2020-02-19 - Wish

Itzhak wobbles in place, arms outspread trying to keep his balance. He mutters something Yiddish, blinking the frost from his eyeballs, flexing his fingers--they crackle, ice shattering and falling as he moves. Okay, this is terrifying, but...he's on top of it, he's okay, this is nothing worse than what he's already been through...right? Right. Riiiiight.

Grant is... well great. Just... great. He's underslept, and over-stressed. To a Baxter right now there's little scarier than being cold and alone under the bright open sky. The moon feels too damn bright. Standing frozen he murmurs looking around. Eyes frozen wide and hand reaching tentatively towards the brittle bush only for it to snap in his fingers. He stands still. So very still, but his heart is speeding up rapidly, breath shuddering in his lungs with a plead trying to stick the branch back on. He dabs it to his tongue and then tries to stick it back on...

...

...it falls off leaving the graffiti artist to wipe his face with his hands and then over his ears signing to the thing <I'm sorry. I'm late I'm sorry> He turns and looks up, flinching from the sky trying to back up, arms out to protect the broken plant though there are so many more like it. He broke this one. A slow, high-pitch whimper rises even if he can't hear it. He looks up to the sky trying to look and finding himself unable to. His hands reach up to cover his eyes and ears looking at everything being shrouded and broken, just like he remembers it.head to regain his

From the treeline, the glint of bright yellow eyes in the gloom, and the scent and sound of a distant brush fire. Soft crackles and pops, sparks thrown aloft into the still, frigid air before they cool to slow-falling ash.

She was settling in after an evening shift, tired and contemplating an early bedtime. Lasagna for dinner, a glass of red wine with it, catching up on the shows she’d missed. That is usually the plan. But in the midst of the latest episode of The Resident, Stephanie finds herself drifting off to sleep.

...

She is frozen for a time but manages to become unfrozen, the sharp cold air hitting her lungs. Stephanie coughs as she is overwhelmed by the bitter cold. She at least is wearing layers, something she’d gotten in the habit of doing since recovering from her bout of hypothermia. She looks around at the Forest she is, the signs of dusk hitting in. She stands still, taking cover behind the nearest tree when she hears the goat and the voice.

Roxy had just finished up her ballet class at the studio. She was heading out to go to the diner and grab some dinner before the contemporary class later in the evening, when the mist encircled her. Startled she spins in place, wide-eyed, until things clear and she realizes she's not in Gray Harbor anymore. "And me without my ruby slippers," she murmurs.

The line of demarcation between living things and dead things makes her frown sharply. She wrinkles her nose at the smell of smoke, and begins heading towards it, towards the clearing. She's dressed in simple yoga pants and a slouchy sweatshirt over her dance leotard, a scarf, knit hat, and boots completing the outfit.

Itzhak stumbles towards Grant, reaching out to comfort him. "Hey," he mumbles through blue lips. "Hey, hey, Baxeleh, c'mere buddy." He goes to pull him into a hug, big-brotherly. "S'okay. Gonna be okay." He's shaking with cold, though, this isn't as reassuring as it could be. He looks around, trying to clock who else is here, but ...oh, that's. That's a big boar. That's a really big boar. Itzhak's eyes widen. "Uh. Okay. Let's. Let's get moving, huh?" Grant is going to find himself the victim of attempted shepherding towards the clearing and away from that monstrous boar.

Stephanie sees the black-eyes and remains unmoving, watching the boar as she sees Itzhak attempt to shepherd Grant away. She realizes quickly that if she causes a distraction, she can help the others get away. She doesn’t seem fazed by the large boar, always calm under pressure. She closes her eyes for a moment and she summons a ball of fire in her hand, ready to attack but not doing so yet. If she can keep the boar’s eyes on her, perhaps the others can leave.

Grant is found still trying to apologize to the sky in short form saying something about: I'm sorry, I didn't do that, it wasn't my fault, but let's say it was in theory I would be very sorry. When Itzhak shows up it's jarring and he asks him, "Alive?" And then he's being hugged and takes a deep breath and pats Itzhak on the back, "Alive." Okay he's finding anchors here. Swallowing he looks around and OH! well the moon's ire is scary as hell, sure but the boar? He is coralled with Itzhak and informs the piggy, "No it's cool we got an agreement."

The other set of eyes, the pale gold ones glinting from the treeline, stay put. Their owner seems perhaps more interested in what the boar will do, for the time being.

Roxy makes her way into the clearing, and she looks around with her bright blue eyes. She isn't sure of the local customs, so she pulls her hat off, just in case. If not for the modern clothes, she might pass for a fairytale princess. She is the image of Snow White herself. Spotting the old woman, she moves slowly in her direction. "Excuse me, hello. I believe I may be lost. I was heading somewhere, and ended up here."

She looks over at the goats, blinking at their appearance, but their kind of adorable, so she smiles. She then gazes at the house. "You have a lovely home," she says quietly, politely.

Esme had been working on a knitting project of all things. A quarter of the way in to an afghan blanket when she felt that cold mist coalescing. Of course, being that she had been cozy at home with the heat on she'd been in a tank top and flannel pants. And now..she was freezing. Quite literally. A shuddering gasp escaping from her as the mist lets go, but the cold lingers. She is quiet for now, taking stock of who all is here - mostly faces she doesn't recognize.

She follows long with the majority, spotting the boar and her gaze snaps quickly to Stephanie when that flame is conjured. "Let's not s-s-st-start a f-f-forest fire yet, y-yeah?" Her teeth chattering a bit as she rubbed her arms, trying to warm up.

Itzhak doesn't like the sounds that fershtunken thing is making, not one bit himself! He picks up the pace. "C'mon, c'mon," he mutters, arm around Grant. "We're walkin' outta here, God as my witness." Heading straight down the path, it's only a few of his long (if clumsy) strides to the clearing. There's Roxy, and he regards her sort of dumbly. "Hey. S'you. Hi." To the old woman, he nods, wary but respectful. "Shalom alecheim. We've come in peace." Old scifi has taught him how to handle these situations. "Uh, you wouldn't happen to know why we got pulled here?"

If people were going to make their move, now would be a good time to do it. Stephanie holds on to the fire, no longer intending to harm the boar after hearing the old lady’s words. But she still waits, allowing others to pass before she heads to the clearing herself. She’s always concerned about the safety of others, to the detriment of her own. She doesn’t see anyone other than Grant and Itzhak so when the two of them start walking towards the clearing, she too heads in that direction, maintaining the fire because not only does it keep the boar’s attention but also keeps her warm.

She follows the path, until she finds the clearing and the boar no longer follows. After extinguishing her fire, shee slowly and carefully approaches, as invited by the older woman, giving a non-threatening wave.

Grant really doesn't recognize anyone here but greets with, "Heeey, bubbe." The sign he accompanies with is grandma. He boggles and looks around signing to the woman as he goes working on the words he wants, "Is the sky mad at the earth? Why did everything die?" He looks at the path where the pig is and back, "Duder's prolly hungry as hell."

Roxy blushes at being called a nice girl, even though she is. The squeal of the boar has her turning in that direction, not having realized there were others there. "Come this way, there is a safe place!" Well, she's not sure it's a safe place but, naive thing she is, she's willing to think it is for the time being.

When Itzhak appears she smiles at him. "Itzhak, it is good to see you again, although I am not sure this is a good place to be seen. Is this one of those Dreams?" she inquires.

Esme follows along, cautious, wishing that she had her sidearm. But she never is lucky enough to have it with her when this weird shit happens. When Roxy names Itzhak, she studies the man briefly and makes a mental note before focusing on the house and the older woman. "E-evening." She murmurs, drawing in a breath and trying to relax so her teeth would stop chattering.

Itzhak flushes. On the bright side, that warms his face into almost feeling something. "I been known to cause trouble on occasion. ...A wish?" He looks up at the half-moon, bright against the brilliant night, then down to follow Bubbe's glance to the sigils in stone. One in particular catches his attention: a sign of a blooming flower, with an eyeball at its center. He stares back at it, though this is one staredown he won't win. "Yeah," he says, to Roxy, glancing at her, and at Esme, who he doesn't know, and Stephanie, who he only kind of knows, and Grant. "This's a Dream, guys. We're in Their territory. So stay frosty." Unfortunate choice of phrase. "What do they mean?" he asks the old lady, pointing to the rocks.

Stephanie takes a closer look at the fire ring, a rock in particular catching her attention, one with a pair of arrows made from stalks of wheat, crossed, with grapes in 2 of the resulting sections formed, and an acorn and an apple in the other 2. The old lady mentioning a wish makes the brunette momentarily introspective as she considers the implications of said wish. When Itzhak asks about what the symbols mean, she listens for the answer, opting to stand around the fire ring rather than find a place to sit.

Once the others have wandered in closer to bubbe and her stone fire ring, and the boar's trotted off for parts unknown, there's a rustle of movement from the treeline. The scent of smoke, of something burning draws nearer, along with a soft crackling and popping, as of a bonfire built on damp branches and still-green saplings. The creature approaches the clearing slowly, golden eyes and long claws that churn the earth as it moves.

Grant is still shaking but considers Esme offering, "If you're freezing I'd offer you my flannel but I don't think it's doing a whole lot." His arms fold around him trying to keep warm. His head tilts and he blinks tapping the side of his head behind his ear shaking his head, "Sorry I missed part of that. I don't know about the half moon, Bubbe. Where'd the other half go?" Really it makes sense to him. Dream sense at the very least. he considers, fingers pushing back through violet spiky hair thoughtfully curious, "What would you wish for?"

Roxy ponders the woman, the half-moon, and the concept of wishes granted. Something tickles at the edge of distant memory, perhaps from childhood, but flits out of her grasp just as fast. She's lost some of her better childhood memories; the cost of what little she remembers of the Asylum.

The fire ring catches her attention, and she moves to look at the symbols curiously. "What do these mean?" she asks of the old woman, gesturing to a few of the symbols she's able to make out. "This one in particular?" She points to a weeping willow with crystals for roots.

Make your wish. Esme furrowed her brow ever so slightly, looking up towards the half-moon. What kind of wish? Her gaze lowered back towards the woman. Then the ring of stones. Since Itzhak already asked, Esme doesn't echo the question. Investigative mode is switched on, however, as she eyed one of the stones a little more closely. It looked like a sun with a fog rolling by it maybe. or clouds? Looking back to the woman. She does take a couple steps closer to the ring but doesn't take any kind of seat yet. She carefully watched the creature approaching but then nodded to Grant, "Thanks I-I think I'll be fine." She assured him with a brief smile.

Itzhak turns his head sharply as the goats kick up a fuss. There's something lurking just beyond the firelight, something that makes every atavistic instinct in him cry danger. And something else, something much newer, that longs to go to the creature whose eyeshine glints at the edge of the clearing. He swallows. The wish bubbles up to the surface of his soul on its own--too complex, too mighty for any words except these, whispered fiercely: "I will be your shield."

The wolf - and it is a wolf, despite the haze of white flame hungrily devouring its sleek frame - pauses some fifteen or so feet back from the group. Itzhak's long look is returned in kind, the beast's expression almost.. melancholy. Then it pads in closer to the old woman, ears flicked back against its head in caution, and a flick of its upper lip to briefly bare three-inch steak knives for teeth. A warning? Possibly.

Stephanie closes her eyes for a moment before she opens them again. She looks to everyone else offered a wish and then she says to the old lady, “What’s the catch?” The brunette’s arms are now crossed and she looks to the woman with an air of distrust. “There’s something you’re not telling us.”

Grant turns his head and sets a hand on Itzhak's shoulder, "For what it's worth... I got your back." Operation human shield is a go! He turns back and points to the trunk of teh tree. "And this part? I mean it's cool to make wishes but everythings' gonna come from something else." He states as plainly as he can, "Art's not free." He informs Bubbe EULA, really from a respect of her efforts one artist to another. "Does it have to be for ourselves?"

Roxy sits on the stump in front of the symbol she'd asked about, looking at it, and how the odd firelight dances over it. What would she wish for? There are so many things she could ask for, riches, success, revenge on her parents, but none of them sit well with her. They seem greedy and wrong.

The dancer ponders deeply for a long moment, then she says quietly. "I would wish to not be so lonely anymore." Her words are sad, pained, as she speaks them. She has a couple of people she considers friends, but even so she is not that close to them. She has been struggling with feeling terribly alone lately. She had a family once, a dance company, people she knew whom she thought cared about her.

Her eyes flit to the gleam of flame away from the fire and spots the wolf. "J-Javier?" she whispers. She's been chased down by that wolf in a Dream before.

It was a good question really. If she could wish for anything, what would it be? She could go the material route, or the romantic one. Family oriented, or friend. There were literally endless possibilities...but you only could pick one. She looks away from the clouded sun symbol and back towards the woman. And she speaks up, the words leaving her before the warnings register. She's cold and tired and distracted. "I'd wish for my dad to get better." Her gaze having returned now to the symbols. That was a good one. Her father would stop being sick and return to health, her mother would stop stressing out. She would stop stressing herself out. Her arms remain crossed - hugging herself around her middle.

She had started to feel a little warmer but suddenly felt icy cold again as the wolf's bared teeth and Stephanie and Grant's questioning of the woman finally caught up to her. A feeling of wondering if she'd just messed up by not being on her toes but - too late now isn't it?

No sooner does Bubbe snap her fingers than Itzhak's in motion. Bootheel digging in, he shoves off to dash in front of Esme, facing the burning wolf, arms open in invitation. "Not her!" he snaps at the wolf. "Me." And he beckons to it, fingers curling, a grin flaring on his freezing-cold face. "C'mon, krasavets."

The old woman snaps her fingers, and it's like a switch that's flipped in the wolf. One moment it's tense and still, gleaming gold eyes tracking bubbe like it's waiting for a wrong move. An opportunity to take advantage.

And then it's in motion, a sudden burst of speed as its giant paws tipped in jagged claws tear up the earth. It sprints straight through the fire without pausing, without stopping, and briefly it's a fearsome, ruinous thing; limned in firelight, where it treads, great billows and gouts of flame unfurl like living things before petering out to ash. With less than ten feet left to go, it drops low and attempts to tear a piece out of Esme's leg as it rushes in. Except it's not Esme that massive mouthful of knives finds.

It's Itzhak.

Stephanie sees the random wolf...Wolf?!?! What the hell??? Itzhak is attacked and she quickly springs into attack mode. She uses the harnessed energy of her mind to harm instead of heal. She aims to attack the wolf to disable it, to attempt to break its jaw.

Roxy startles as the wolf charges. "Javier, NO!" she yells, trying to stop the man inside the wolf from hurting anyone. He managed to find his inner humanity when hunting the White Doe once, could he find it again? "SIT!" Well he looks like a dog at the moment. Maybe it'll work with a Mental surge to add to it.

Grant sees it. That wolf? Awwww shit! That's not fear though on his face so much as it is confusion. The shaggy wolf lunges at his direction at Itzhak and in one move the skater has one leg up and over the back of the wolf. It's like trying to ride a bucking bronco. WIth nothing to hold into he grits his teeth, "Don't... make me... Jolteon you old man..."

Hitting the ground he hits back flat to teh ground and from there he says, "I wish the cap here would go back to his old self like not all angry and shit... preferably a people.... with an oatmeal cookie for me... and clothes on cause it's cold.... "

Esme screams as the wolf RUNS THROUGH THE FIRE and seems to be heading straight for her. She, of course, instinctively went to reach for her gun that is. never. there. And then Itzhak is there instead so she's quickly stepping backward. Jesus christ that is one stubborn wolf.

Did...that chick just call the wolf Javier?? Whatever, doesn't matter. Get the wolf DOWN is what matters right now. Not even like. dead or anything just maybe, knocked out. Yule said only use her powers if necessary right? This seemed pretty necessary. So she digs deep and focuses on some of the rocks. They wobble and wiggle and then go SLAMMING into the wolf's side. That oughta do it.

Itzhak doesn't bother pleading with the wolf to come to his senses. Others can do that. He has one job and this is it: brawling with the beast to keep it from hurting anyone else. This may be a monkey's paw of a wish, but Itzhak is in it to win it. He gets an arm between the wolf's jaws and his throat, and gets those teeth sunk in his forearm instead. The roar that gets out of him is damn near beastlike itself.

Stephanie figures fire isn’t a safe bet right now so she continues to focus on the wolf’s jaw to break it. There is no way she’d survive any other attempts to help Itzhak.

As the wolf rushes in, a flurry of retaliation; most of it simply shrugged off as it dives for Itzhak, when he interposes himself at the last second in front of Esme. Ignoring all attempts at invoking his name as a distraction, the beast tears into his erstwhile lover, snarling gutturally as it rips a piece out of the man's arm. Moments later, something goes hurtling into its side, and there's a sickening crunch of bones breaking. Almost simultaneously, a sharp jolt of current slices through it and into Itzhak, arcing the still air with a soundless crack before it bleeds away. The beast falls back with a whimper, then a fresh snarl with lips pulled back over long teeth, and its golden eyes darted between the various faces.

Roxy blinks at the old woman at her offer. Then she shakes her head. "I am very sorry, but I cannot come and live with you or your lovely goats, as kind an offer as that is. I have a business and students I must teach back home. Thank you for offering though, I do appreciate the kindness." She looks to Ruiz-wolf and the situation spawned from Itzhak's selfless wish. It was not a kind result to a pure request. Does something finally click from snippets of folklore tales heard as a child in Finland? Is she stalling while she formulates something?

Roxy looks to the old woman with those bright blue-green eyes of hers, before she states firmly, "I think it best if instead," pause as she looks around at the others, then back to Baba Yaga, "I wish we had no wishes."

Grant boggles at the old lady arguing, flat of his hand out gesturing to them to her, himself and then them again. "That's a shoddy gift! You can't just put that kinda schlock on someone and have them be okay with it." And then things are shifting and changing . His fingers tapping his chest as Roxy and he speak at nearly the same time "Me. I'll trade em." His head whips to her and his expression, while not angry, is a scowl back to Bubbe EULA, "Ikh veln meyn kikhl, bobe!" Some things he's not bending on dammit!

Esme felt a tiny bit bad when she heard that crunch of bones breaking. If only because Itzhak got shocked all to hell immediately afterward. She is wisely(?) opting to not do anything further. Especially when Roxy wishes for no more wishes That sounded like a good idea Roxy! But then Grant also has something going on. So...Esme is alert- but waiting now. To see what might happen with their requests and if she might need to do anything else.

Remember when Itzhak's Song could ground out electricity from another person? HE SURE DOES. And it's gone now. The wolf sizzles with electricity and then so does Itzhak. Luckily, he's still tough as hell, and lightning dances over him biting and searing him 'round the edges but he's okay. Mostly. Mostly okay. When the wolf drops away from him, he staggers back, arm bleeding, clothes smoking. And refusing to get out of the critter's way. "Nu uh," he rasps. "You still gotta go through me, baby." Then there's an enormous roll of thunder and things flying around and Itzhak is knocked to his knees by a flying stone. He reaches for the wolf, expression pleading, eyebrows up. "Dammit, Javeleh, come back to me, please!"

Stephanie looks to Itzhak to check up on him. “Hey are you okay?” She approaches him and the wolf carefully. “I know first aid if you need any help down there.” She is ready to go, but waits to see if anything else happens.

There's a moment, a distinct moment where it looks like the beast might relent. Slink into Itzhak's arms with its tail between its legs, and let all be forgiven. But there's a flicker of something in its golden eyes, and the moment's gone. Instead, it turns and bounds away swiftly, churning up the earth as it moves like a living bonfire, and leaving only ash in its wake as it disappears back into the treeline.

When the woman speaks her birth name, Roxy looks surprised, but then she's covering her face with her arms to keep the rocks from hitting her in the face. The rest of her, however? Is downright battered by them. "Syöjätär," she hisses under her breath. An old folktale from Finland, but their equivalent to Baba Yaga. Then a rock beans her in the side of the head and she goes down, hard.

Grant reaches up and snatches the rock out of the air and throws it back with a scowl like he might get up in the old lady's face to fight her for her spot dealing outside the Speedway. "This is not edible even by my standards!" Funny as it may be that's squelching the deal. it's also not the only rock flying through the air as he's quick to find out when he turns back to Itzhak and Ruiz murmuring a "Thanks" to Stephanie's offer. "Itzhak are you-" And he catches one of the back of the head and spins like a top and goes down.

Esme watches the wolf take off, a brief frown crossing her features. Stephanie has Itzhak covered so she dashes for Roxy - who is laid out. "We have to her out of here!" She shouts to the group as she starts trying to get Roxy up. She manages to not take any serious hits to the head, but definitely will be walking away with many bruises.

Itzhak bellows after the retreating wolf, grief and pain. "No! Don't go, God DAMN you, Javier de la Vega!" His face crumples as emotion overwhelms him, his hands clench into fists and he sags forward like he's lost all will to live. Stephanie approaches him and he shakes his head, despite bleeding freely and looking like he stuck his tongue in a light socket. "'m okay. We gotta help them." He struggles to his feet--only to find he's back in his apartment, an empty set of handcuffs dangling from his bedpost.

Roxy is found by one of the other instructors, fallen in the hall just outside the door of her office at the studio. When they move her she wakes up, still clenching the rock in her hand, with the willow tree with crystal roots. Ezra and Melanie drive her to the hospital to be checked for a concussion.

Esme is hoisting Roxy up, also reflexively reaching out with her other hand to block a rock flying towards her face. But then, this back in the living room. In her rocking chair. Knitting project on the floor and a solid rock in her hand. A sinking feeling growing in the pit of her stomach even as she hears her mother's ringtone going off from her phone on the kitchen counter.

Stephanie is hit by rocks, and she knows she will be bruised as all hell but she still tries to help Itzhak. But before she can, she finds herself rolling out of her couch, her TV displaying some random episode of something or other, she can’t remember. She picks herself up, feeling sore, and heads to bed after turning off the TV.