward as Bear spoke. When he concluded, he nodded once, stood tall again, and spoke.

“It may be of good use during the early and middle periods of the recovery process. If you have samples on-hand, I could compare its chemical composition to our current strains.”

---

There was a rising tension. A sense of dread emanating from each person in the room. There was a muffled chanting now, and two cultists carrying the dye-spattered invisible body of Hecate came in from the staircase above. They laid her gently on the slab in the center. Their attentions too turned toward the lower staircase, and a lengthening shadow combined with the fear and anticipation of those around her clearly heralded the coming of something.

---

The crowd stood quiet for a few moments after Eliza's summary. There was a sudden influx of chatter that grew temporarily cacophonous until order was restored. Some of the crowd began to disband, but the short girl remained, standing stalwart ok her box as she asked another question. She took a deep breath;

"How did Hecate find you?"
She inquired.
 
"Lots of somefings..." she murmured. "Critters wiv weird eyes what stand loik meercats," She blinked, then pointed to the leaves they dove into. "Ey went in 'ere."

She didn't have to look back to smell his uncertain wariness, and it was starting to get to her. She adjusted her grip on her staff as her tail went still.

"A' least four..."

⋯﴾﴿⋯

Bear nodded. "Yes. Right here," he answered as he shoved a hand into his pocket with a frown of concentration. After a few moments, he pulled out a white paper bag with a braille sticker—the bag didn't look crushed at all by the weight of the pocket, and in fact, looked like it exceeded the pocket's capacity, but Bear seemed to pay no mind to that as he offered the bag. "This has seeds and samples from various parts of the plant, each individually bagged and labeled... sans the braille, that's just for me so I can find the right bag in my pocket."

He paused, cheeks reddening slightly as he realized that maybe that was an awkward thing to say.

⋯﴾﴿⋯

Seela leaned close, until her forehead rested against the glass. Brows furrowed as she took in the atmosphere, then glanced back to the others in the viewing room.

"Is this... normal for this ritual?"

⋯﴾﴿⋯

Strange how one spoke for the rest, and they were all silent for it. Even the most organized crowds Elizabeth had seen couldn't manage the feat. Something was up here, but still, she kept her manner professional and nodded to the question.

"She was recently in contact with someone who shared my phone number with her in case of emergency. Hecate lost contact with that someone, so contacted me to learn more about a situation. I'm not sure how much detail Hecate would like public, and there are a few details I would prefer to keep private for safety-related reasons."

She smiled, hoping to avoid giving the impression that she was trying to cut off future questions, and gave a friendly nod. "Is there anything else you would like to know? I will be happy to answer all that I feel is safe to share."
 
Simon's face went to his default frown for a few seconds, his eyes darting between the girl and the leaves.
“...well as pretty as everything is I'm afraid we'll have to pick up the pace out of here… that sounds like Zoogs.”

He looked around, then straight up, making doubly sure of his direction.
“What were they doing?”

He began walking and beckoning almost frantically, picking up a swift pace and taking a large circle around where the Zoogs had disappeared. The smell of the creatures lingered, especially where they had crissed what must of been a commonly used path.

Curiously enough, there was the faint scent of not only other cats, but blood which must have once belonged to one of the Zoogs.

---

Carpenter began nodding as well, leaning forward and tilting the mask of the Hazmat suit to observe the small bag. Bear's accidental dirty joke seemed to go over The Director's head, as he seemed not to mind it. He suddenly tilted his head, and inquired
“By what mechanism do the pockets of your suit function? I have observed multiple anomalous instances related to them already in my examination of Hecate's closing of the portal.”

He stood back up, clasping his hands together.
“If sorcery is involved you may want to observe restraint, the stability of our wards require much upkeep and anomalous energies may interact negatively.”

---

A handful of the others around her gave shrugs or glanced around, but most nodded yes. Eve laid a hand on the glass and looked intently at the rising shadow.

She turned her head toward Seela and answered, slowly looking back at the ritual as she spoke.
“It's going quite well actually...”

Still, she bit her lip. The shadow had grown closer now and they would see what was emerging.

---

The crowd, though greatly thinned, still remained, mostly quiet. The young woman looked back to the faces behind her, then back to Eliza with a shrug.
“What should we expect from your pressence here?”
She asked.
 
Poppy nodded, hurrying after him. They crossed through a path which had the scent of cats, but also blood and the strange creatures from before. "Ey were pausing t'look at me as they were going along," she described, nodding. "They give me the creeps," she added as she kept up the hurried pace, gripping her spear tight as her nerves slowly increased.

Even if the danger wasn't real, she didn't think she'd like to get caught up in a fight, especially against unfamiliar creatures.

Instincts told her to either run or 'flirt'. To either gain distance or to try to look like not-prey, but it was hard to know which was the wiser choice between the two.

"Oi, Simon... 'Ow much fahtheh?"

⋯﴾﴿⋯

Bear paused thoughtfully at mention of his pockets, and he looked down at them. It... was not something that he often thought about, since the jackets were a vital part of any Hunter's equipment (the rest of which being the silver dagger), but he closed his eyes thoughtfully as he looked at the jacket.

"They aren't wild magic, if that's what you mean by sorcery. Each one is linked to a shielded pocket dimension by way of the stitching. It's... the most stable magic I've ever encountered, in that each time it's used, it behaves the way it's made to, even in places where forces try to interfere with magic."

He paused, thoughtful for a moment, before he added, "If you think it might lead to trouble with the wards, I'll... be more careful how much I use them, though. Since we're here to help, it wouldn't make sense to cause more trouble."

With that, he flashed a brief smile to Carpenter before he started to button his pockets to act as a reminder for himself—and a visual to the other, to show his willingness to cooperate.

⋯﴾﴿⋯

Seela blinked at the reactions, but trusted Eve's the most. She nodded, then returned her attention fully to the ritual.

The shadow was getting closer now.

Whatever it was, it made Seela uneasy. She shifted her weight absently from one foot to the other, brows furrowed. "I'm not used to this," she admitted.

⋯﴾﴿⋯

What to expect of her presence, huh? She could have sworn she mentioned something about that, but decided the more diplomatic option was to just answer anyway. She wanted to give the impression that she was, at the very least, not malevolent against the group.

"I... don't have an easy answer for that, because I have only just arrived, and do not know what is considered the norm. However, as long as I am here, my Hunters and I can be expected to accept most requests for assistance and to fight should anything attack."

It was such a shit answer, she hated it as soon as it was out of her mouth, but it was the best she could offer at the moment. With the apparent leader of this place out of commission, making plans and establishing limitations would be difficult at beast, especially with her lack of knowledge.
 
Simon looked around.
“It um… shouldn't be much farther…”

In truth, Simon had in fact taken a wrong turn and was quite unsure of their actual distance to the river. He was certain, however, that they would find it before a half-an hour passed.

Naturally, he paid more attention to Pearl in the dim light, and looked around when it seemed she had detected something. At the very least, there was nothing he could see worth alerting her about.
“I don't see any more Zoogs… maybe the-”

He was cut off suddenly by the sharp yowling of a nearby cat, which sent him leaping backward in fright. From out of a patch of glowing blue mushroom caps rolled a dark shape, a black cat set upon by five Zoogs, which clung to the creature and overwhelmed it, biting and scratching in a cacophony of shrieks, hisses, and the weird fluttering vocalizations of the creatures.

The feline fought back ferociously, seizing one of the small brown shapes in it's jaws and sinking it's thin, sharp teeth into the Zoog's neck.

Um…
Simon uttered, wide-eyed and indecisive, sword drawn as he took a number of quick steps back, not being confident enough to dare swing his sword at the small creatures battling the feline.

---

Carpenter nodded once.
“Fascinating. Our attempts at achieving interdimensional effects through magickal practices have been disastrous. Perhaps tomorrow morning we could run tests on your equipment and artifacts to ensure their stability.”

He paused suddenly, a light flickering out subtly from within the confines of his mask.
“…”

He raised a finger, looking to Bear.
“One moment please, I have a message from the Grand Lunar- Er- I mean Professors. You should gather the others and report to the Sanctum.”


---

It emerged. A pony-sized creature of vaguely humanoid shape, bound generously by chains and weakened in the light surrounding it. It's legs were strange, shaped like that of a kangaroo and terminating in hooves. It's skin was discolored, scabrous, and pulled tightly over the bones in many places. It's face was most loathsome, in that it's vague resemblance to that of a human skull, lacking a nose among other things. Moved in short, clumsy hops. Fortunately, it was restrained by many men. Eve's response, however, was immediate and possibly alarming. She moved up against the glass suddenly.
“Wait what the hell do they think they're doing?”

She turned sharply towards the exit, before a voice cut her off.
"Eve, you can't interrupt."

It was as if the words froze her in place.
"Yeah... yeah I know..."

She breathed slowly in and out, and her eyes turned reluctably to the restrained horror, watching with a scowl as one of the masked figures approached it with a grisly knife.

---

Seemingly satisfied, the young woman stepped down from her spot and disappeared into the crowd. It was at this moment that the chatter grew again, and those who weren't returning to their dorms and activities.

A well-dressed young man managed to seize the megaphone and climb atop the box.
“So we'll be seeing your guys in field studies now?”
 
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