2019-11-21 - A Portland Excursion: Psalms of Air and Darkness

Eleanor is dressed for adventure once more, in jeans, hiking boots, a sweater, and her hooded rain jacket with the plethora of pockets. She also has a notebook in hand and a pencil, so she can map things out. She's been in good spirits during the trip, and now she looks both nervous and excited.

Not knowing what is on the other side is a little terrifying for her. Every time someone opens a door, she's afraid she'll end up in Modr's forest again, like she did as a kid. But August has helped her to face many of her fears, and to be a braver person, so here she is.

It was the last day of being in Portland! Isolde was curious to see if the Veil and that curiosity was helping distract her from other thoughts. Though she didn't know what to expect in this venture. She didn't remember too much from the Veil in this areas. Besides, it was very likely different than it was all those years ago. "What do you think we'll find there?" She asks quietly to the others as she eyes the door.

Itzhak can hear the thin spot singing to him, like a one-eighth scale violin playing only on the E string. The fortifications that the Portlandians have made amuse him in a flat kinda way. "That's a great idea," he mutters, checking out the place. "Kinda like in Minecraft when you put your nether portal in a basement." Who says video games don't teach you about real life?

He looks tired as hell, and he's limping a little. People might have heard his violin playing at an utterly unacceptable hour. As a result, he's jittering with overtired, nervous energy. "I dunno," he says to Isolde, not looking at her or anybody else. He's looking at nothing, staring through walls, poking around that enormous nose of his. "That's what's great, ain't it? You never know."

Like Itzhak, August looks a little drained, like he could have used another couple hours sleep. Or days. He might be planning to nap after this. And like Isolde he's a little nervy; his memories of the Portland Veil are scattered and uncertain, and filled with things such as being told he had a vivid imagination. He's in his black leather jacket, denim jeans, and hiking boots. Urban adventure gear, in effect.

He nods at Itzhak to open the way into the Veil when he's ready.

Ruiz has been lollyggagging about at the back of the group, taking his sweet ass time in meeting up with the others at the rusted out doors that supposedly bar the crossover point to the Veil. He has no facility whatsoever with detecting weak spots in the fabric of it, and is far more interested in cataloguing things on their way through the building. He's come armed, of course; his mean-looking sig sauer is holstered under a battered leather jacket, and his attire today is a casual assortment of tee shirt, cargo pants and scuffed boots.

Hyacinth is also dressed for adventure. Her shoes match her jacket. Super important! The elective choice is made to not wear the spikey leg so she doesn't stab the damn ground. Today it's the Bannister spindle. Sturdy, stable, goes with the wood of the landscape and her bracelet. See? Chosen carefully. Still she's a woman of pathological process and therein lets someone else follow Itzhak first. "Itzhak, can we focus and talk about people's nether portals later? There's not enough wine in the world right now."

Erin had spent the bulk of her time in Portland exploring little shops here and there doing a little Christmas shopping because that was coming really soon like a speeding bullet. She'd even purchased an extra suitcase for some of her treasures.

Now, she was with the group, not quite bringing up the rear but certainly not leading the pack. Hovering somewhere near the back though, closer to Ruiz. Her clothing was a cute jacket over an equally cute longer tunic and leggings for once, she looked comfortable at least. Without wearing heels. She was doing great, being all serious until she hears her cousin. She can't help but to laugh before she can stifle it. "I just love you, Hya," she says softly, still trying not to laugh. This was serious business!

Eleanor has one page marking the path from the Underground entrance to the thin spot and flips to another in her notebook to start mapping what's on the other side with all the eagerness of a born researcher. She lets out a muffled snort of laughter at Hyacinth's comment and looks over at Itzhak, because it's nice to not be the one blushing for a change.

Isolde glanced back to Hyacinth. There was a little flicker of amusement, but she remained quiet. Instead she reached out and gave Itzhak a quick squeeze to his upper arm. "Well, let's find out then."

Itzhak squints at Hya, attention drawn, and graces her with a full Yiddish 'what the hell is wrong with you' shrug, starting at his shoulders, rolling all the way down his long arms, and finishing palms turned up with a flourish. "That's not--you know what, nevermind."

He snaps his fingers to a beat in his head, heard only by him. It's slower, this, than many songs he plays. He closes his eyes, the better to feel, and sings low, menacing, and harsh.

"You can run on for a long time, run on for a long time...Sooner or later God'll cut you down.
Go tell that long tongue liar
Go and tell that midnight rider
Tell the rambler, the gambler, the back biter
Tell 'em that God's gonna cut 'em down."

And the border between the worlds peels open for him, responsive, welcoming as a lover. Itzhak steps through.

August coughs at Hya, smiling. "I even know what that means and it still makes me laugh when Rachel talks about it," he asides to Itzhak.

As the door opens August takes one of Eleanor's hands in his and grips it. He smiles down at her. "Here we go," he says, and steps forward, going slow to see if she'd rather be ahead, behind, or beside.

Ruiz probably didn't catch that crack from Hyacinth; that, or he has no goddamned sense of humour. Either way, his attention's drawn by whatever Itzhak is doing with that door, and he sidles in a bit closer to Erin. As if to make certain that if something comes tearing out of it, he's standing between it and her. When it doesn't? He touches her arm and accompanies her through, still keeping roughly to the rear of the party.

Isolde waits patiently, until everyone is through, making sure they all get in fine before she follows suit.

Eleanor holds tight to August's hand, swallowing hard, as she enters the portal with him, close to his side. It's like she's afraid of being more than a hair's breadth from him inside this place, which has been terrible and wondrous in equal turns.

Erin gives Ruiz a grateful look at his protection, and she follows the others in, remaining there with them in a close knit group. Her steps are light and she can feel the difference here as to home since the Gohl incidence. She takes a deep breath, feeling a little free here with it. She watches those ahead of her for now.

Hyacinth watches Itzhak and just lets the unspoken question hit her like a wave breaking around her blinking. When told to nevermind there is another blink. She doesn't speak videogames but is entirely euphamism positive. She waits and holds fast to her decision. That said she'll have no issue heading in but she's not to be the first. There's a wisdom in being the second person to try a thing; one she learned too early in life.

Isolde steps through last and can feel the portal closing up behind her. She is immediately uncomfortable with the feeling of moving like molasses. Her eyes pin to the black hole like view before they're drawn into it.

Then they're standing in the chasm and she's distracted by how eerily pretty it all is. The smell in the air, the noises. The rumbling undertoe. Wait. What? Isolde quickly looks down at the ground. "Uh, guys. Do you hear that? Feel that?' She asks - a slight edge of worry in her tone.

"Es gait nit!" Itzhak shouts in Yiddish as he senses everything begin to slip. He digs in with his immense power, but whatever's happening, he can't stop. Strong as he is, he is still only a man, and a black hole is a black hole. So it is his boots hit black sand in a sparkling chasm. Itzhak grabs Isolde's hand, checks for everyone else. "Somethin' moved us," he says, short and clipped, like that wasn't perfectly obvious. "I dunno where we are now."

Eleanor stiffens as the pathway tilts, as they all tilt and warp and fall in slow motion, drawn by some unseen gravity. Then it is seen, all too clearly, and her eyes go wide as saucers. Black hole. In the Veil? The whirling matter around them has her clutching tight to August, too scared to even scream. And then, there are on land again.

She lets out a frightened yelp which turns to an expression of pure wonder at the beauty of the chasm they have landed in. One hand stretches out to touch the rocky wall, where the colors are different. "What is this place?" she whispers.

It was awe-inspiring. Erin was immediately taken with their surroundings and she gasps at the beauty. Squatting down she runs her fingers through the black sand and tilts her head back to sniff the air. A frozen river of stars? Standing again, she outright laughs. "Who would ever want to leave this place? It's raining. But where? God, it's beautiful."

August grabs Eleanor when they land, because he's not into the idea of them all being crushed to death in a goddamned black hole. No sir. He releases her slowly once they've stopped moving and his eyes have adjusted, but like Isolde he sinks to a crouch and lays a hand on the ground. "Yeah...something's coming."

Hyacinth answers in that tone of hers that falsly suggests she has all teh answer, "People who want to go anyplace for lunch today, Erin." Her eyes look around and when Eleanor sneezes polledn? NEWP! Her green eyes get huuuuge. She takes a half step back. "You'd better not have that flu. If you do? leave it here, girl."

"Ellie." August gets up immediately, though unlike Hyacinth he doesn't hesitate to come up to her, yanking a handkerchief out of his pocket and offering it. "Did you breathe any in?"

Eleanor lets out a very ungainly sneeze that is an enormous squeak with a flailing of limbs. She rummages in a pocket for tissues and wipes her nose after. "Sorry, I must be allergic to something here. I already had that flu," she explains to Hyacinth. "Wait, what's coming?" Her eyes go wide again as she looks to August. "Um, maybe?" With the incoming warning she concentrates and armors herself with her Physical gift. "Why, is that BAD!?"

Isolde sees the stampede coming so of course her first instinct is, not to protect herself, but to try and protect Ruiz because reasons. Except that...Ruiz is suddenly not there. "Where did the Captain go?" She sounds utterly confused because he had JUST BEEN THERE. It distracts her long enough that she almost forgets to actually shield herself against the oncoming animals. But, she manages to remember! And hopefully do so not too late.

Erin is lucky that glowy stuff wasn't in the black sand on the floor she'd touched! She hears that something is coming and stiffens slightly, preparing for something. She frowns and steps back both away from whatever is coming and whatever it is Eleanor is breathing in! Then the ground is shaking and she watches.. "OHMYGOD this is Jumanji!" Yep, she's shielding herself.

"Where's de la Vega?!" Itzhak snaps, turning, trying to see where Ruiz might have hidden. "Christ! Which direction--" he's asking August, when that question is answered for him. Itzhak's eyes get real big.

Hyacinth looks around and says to everyone frowning, and assessing, and trying, in truth not to freak out because a singularity might have sucked up a public official. Quietly she says, "Okay everyone stay calm... stay quiet. We're just going to do a Hobbit of the Rings here and blend in like tiny elves." And she takes pause, assessing the terrain, reformatting the image in her head and weaving her glimmer like an overlay, but not to see where that new couch would best fit in this space by walking its facsimile around, but by replicating the image of the terrain over her companions to make them an extension of the scenery. Nothing to see here but we little boulders!

August grabs Eleanor when he sees the animals, pulling her close so they're a smaller object under whatever Hyacinth has made the beasts see. They'll have to deal with pollen and Eleanor's inhalation thereof later.

Ellie hangs on to August and is still and silent under Hyacinth's illusion, an unspoken prayer on her lips that the Veil creatures can't see through it, and avoid them.

Isolde gives Itzhak's hand a tight squeeze before listening to Hya. Staying still and quiet. Even shutting her eyes tightly.

Itzhak on pure instinct grabs Erin. De la Vega is missing, so now he's got to protect Erin (that's his irrational logic, anyway). He hangs onto Isolde too, teeth bared, forcing himself to stay still and let the herd stampede around him. Oh God, the noise! It makes him shake with overstimulation...and when the cold shadow slips over them, he groans in real pain. "That thing is with Them. It's bad fuckin' news."

Eleanor puts a hand over her mouth to still the urge to scream at the terrible dark construct chasing the herd. She looks at August and shakes her head to him. Not safe. Not safe to be noticed by that thing. "Don't touch it, whatever you do," she whispers.

Erin was safely ensconced in whatever imagery that was woven for them by Hyacinth and the sudden move by Itzhak meets with a quiet and very grateful look towards him as soon as she notices what is coming towards them. What was it? She lifts her hands to ward it off, even though it's not on her. Frightened. That's what she is. This was like nothing she'd ever experienced before. There's a look to both Isolde and Itzhak, she's certainly scared, but she's trying to look reassuring for them also. And she's failing at it.

Hyacinth holds her hands out because it makes it easier to visualize. Her eyes snap up to It and all she can whisper is, "Well maybe if it eats enough things it'll pass on dessert." She really didn't want to be used a a human toothpick either. For now she works on using her illusion. OH! GNR would be so proud.

Isolde keeps her grip on Itzhak tight. Reassuring that she is here. She'll attempt, if either Itzhak or Erin allow it, to try and ease him a bit. Share a calming sort of emotion. Though, she's worried and he might sense that too. Worried, protective. If those things are here...this was all bad. It was not a good thing at all. "Very, very bad." She agreed. She wondered, was this maybe where they were from? Was Jaqine behind this or someone associated with her? Or was it all pure coincidence? She uses her free hand to give Erin a gentle squeeze too. Like it'll be okay.

Eleanor centers herself. She goes zen and removes her hand from her mouth, looking up at the thing. She puts a finger to her lips, asking silently for everyone to be quiet. Please be quiet. Please be still. Be silent. Be still. Be silent. Be still. She may have watched She's All That a few too many times.

The calming finds Erin, she's never really learned much about blocking mental so she's never really tried to. But it was there and it was looking at them! She looks wide eyed and wild eyed to Itzhak and Isolde before making her 5'9" self as small as she can. Certainly she didn't want to be a target.

August tracks the bird's line of sight, grits his teeth when he realizes where it's looking. He sends out a mental line to any who'll take it. <<I don't think it knows we're here. It's calling our bluff. Just hold steady.>> Maybe he's mostly telling himself this. What can he even do to that thing? Its bones are more like a scaffolding than anything else.

Itzhak makes an awful sound from his gut, like he's been kicked in a very bad place, as the bird thing stares at him. He's clenching Isolde's hand too hard. "Farmakh dos moyl," he hisses, and light erupts around him, bursting into life.

Hyacinth is trying to reach out and then? Oh god it bet that baby unicorn thing in half! Looking up the stoe cold corporate carpenter's eyes get wet and glassy and there is just fear that manifests as fury. Maybe she was still latched into Itzhak's emotions from earlier, maybe she actually has feelings but there's a flash of ball lightening that shoots out and rolls at the creature, "PUT....THE UNI... BACK!"

So, if there's some attacking, Erin isn't going to just sit there doing nothing. She pushes herself away from Itzhak and Isolde so she doesn't make a target out of them and she makes a sweeping motion and stumbles back as she fails badly. Gaping at it, she ducks a little expecting a return.

August senses Erin trying to damage the thing, which inspires him to try as well. He reaches among the more solid pieces of the thing which he can grip, wills them to come apart.

Eleanor is not much good in Glimmer Combat. She's more of a utility mage of sorts. But at the moment, she's not even good at that, as she is staring up at the Shadow Raptor in wonder. "The colors, there is shadow, and bone, and then something like blood, that it's made up of," she murmurs quietly.

Eleanor is feeling soooo good at the moment. She wanders around now that the illusion is gone and she moves to touch this rock, or that rock, and crouches down, just in time for the bird to soar above her and miss clawing her up. Is she humming? She's humming! A merry little tune. She starts taking down notes about the rocks as if there isn't a monster trying to eat them.

Isolde sucks in a sharp breath as Itzhak squeezes her hand. That was gonna hurt later. She flinches as the light erupts around Itzhak. Bright but...hopefully it would be effective. But just in case it wasn't...Isolde looks around quickly for something she can perhaps use as a weapon. Oh hey! A stick! She grabs it just in time because the bird is swooping down now. Oh great. She releases Itzhak's hand to more effectively whack with the stick.

It hits!! Except, uhm, when Isolde does this the bird DOES NOT LIKE IT and she gets knicked in the shoulder blade. She cried out in pain and surprise as the tiny wound caused so much discomfort. And it was SO. COLD.

There the talons come and Erin crouches, she can feel the wind from the swipe it takes at her but she can hear it from the others, someone else was hit? She prepares to fight back. She wasn't going to die here! Well, she may but she wasn't going to without a fight! She tries again to go all out and smash something on it.

"Don't you fuckin' touch my girl!" Wanna see Itzhak in a rage? Right here, right now, baby. The talons didn't clip him, going by so close that a curl of his hair was yanked out. Ow that hurts! Itzhak just gets more pissed off. Isolde had a great idea though! A stick, he needs one. UGH the sticks blend in with the ground, they're all kind of gleamy metal looking! Itzhak swears virulently in Yiddish and a stick leaps to his hand. He flings it at the shadow-thing like a javelin. It rockets from his grip.

Eleanor ooohs as she spots something shining in the sand like a diamond! It's a talon and she goes wandering over to try and pick it up with a goofy grin on her face. She's like a curious toddler whose parents have turned away for half a second, getting herself into terrible trouble.

Hyacinth sees the flurry of talons coming in and she dives out of the waydeftly! wait... no that's someone else. She falls on her back, scared and pulls her fabricated leg up to block which helps! There's a gouge in it but the wood appendage protects her meaty bits and the most of the rest of her. Hands fold in front of her and like Emperor Palpetine lets lightening loose at the beast!

August would like to take cover as the bird stoops, but Eleanor is...nowhere to be found? Jesus Christ she's wandering around. "Ellie!" This earns him a nice, long gouge on his right bicep, numbing the whole arm. He staggers after her, grabbing her just before she gets to the dark object in the sand. "No! No, you said not to touch it." He gets an arm around her waste, tries to guide her into a small crevace in the canyon wall. "Come on."

"Hiiii love! You're so handsome. Let's make out like teenagers," Eleanor giggles at August and tries to kiss him. See?! Do you see what she had to put up with when he was high on dryad ichor?! Granted, they weren't in the middle of a terrible Veil excursion with a terrible shadow raptor trying to kill them all at the time. "MY BOYFRIEND IS INCREDIBLY HOT! YOU SHOULD ALL KNOW THIS!" she shouts to the universe at large.

The bird drops a bone from his nether portal. Erin had at least managed to strike it and she ducks again expecting a counter sweep, but she glances down to August for guidance, continuing to duck, just in case.

'Itzhak be careful!" Isolde called out to the man even as she too whacked the bird again, sending that electric charge of lightening through. It was a strong one, and it felt her feeling a little drained what with her arm hurting to move it. But Isolde was a stubborn one. She looked to see where the bird is going for now and, oh shit. "Captain! Roll!" Not duck. because he'd just get slammed probably but...uh. Rolling might help? Also hopefully he can hear. Or, you know, knows enough to see the obvious danger and get out of the way.

August, unfortunately, has his arms full of a girlfriend who has taken a good hit of some Veil pollen and is riding that wave all the way into the sunset. "Not right now, hon, maybe later." His arm hates this idea, but August scoops Eleanor up, carrying her just to make it easier.

He seems about to say something to Erin, but then, there's...Ruiz. Well shit. "de la Vega roll!" he shouts, not sure it'll be in time, reaching out to shear off some part of the thing in case it won't.

Eleanor is swept up in August's arms and she is all giggling even as she looks at his injury. "Aw, who hurt my woobie?" she pouts, before slapping a hand over the injury and encouraging it to heal faster.

Hyacinth calls back "That's a terrible name for sushi!" Trying to keep herself calm she crab-scuttles back trying to not touch the ichor hitting the sand and push herself to her feet. "That thing, Ellie. That bird-man-rudeness-construct right there." It's right now she's trying to get an eyeon teh herd, the people and where the thing went limping slightly before stabbing a stance into the sand next to Isolde. "Saw this in Ghostbusters. Combined effort." And with that she cuts loose! "Cross em!"

Itzhak realizes Ruiz is back at the same moment the shadow thing goes careening for de la Vega's face. You thought Itzhak's fear and fury couldn't get any crazier? Haha, WATCH HIM. He drops to one knee, slapping the sand with both hands. A ripple of force picks up and races the shadow bird to Ruiz--and erupts into a towering wall of defensive black sand. Fly through THAT, asshole, get scoured!

Ruiz is dumped somewhat unceremoniously in a clearing, and no sooner does he start to get to his hands and knees to get a sense of his bearings.. than there's a huge fucking bird-thing taking a dive at him. He doesn't stop to think, but simply reacts; his body rolling to put some distance between he and the beast, then his right hand going for his holstered gun. In a testament perhaps to his combat training, he draws, thumbs off the safety, and lines up a shot on the raven all in the same motion. The report of the thing going off is loud, and by the looks of it he clipped a wing. Not enough to take it down, but maybe it'll think twice about him as a snack. Then the sand itself is rising up to block the thing's diving attack, giving him time to scramble to his feet and backpedal away.

The echo of the gunshots triggers an automatic reaction from August; he ducks, dragging Eleanor down and situating her under an overhang. But no, it's Ruiz, not something else. "Stay here okay?" he says to Eleanor, and straightens so he can see over the rock.

Isolde dodges towards Hyacinth, wrapping her hand around the woman's wrist and sending a charge through her as if to amplify her own powers. the other woman's powers.

"Look at the pretty ash feathers, August, they're just drifting on the wind. They are staying here, instead of blowing away. How nice of them. And oooooh, that bird not-blood is glowing purple black deliciousness." Ellie is never living this down. As August gets them under an overhang, she hears something. "Do you hear that song? It's behind us, who is singing?"

Erin ducks and puts her hands over her ears. The thing had already attacked once and she glances again down to August, but her gaze lands on Ruiz instead, realizing he was there with them now. The relief is palpable and she reaches out to touch him and make sure he was real. "Oh God, oh God. I thought.." She waves away what she thought and sits up from where she was, checking everyone else. "Is anyone hurt bad?"

Ruiz is panting heavily by the time the bird drops from the sky. His gun is held in his right hand and braced with the left, and he's already dropped another round into the chamber, in the off chance the thing gets back up again. His clothing's a little dusty from his roll in the dirt, and he turns and spits more of it out as Erin reaches for him. "I'm fine. What the fuck was that?" Once the last of the raven has curled away into darkness, he stows his gun and offers her a hand up. And does a quick visual check to make sure everyone else - particularly Itzhak and Isolde - are present and accounted for.

Isolde falters a bit after the explosion of shadow-bird. Swaying a little and then falling to her knees and clutching her shoulder. Now that the adrenaline was fading, the pain of the wound on her shoulder was hitting her like a ton of bricks. She rocks a little, biting her lip hard. She can feel a few tears threatening to well up but all in all? She's holding her shit together remarkably well.

Itzhak lets out a choked grunt of pain, grabbing his right forearm where the delicate fernlike fractal scar sears his skin white. He snarls in Yiddish. "Gai tren zikh." Ruiz is okay, Isolde is hurt; when she falls to her knees, Itzhak winds his arms around her. "Sshhh, frosheleh, we can zap that shit out of you, baby, it's gonna be okay. Hya--" he looks up for Hyacinth, his eyes kinda wild.

Hyacinth says, "Rude! It was rude!" Her hair has seen better days. She turns to Isolde and looks her over, eyes wild and heart rate not coming down any time soon, and angry, scared tears frozen to her cheeks with clumps of sand clinging to the moisture. "You're okay. You are... we're okay. Okay." Her hand finds Isolde'ss arma nd holds on, maybe for herself, or the other woman, or because they are damn good at teaming up like a lazer canon and saying Not today bird!"

Ellie gets up and begins to wander in the direction the song is coming from. Like the super high, balls tripping gal she is at the moment.

August grunts and bites his lip against the pain in his arm. Thankfully the raptor thing is dead, which at least means no more of these nasty wounds. He eyes his. "Probably just needs stitching," he says to Erin, sagging against a canyon wall. He He blinks, says, "Singing? W--Ellie?" She's...not there. He put her right here and now she's not there. "Ellie," he says. voice rising with a hint of panic. But he reaches out to her with his mind instead, because damn it, she's right, here. <<Sweetheart where are you? Where'd you go?>>

Erin gets to her feet with Ruiz' help then watches him move off to check Isolde and Itzhak. She starts brushing herself off then notices Isolde. "August, can you heal her? I can try and help you." She can boost him again! She looks concerned at the threat of tears from her. "She's hurt."

Erin belatedly hears August and gets up, she starts searching for Ellie and looking for tracks.

Ellie is humming along with the song as she follows the path she's being led on. <<Oh August, it's beautiful. There is a waterfall and a pool, and there is a book on a pedestal. There is mist all around it, I love books!>> Yeah, she is so gonna touch it. The string-laden murderboard that is her mind is so slack and chill right now.

With Erin and August no doubt having their work cut out for them, Ruiz tromps off to track down Eleanor. And make sure she isn't touching anything she shouldn't be.

Isolde leaned into Itzhak as he held her. Shutting her eyes tightly. "I'm okay." She muttered, clearly not okay. But she was trying to be still to see if one of the healers could indeed heal this stuff.

Erin kneels down beside Isolde and gives her a warm, indulgent and patient smile. "Let me fix you. I won't unless you say yes, but I can. If you say yes." Her hands are warm when they touch Isolde, smoothing back her hair briefly, trying to make eye contact. "Look at me, focus on me and I can help you." The smile turns more encouraging. She had a pretty good bedside manner for a soon to be nurse.

Poor, poor Ruiz. August is now not the only one who can confirm or deny if Eleanor is a natural redhead, because she's singing and backstroking in the pool towards the waterfall, happy as a lark, utterly high as all fuck.

Her clothes are on the bank.

The wounds, while ugly and not particularly comfortable, aren't like Itzhak's--no fragments of the raptor are digging their way into August or Isolde. And yet, while Erin has no trouble healing August's, August can't seem to heal Isolde's, despite trying twice. He shakes his head, leans against the wall and ducks his head. "Did you find her?" he calls to Ruiz, uncertain how far he's actually gone.

Isolde lifts her head to look up at Erin as the woman speaks to her. Trying to focus on the words and the tone. She nodded a bit, sitting up some so Erin had better access. "Okay." Her voice is soft, quiet. Keeping her eyes on the woman like she directed.

Ruiz is able to track Eleanor down fairly easily, thanks to a quick sniff around for her mental signature. It leads him to a smooth-walled tunnel, which he ducks into slowly, gun withdrawn from under his jacket as he moves. "Eleanor?" he calls out, voice echoing oddly. And then he spots her. In all her.. yep. She's not wearing anything. He looks, of course, for a second or two, and then averts his eyes like the gentleman he isn't. "Hey. I'm going to need you to to climb out. And get dressed. Roen's looking for you." Gun draped loosely in his right hand, he scratches at his nose with his left, as if to hide a smile.

Ruiz adds, over his shoulder, "We're down here! Got something you might want a look at, too." A beat. "Uh, in a minute. That is. Give us a minute."

"I don wannnna!" Eleanor whines, stroking over to the waterfall to let it spill over her like she's some kind of.... well last time she was in the Veil she was hanging out with selkies.

August sighs, heaves to his feet. He can contemplate his inability to heal Isolde later. After peering at the rock overhang, he realizes it's more of a cave entrance, waves the others to him. "Looks like there's a tunnel."

He's not, however, giving anyone a minute, he needs to make sure Eleanor's alright. So he makes his way into the cavern, frowns when he sees the pile of clothes on a rock. Gives Ruiz a narrow-eyed, sideways look, sighs, moves to the pool's edge and crouches down. "Hey sweetie, how about you come on out?"

"AUGUST! Come swimming! It's so niiiiiice!" Splashy splashy. Eleanor is giggling and joyous. This is clearly some kind of karmic backlash for being a hermit for so long. Now she's an exhibitionist. She is never leaving her house again after this. "The Captain won't come in! He's a stick in the mud. Wait is there mud here? I dunno, I think it's sand." She dives down to check.

"Thanks," Itzhak says to Erin, and grips her hand a moment after she helps Isolde. He helps Isolde to her feet so they can join Ruiz and August, but when they get there, oh no OH NO. Itzhak blushes scarlet and averts his eyes. "Uh...is that a, uh, is that a book?" You know. Aside from the naked woman letting the waterfall sluice all over her.

Ruiz isn't looking! Never mind that people keep throwing their clothes off in his goddamned Dreams. He's pointedly looking away, and seems a tiny bit relieved that August's arrived. His gun is stowed, and he prowls closer to where the book's sitting, reaching out to touch it with his fingertips right as Itzhak wanders over. "What the fuck else would it be?" he tosses back to the mechanic dryly.

Erin finishes with Isolde and smiles at Itzhak. "Any. Time. ANYTIME either of you need me, you call or text. Please." She tells Itzhak and Isolde before she goes along with August and she sees what is going on. She presses her lips together to stop from laughing at the look from August to Ruiz. There's even a cough that sounds suspiciously like a horse neighing because the laughter is winning! "Ellie, next time you're going out with us to ladies night."

Hyacinth wades over. She might be murmuring to herself. Veil life man. But this is a thing and off goes the coat. She moves over closer to the water. Looking to Them she says, "I'll go get her." she is, however, going to get her shoes off because she's not losing them in teh vil or ruining them with water damage!

"How the fuck should I know?" Itzhak fires back at Ruiz, way more ready to get aggravated than terminally embarrassed because his bff's girlfriend is doing some serious frolicking in the nude. He tromps over to investigate the book, too.

Ellie surfaces and declares, "YES! I was right! Sandy bottom!" She begins stroking back to the bank near August, climbing out, completely starkers as the day she was born and totally not even phased by it. She throws her arms around him and grins with a draw out, "HIIIIII! There's a book! Let's go see the book, August!"

Ruiz has made better decisions in his life. Worse ones, too. Much worse ones. But picking up that book and allowing his mind to sift over it with power rolling out of his fingers and the places where ink's buried in flesh, with pale and vaguely acrid traceries of electrical current.. he shouldn't touch it like this. And yet he does. Because sometimes his curiosity gets the better of him. He doesn't even seem to hear Itzhak sassing him back, so absorbed is he in the thing.

August is kind of relieved he's not footing a drycleaning bill for Hyacinth, in all honesty. "Yeah, come on out and we'll check out the book," he says, baiting the lure appropriately. He casts Hyacinth a relieved and grateful look for the offered assistance, regardless, moves to grab Eleanor's clothes and offer them to her. And act as a bit of a shield so she can get dressed not in front of God and everyone.

Hyacinth moves to help Eleanor up which turns out to be entirely unneeded so she picks up her shoe and wanders to see what teh excitement is about. "It's a book." Sure thing. "Why are we worrying about the- wait does this have our answer in it?" Sure now she's nosy! She does ask Ruiz, "How are you with languages?" noting the cover and then remembering whom she asked. There's a sigh and a pinching of the bridge of her nose. "Let's forget I asked."

Eleanor, thankfully, puts her clothes on, though it takes a try or two to get them sorted after the clearly haphazard, rushed way she must have taken them off. Then she lets August lead her over to the book and she squints at it. "I think I can....almost read the cover..." she murmurs.

Erin walks over where the book is too, because enquiring minds want to know. "I know French, Spanish and a litttle German." But maybe she doesn't need any of those. She looks at her cousin then the book, "What's in there?"

Ruiz doesn't actually respond to anything anyone is saying. Nor does he appear to be reading the book so much as staring at it blindly, glassy-eyed as his skin hisses with electrostatic charge. Abruptly, he flings the thing away from him, and it hits the ground and tumbles once before sprawling with its pages fanned out. He looks like he might throw up. And in fact dry heaves, once, while stumbling away.

Hyacinth nods absently and seems to follow Ruiz's line of thinking to use her brain to scry the cover and that comes to an abrupt stop when Ruiz staggers back. "I was hoping for someone else omni...lingu-" she lifts her shoes up and away from where Ruiz is even though he's not near them present. Protect some shoes here! "-al." THere's a sigh and with some resolve she tries to bolster herself and see what the hubbub is about. It's that or scry the naked redhead and she's fairly certain that wouldn't be so appreciated later.

"De la Vega," Itzhak says in alarm as Ruiz just picks up the damn book. And then has quite the bad reaction to it! Itzhak moves, putting himself between Ruiz and the book. "Shit," he mutters.

Erin looks over at the book then Ruiz and frowns, sort of grateful when Itzy moves protectively over towards Ruiz. She looks at her cousin then the book, trying to see if there's any writing on it she can read. Without touching it.

"Whooooooooah that was totally trippy. So many colors. I didn't know there were so many colors in the whole universe," Eleanor croons. "Oh that book, the title was something about Psalms of Air and Darkness....." she giggles again, still trying to get her rain jacket on straight as she's mis-buttoned it.

Ruiz folds forward heavily, hands pressed to his thighs, head tipped forward as he waits for his breathing to even out and the urge to puke up his guts to pass. He starts to speak, but his mouth feels like molasses, and he tries to blink but his body doesn't want to respond. Then there's simply nothing for what feels like minutes; and when he finally sucks in a breath, they're back in the tunnels like nothing happened. He shoves himself upright, does a headcount starting with Itzhak and ending with Erin.

Itzhak groans queasily as the universe turns itself inside out again. "Oy vey izt mir..." When the ride comes to a full and complete halt, he checks with Isolde, then limps over to Ruiz and puts his arms around him. Grouchy hugging. It's happening.

Hyacinth is frozen still, her hand right where she left it on the book; a statue. Her eyes stare wide into the middle distance. Even withteh book gone her hand hovers where the pages should be and tears, finally, crawl down her face streaked with dust and sand down from emerald windows.

August starts when Ruiz tosses the book like that, and begins to warn Hyacinth against having a look for herself given Ruiz's reaction. But time is stopping, they're stopping, the world is stopping.

He gasps, wavering as they wind up back in their world. Itzhak is checking on Ruiz, and Eleanor is still tripping balls. He sees Hyacinth crying, clears his throat. "How're you doing," he asks, voice low. He can't really disengage from Eleanor lest she literally run out into traffic.

Ruiz is still looking not quite.. entirely right, to be honest. He starts to move, and his knees nearly buckle under his weight, forcing him to slap his hand against the tunnel wall and pause a moment. Which is about the time Itzhak comes over to grouchy hug him. He tries to slap the other man on the back, make like they're bros having a manly moment. But he still sort of wants to tear his insides out, and sinks against those arms a bit more heavily than intended.

Eleanor spins in circles, letting her hair flow around her to dry it. "I feel so cleeeeeeeeeean! Like an Irish Spring commercial! Only without the shitty smelling soooooap!"

Erin just watches, not touching anything, she approaches Hyacinth. "Is everything okay?" She doesn't ask about the book, but she sure is curious about it. She remains there nearby her, offering her hand, offering a concerned look to Ruiz as well.

August slips his good arm around Eleanor's waist, pulling her close like he's catching her mid-dance. "Come on hon. Let's go home, okay? You can take some...Benadryl, for the drive." For his sanity. He waits to make sure everyone else is ready to head back out before starting the process of guiding her to the car.

Itzhak braces himself to let Ruiz lean on him, holding him tight. "Don't listen," he mutters to him. "Whatever They say, don't listen." He glances over his shoulder, and his hazel eyes get big seeing Hyacinth Addington weeping. "Hya, don't listen."

Hyacinth maintains stillness until August asks her a direct question and Erin is near. Really she's on auto-pilot but her words come from a place of admirable professionalism. It's rote and years of forging herself to what she needs to be and buring sentiments which work as well as hugging an eel. "We are doing." is her answer. Looking to Erin she shakes her heas slightly, "No, but that's why we've come." She reaches out sliding ehr hand in Erin's, gently and gives it a squeeze that holds for a brief moment and then she turns to leave, shoes dangling from her hooked fingers, and wood striking ground as she walks. So much to think about. Too, too much to process.

Ruiz might or might not hear that directive from Itzhak. He'll be coherent enough to walk on his own power, after a minute or two, but doesn't have a single word to say to anyone for the rest of the trip back to the parking lot.