"If that's your definition of a ritual that worked, young feller-me-lad, I hope and pray that I never get to see one that fails."

Clemency House: Living Room(#2823RFJ)

The living room of the townhouse is well lit, with simple white walls and mock wooden floors. Theres a few basic carpets that line the floor to keep feet warm, as well as air vents...but overall, the living room is rather barren. There is an old recliner sitting in the corner, a leather couch with a few small rips in it against the wall, and an old late 90's model CRT TV that sits on a stand, gathering dust. There's no gaming system, but there is an old VCR player sitting there under the TV.

Most of the light in the living room really isn't from the outside. There are a pair of windows with blinds to cover them, but, the sun moves so that they rarely light up.

There is a staircase that leads upstairs, as well as a second staircase that leads downstairs right next to it. The one leading up seems to lead to another hallway while the down staircase has a door at the end. There is a front door that is wooden and freshly painted, while the kitchen behind seems to be just as barren as this room.

Still looking gaunt and lean from his recent ordeal, Cedric and Katya approach the deceptively normal-looking suburban house at dusk on the winter evening. A hum of television from the front window shows that it's occupied, and Cedric scowls. He turns to Katya as though to pass a remark, but then doesn't speak after all -- presumably having recalled that Katya doesn't speak his language, in this form. Instead he beckons her on, up to the front door, pulling out his key.

Katya follows Cedric dutifully, shivering in the cold and wiping off a stream of snot that was running down her face. She doesn't seem to have changed her dedicated clothes, and is still wearing a light shirt, no wonder she's cold.

The door is still unlocked and Cedric can simply push his way inside. There in the front room sits Mathias, staring at the television that's rerunning an old Doris Day movie. Cedric walks up and calls his name, without response. Then he reaches out and shakes him by the shoulder, pretty roughly. Still no response. He looks questioningly to Katya, then shifts up to Crinos. ~What in Gaia's name has happened?~

As soon as they're inside, Katya drops down into her hispo form, and gives the living room a quick sniff-over. ~I don't know. Wyvern gave me a dream. I followed it here with Bloods-Bane and Cycle-Breaker. We went into the umbra with the water puddle and found Promises-Kept in a blue thing, with spiders draining the blue stuff from him. Then we went into another small place with a mirror and found two cocoons. The spiders were trying to freeze and capture us, so I called out a retreat, but Bloods-Bane clawed you out of your cocoon and we took you back with us.~

Cedric looks at Mathias' unresponsive form again. His face takes on an ugly scowl and he punches the theurge on the side of the head. Mathias jerks to one side from the impact, but there's no response otherwise. Lightning seems about to repeat the punch, but pauses. ~Wait... two coccoons and Promises-Kept? Whatever was in the other one? Or whoever?~

Blackriver flicks an ear. ~He does not move in the flesh realm~ She notes, peering at Cedric's attempts to rouse the Theurge. ~I don't know what's in the other cocoon. I couldn't see it or smell it.~ She adds this last bit in a, 'well duh' sort of tone.

Lightning looks pensive, or as pensive as a garou in crinos ever can. ~It might hold many spiders' eggs. Or something else of the Weaver. Or maybe there is another captive in it. We shall not know unless we go in and break it open.~

Blackriver shakes herself and huffs an agreement, shifting her weight from one huge leg to another. Even without words the message is clear: she's sick of waiting around.

Lightning doesn't fail to note the lupus's impatience. ~Very well. We go in. And come out as soon as we can. No matter how tempting it is to kill weaver-things. We must not let ourselves be trapped in there. I will die sooner than go back into a cocoon.~ He beckons Blackriver to follow him to the bathroom mirror.

Blackriver's ears twitch in acceptance at this, but she doesn't follow Lightning into the bathroom. ~If we go into the shadow in there, the spiders will start to attack us right away.~ She informs the Fostern. ~Their trap is in there. Before we went to that room, the spiders didn't bother us. Promises-Kept is in the other room, maybe we can free him first and then go into the trap-room to open the cocoon. That is safer.~

Lightning seems about to argue with the lupus, but then pauses. ~You know what is on the other side, better than I do. Tell me about this trap.~

Blackriver paces in a small circle, restless about the wasted time. ~When we went in the water-pool, there were webs everywhere, but no spiders. But we could hear the spiders. We were careful not to step on the webs, and the spiders didn't bother us. We found Promises-Kept in the same place he is in the flesh-realm, but left him to explore the rest of the place. Then we went into the room with the mirror and saw the cocoons. The spiders made more noise, and they came out and bit us. Their bites hurt, and they poisoned us. We began to freeze and slow down, so we went back into the flesh realm after grabbing you.~

Lightning listens carefully. ~Then we must be fast,~ he simply says. ~Go in, save this young worthless fool of a theurge, break into the other egg and see what it contains, and escape.~

Blackriver flicks her ears in agreement, and turns in a circle again. ~Are we using the water-pool to go in?~ She asks, motioning towards the bowl of water left on the living room table, still with a note innocently asking people to go into the umbra beside it.

~Would not the mirror in the washing-place be wiser?~ queries Lightning.

Blackriver blinks, and cants her head to the side. ~But then we would set off the trap.~ She points out, body tightening in frustration.

Lightning again seems about to argue, but chokes himself back. ~Very well, through the bowl it is.~ And he steps over to it.

Blackriver blinks again, and follows Lightning, letting the Fostern go first into the umbra if that's what he wants.

Lightning pauses for just a second before plunging in. Could it be that he was hoping Blackriver would precede him? Who knows.

Well whatever the reason, Blackriver doesn't stop to think about it, she just goes in after Cedric.
Lightning surprises himself with how quickly he bursts through the Gauntlet, which seems thinner than normal as he enters, yet seems to tighten up as he pops through and Blackriver arrives right behind him. There are webs all around, and a bright blue box, the hue of television tuned to a dead channel, stands before them pulsing. ~Whatever is this?~ snaps Lightning.

Blackriver blinks up at Lightning. ~I don't know. Promises-Kept is in it. That's all I know.~

Lightning peers at the box. On closer inspection, images may be seen shimmering within it. Doris Day... a college football match... a newscaster... the Smothers Brothers... Jay Leno. It's like a TV tuned to all the channels that ever were, playing every show that ever was at once. And it smells of Mathias. ~Then let us take him out of it,~ he snaps. He circles the box checking all around it, and finds several blue lines of power, one seeming to run in and the rest seeming to run out. ~If we lift it will it hurt him?~ he wonders. ~Then again, if we leave him here, the Weaver will claim him before long. If she has not already.~

Blackriver doesn't answer the Galliard's musings, instead keeping a lookout for any pattern spiders that might be nearby. Her nose twitches at the smell of Mathias.

Lightning picks up the box. It seems surprisingly light. Nothing untoward seems to occur. ~Shall we run for it with this?~ he asks. ~Or open the other egg?~

Blackriver blinks and freezes, suddenly thrown off guard by the elder asking her advice. ~If the spiders do not attack us for disturbing the blue thing, we should try to open the cocoon, yes?~ Her reply is fraught with discomfort at even this semi-ordering of a Fostern.

Lightning senses Blackriver's diffidence. ~You know this place, philodox, you know its dangers.~ He checks around to see what the spiders' reaction is; they seem to be moving more quickly, but more in confusion than in threatening mode. ~Come then,~ he commands, and with the box in one of his huge crinos arms, he makes a charge for the umbral bathroom.

Blackriver follows eagerly, ready to fight or flee as required.

The bathroom is plainly the heart of the spider-infestation, and it's hard for Lightning to fight his way to it through the milling hordes of circling, confused arachnids. A few of them make as if to attack him, only to be brushed aside or squashed. Others just blindly get in his way, and suffer similar fates. ~I will hold them off!~ he commands Blackriver. ~Break open the egg!~

Blackriver raises up into crinos and claws at the cocoon, careful to keep the hoards of approaching spiders visible in the corner of her eye.

As Blackriver's claws tear at the webbing, the form of Ashley can be seen, with her arms crossed over her chest, eyes closed. Her hair is stringy, and her clothing is soaked in sweat. Along her back is her bows, and arrows, and she seems rather straight as a board. As she blinks her eyes, she lets out a loud breath, then jerks forward, leaping up into the Crinos form, as if she was about to lunge at the Fang instinctively.

Blackriver draws back and tenses in surprise at the springing Crinos, taking half a second to collect herself. ~Get out of the umbra.~ She growls at the Theurge, motioning at the mirror. The Philodox then turns to glance at Cedric, to see how he's doing.

Lightning, between watching the spiders and keeping grip of the blue box, is trying to keep his eyes on several things at once. Ashley's sudden appearance and shift to crinos draws his attention to her, and he gives an instinctive howl. ~Danger! Black Sp... no! Wait!~ A hint of the Fury's scent, though overlaid by spiders and Weaverishness, hits his nose. ~Lures-the-Beast! How came you here?~

With a loud roar of obvious pent up frustration, Lures-the-Beast rips forth one of her bane arrows, then steadies it into her bow. There is a blaze of light flowing from her as she lets loose, sending the screaming arrow into the heart of a spider which leaps through the door, shattering it to dust. ~I came for you! I saw you dying in my dreams!~ Another arrow is notched as the war starved Fury pulls back her string. ~I was clawing you out, next thing I know, I was in darkness.~

Blackriver's body tenses and she lets out a growl, glancing at Lightning. ~We don't have time to talk.~ She grumbles. She looks ready to fight any spiders that attack, but she also looks ready to jump through the umbra and back into safety.

Lightning seems about to retort to Lures-the-Beast, but -- yet again -- the galliard finds himself choking back his words. ~She is right,~ he says instead. And indeed, the spiders are massing around them. ~We must leave, now. Save your arrows for another time, Fury.~

With a snarl, Lures-The-Beast is obviously hungry for war as she sends another spider sailing with a well placed kick, then jerks her head towards the mirror. She stares into the glass for a quick second, before feeling the familiar tug as she reaches through, then starts to pass.

Blackriver licks her nose and turns to the mirror as well, pushing herself through the gauntlet. She spares Lightning one more quick glance, to make sure he's getting through alright while carrying Mathias.

Lightning turns his back on the other two, allowing them to pass through first, while he brings up the rear, fending off spiders all the way. Only when he's seen them pass through the mirror does he seek to follow them.

After stepping through, Ashley shifts back down into her homid form, rubbing the back of her neck, and finding her clothing clinging to her in tattered remains. Sheathing her arrow once more into her satchel, and then slips her bow over her arm, she waits for the other two patiently.

Blackriver comes out, almost crashing into Ashley as her giant hispo form fills the small bathroom. She trots out of the room, sits down in the doorway, and turns to look at the mirror, waiting for Cedric to arrive.

There's a distinct delay, enough to start the two female garou wondering, before Lightning comes through the mirror. He comes backwards, clutching the blue box in a death grip, and falls on his regal crinos ass as he finally makes it through the gauntlet. The box drops from his grip and sits there on the bathroom floor, glowing and pulsing faintly. Lightning himself is panting for breath, and seems disinclined to get up in a hurry.

Mathias stands at the threshold of the bathroom. Just standing there. Vacant expression, body mostly slack. All in all, he sorta looks like a zombie, though his arms aren't raised in attempts to get at brains. Rather, he shuffles forward, looking about to fall over at any moment.

"So what the fuck was that all about?" Ashley barks out rather loudly as she turns her eyes to Mathias, then back to Cedric.

Blackriver melts down into lupus and blinks at Mathias, someone confused. She pads towards the glowing blue box, and nudges it with her nose, then looking back at Mathias.

Lightning doesn't immediately respond. Nor does he seem to have noticed Mathias. He does shift back down into homid, still sitting there on the bathroom floor, before answering Ashley. "How should I know?" he barks back. "It's all that colossal goof Mathias' fault. I'm just thankful we found you. I had no idea you were caught up in this mess."

Mathias shuffles forward more, until he just collapses, on top of the box. Though, as he does, it seems to disappear into his body, leaving only a solid chunk of webbing under him. Nope, he's not moving, but his breathing is slowly increasing!

"Yeah. Well... you're welcome." Ashley says as she runs her fingers back through her unwashed hair, letting out a heavy breath. Her eyes turn towards Mathias, then says. "Well, there's your rookie over there." She says as she looks down at herself. "Ah, fuck. There any clothes around here?"

Blackriver sniffs at the still Fang, and flicks her ears in annoyance. Her gaze drifts over to Cedric. Lightning-rhya. Are you healthy? Are you hurt? She asks, a touch of concern in her posture. Ashley is completely ignored.

"I've got some," Cedric responds. He seems torn between staring at the Fury and staring at Mathias. "I guess you're a Fury, you won't mind wearin' a man's shirt. I'm okay, Blackriver... which is more than I can say for this specimen." He climbs back to his feet and starts to move towards Mathias."

Mathias is just there on the ground. He ain't moving for the time being. Nope. But, he looks more 'alive' then beforehand, when he was on the couch, that much is obvious.

"What the fuck does that mean? Just cuz' I'm a Fury, does not mean I'm a dyke." Ashley says with a loud breath of exasperation. "Shit, clothes are clothes. I don't care where they come, long as people aren't staring at my tits when I leave this place."

Blackriver doesn't seem to care about this conversation at all. Instead she paces around the body of Mathias, giving a soft snort.

Oh dear. Ashley's comment about staring at her tits only makes Cedric do just that, and though he tries to keep a straight face, he fails. "As opposed to before you leave here?" he remarks.

Mathias is there. Like a rock. Yeah, like a rock, or something of the like. Weaver poisons kinda like slowing you down.

Blackriver sits down and lets out an exasperated sigh, glancing at Ashley. Can you heal? She asks.

"Why don't you take a picture pervert, it will last longer." Ashley says, crossing her arms over her chest as best she can, letting out an embarrassed huff. "Just.. someone give me a fucking shirt." With a tilt of her head to BR, she says. "No, I can't.. I can cleanse though."

Cedric manages to tear his eyes off Ashley. "If that were a serious offer..." he remarks playfully. "Main bedroom, wardrobe, help yourself." He peers at the motionless Mathias. "Now what the hell's going on with young Bull-Calf?"

Mathias is slowly reviving. Really! He just needs, umm, a bit of time to fully do that. Nothing is exactly the next moment when dealing with poison like this.

Blackriver lets out another huff, and begins to pull on Mathias' clothes to drag him out of the bathroom and into the living room. A slightly better place to be sitting around.

"If you weren't a Fostern, I'd cut your throat open and yank that dangling tongue out through it." Ashley sneers at Cedric, before sauntering past him with her confident gait, heading down the hall, flipping her tangled, blonde hair back.

Cedric chuckles quietly to himself. "Oh, those Furies," he murmurs towards Blackriver, squatting down by Mathias. "Promises-Kept," he says in a louder, and sterner, tone. "This is Cedric Ambermere. Wake up."

Mathias gets draged a fair bit, before he opens his eyes. "Uh?" is his great mind-blowing comment. He seems seriously out of it, though he tries to sit up, it's rather slow and his body looks stiff.

Blackriver lets Mathias go, propping him up against the couch in the living room. She walks back a ways then and sits down, letting Cedric deal with him.

Having rustled around in the wardrobe, Ashley pulls on a pair of sweat pants which seem to be a bit too big for her, and a simple T-shirt. As she ambles back out, her eyes continue to glower a bit, then tosses something small, and plastic at the Galliard, smirking. "Boy, are you a liar."

Cedric follows Blackriver and Mathias through, and then squats down over Mathias again. "Yes, you may well say 'uh', you young rogue," he begins, before being interrupted by Ashley's words and the small missile. He picks it up, raises one eyebrow, and tucks it into a pocket. "Is that a love-token, Ashley? Does the whole of your noble tribe conduct its romances by tossin' johnnies at guys?"

"Seeing how I caught sight of your tiny tightie-whities, I know that you won't be able to fit in one of those." Ashley says with a snort in his direction. "And you know what? You wish you could get a piece of ass like me. You wouldn't be able to handle it." Oh boy, that is almost a challenge, isn't it? "Is your shit head awake yet, so I can kick him?"

Mathias gives a look up to Cedric, then gives another earth shattering revelation. "Uh." more of a statement this time around, he'd assure you.

Blackriver's ears twitch and her fur bristles in growing annoyance at this all.

Cedric just smirks back at Ashley again. "If it wouldn't make me a charach, I'd damn' well show you," he warns her. "But it wouldn't make me a charach to put you over my knee and spank your backside till you quit cheekin' your elders and betters." With which, he turns back to Mathias. For a moment anger builds in his face, but then it fades again. "Confound it, I ought to tear you off a strip, but you look about how I felt when Dillen and Blackriver first got me out..."

There is a loud snort from Ashley as she glowers at him, fingers curling into a pair of fists. She looks eager to jump him for a moment, though its hard to tell if its anger or passion. It's practically the same. "Whatever." She scoffs.

Mathias tilts his head slightly to the side. "Huh?" this time more confusion added into the mix, and well simmered over an addled mind. He continues to sit where proped, though, when he moves an arm, "Oww." comes his reply. "Stiff."

Cedric turns to Ashley. "Pack your lip away," he invites her, "and have a look at him. He's so Weavered up, a human could smell it on him. You say you can cleanse?"

Mathias just sits there, addled. Though, it could be noted that he tries to stand up, making it just far enough before he knees give way and he collapses back to where he was.

"Yeah, though, since you said he's so much trouble, why not just kill him and go on with your life?" Ashley says as she makes her way over to the Theurge, kneeling down before him. She grabs him by the throat, then stares into his eyes, searching. "I can cleanse him, but I don't have all the right tools here. I'll have to head back to the Fury house."

Cedric sighs theatrically. "Okay. I can drive us over there, assuming my car battery's not flat as a pancake after bein' left outside this house for the better part of a month in winter. Blackriver, you come too... I don't want the Weaver taint takin' over this young ignoramus halfway there and makin' me crash."

Mathias seems generally more lively now. He looks half starved now that he moves, though he stands there with a piece of bread in his hands, munching on it. He dosn't really look anyone in the eyes, looking instead only towards the ground. He was cleansed, and it helped, now he's gotta recover the rest of it.

Cedric allowed Ashley to carry out the cleansing ritual without interruption, though by his frequent glares at Mathias during it, it was plain that this was only a temporary silence. "Well," he says to Mathias after it ends, "perhaps we could have a little explanation now of how come you nearly got yourself, me, and Ashley here all turned into scurryin' spiders of the Weaver, hmmm?"

"Yeah, speak fast male before I shove that piece of bread up your ass." Ashley says in a rather snappish, snarky tone as her arms cross over her chest, looking to be on edge.

Mathias mwuhs. "Last I remember, I was doing a ritual to help the hearth spirits through the winter. You saw it, and you were there." he pauses a moment, "And then we got attacked. After that, I don't know." he pauses a moment, then asks "So, how long were we trapped? A few days?"

"Yes. I was there. What I want to know is, how come your little ritual summoned every damn' pattern spider in the state of Washington to Clemency House?" snaps Cedric. "And for your information, I was in there for three weeks, nearly. You were in there almost a month. Ashley, how long were you stuck?"

"How the fuck would I know, all I know is that my spirit I attached to you came to me in a vision, and I followed it." Ashley says as she rakes a hand through her hair in a frustrated manner.

Mathias seems to ignore Ashley for the moment, "But, it worked. Nothing went wrong? The other spiders may have scented fresh gnosis, and came running. I didn't purposely summon them. Would never have done that." he pauses, then counts on his hand, "Wait, a month?" he pauses again and blinks his eyes. "Well. Fuck. That screws my plans up."

Cedric closes his eyes and lets out a long breath. "It worked? If that's your definition of a ritual that worked, young feller-me-lad, I hope and pray that I never get to see one that fails."

"Worked my ass, you're the shittiest Theurge I've met." Ash' says with a rather loud snort as she rolls her eyes, then huffs at him. "If anything, you just set shit back. You know how many Weaver spirits we had to wade through? I'm sure you threw something off balance." She says in a low snarl under her throat. "For the love of Gaia." She mutters, then ambles off to the kitchen.

Mathias shakes his head. "Nono, my ritual worked perfectly fine. Rituals don't exactly come around and grant you immunity to the wyrm and other spirits. There is no magic shield." he pauses, "They lurked, and found prey. The umbra isn't some happy place where everyone likes us, Cedric-Rhya."

"I am not unaware of that fact," Cedric says with heavy irony. "Now I am not a theurge, perhaps Ashley here can tell me more. But if you're doing a ritual in the umbra, surely it's simple damn' common sense to make sure you don't get overrun by fucking spiders in the middle of it? Or am I missing something very obvious here with my galliard's lack of understanding of spiritual matters, hmm?" His voice remains even, but his body language is becoming more and more irate.

Mathias mumbles for a moment, and continues looking down. "I thought it was safe, even looked around. Even if I knew how to sense weaver...in the middle of suburbia? It wouldn't have told me a thing." he just pauses a moment, then says "I'm sorry Cedric-Rhya. Maybe Vera was right, I am the flailing fool."

"Exactly. If you're ganna do a damn ritual in the Umbra, the last thing you do is go in there fucking alone, and you don't do it in a way that makes you a damn glowing beacon. You always need a fucking way out." Ashley says with a loud snarl in her throat. "You both are so fucking lucky that I had a friend follow Cedric around."

Today seems to be the day for Cedric to choke back on his own words. Must be the third or fourth time at least. Having paused for breath and to prepare another stinging rebuke to Mathias, Ashley's words come at him like a car through a red light and totally distract him. "...a friend?" he says, swinging round to look at Ashley. "Follow me around?" Then he regains some composure. "Well, goodness. I know I'm rich and famous and sexy but if you wanted to stalk me, why didn't you just do it yourself?"

Mathias keeps quiet for the moment, a nibble on the bread, though he keeps his eyes down.
"Fuck you asshole!" Ashley says, jabbing a finger in Cedric's direction. "You were all high and mighty about stalking after Vera and gutting her open because she insulted your lil shit head here at the moot, and I was worried that you were going to find yourself gored open." She growls loudly in her throat. "I was just.. looking out for you."

Cedric doesn't seem at all abashed by Ashley's words. "My dear young lady," he drawls placidly, "your concern for me is touchin'. And in the circs, I'm sure it was a good thing all around, though it did get you into a bit of a tight spot. Ah well, we all three of us were careless in the umbra, and we all need to learn better from it, I s'pose. Especially you," he says to Mathias, swinging round to address his tribemate. "Trouble follows you round like a chicken follows a mother hen. What are we goin' to do with you?"

Mathias pauses, and thinks, he offers up after a moment "If there is a known wyrm
target...then, I would at least be able to assault it, and get an honorable death."

"It's not an honorable death if no one sees you die. It just means you're dead." Ashley says, then glares at Cedric. "And I know plenty about the damn Umbra, more than you two combined. I only got caught up in all of that because I was trying to pry you out of that egg. You know what? I'm too fucking frustrated to deal with either of you right now. I'm... going to burn off some frustration." She says, stalking off.

Cedric clicks his tongue. "She's right, Mathias. Besides which, Falcon gave you a job to do, and gettin' your fool self killed against George the Crawler or some such isn't goin' to do that job. If I were you I'd find a place to rest up, get your brains unscrambled... if they ever are," he qualifies. "You can go to Fairbanks House if you like, even." He turns towards Ashley's retreating back with a sigh. "Feisty," he comments. "I like that in a girl."

Mathias just shakes his head a moment, then says "I wouldn't get mixed up with her Cedric-Rhya. She may be feisty, but, it'll bring you more trouble then I'll ever manage." he takes another bite. "Permission to return to Clemency house? I need to figure out what to do with my remaining two weeks."

Cedric just grins knowingly at Mathias. "Can I help being a babe magnet?" he asks with mock regret. "Damn, I wish she was kin. You didn't see her in the buff like I did, you were out for the count." He mimes an ample bosom with a hand gesture, then returns to seriousness. "Is it wise to go back to Clemency House with those spiders crawling all over it in the shadow?"

Mathias hmms and pauses, then shakes his head. "Probably not, but remember, while she was accusing me of doing a ritual alone. She tried to rescue us alone. She should have known even better if something grabbed you, or grabbed me, that going alone wasn't the smartest idea. The least I can say was that I was caught unprepared."

"Quite," Cedric agrees. "And I am a Fostern and should have been more aware than either of you two cliaths. Which is why I said that we had all three of us been foolish in our own way. Let's go back to my new place. Apart from anything else, it's nearer to here. We'll organise a war-party to fix up Clemency House and get rid of those damn' spiders in the next few days."

Mathias ahhs and gives a simple nod. "I don't really know how to repay you Cedric-rhya. Time and time again, I've failed you, yet you're always there. Anyone else from the sept would have killed me, and let the spiders have my spirit, without even a moment of hesitation."

"Blood is a strong tie," Cedric says. "But I won't always be here to pull you out of holes, Mathias. You have to wise up. Soon."

Mathias gives a simple huff. "I know, I know. But I've been trying to scramble around to get Blackriver's task done, and...well, losing half the time in one failed go..."

"So you need to catch back up," Cedric says. "It ain't over till it's over. Now, let's get out of Ashley's space before she throws another dykey fit at us, and get over to my place and relax. I still feel like warmed up crap and you probably feel worse."

Mathias gives a simple nod. "You drive?" he asks, really more of a statement before he makes sure to get the heck out of fury land.

"The day I let you drive my Mazda," Cedric declares, "will be a hot one at the North Pole."

Mathias laughs. "Really? Then, pass the keys and hold the mayo? Crazy fang to the rescue." he just shakes his head, "Last time I drove a van, even for the right reasons...it ended up me getting run off."

Cedric shakes his head in mock despair. "Come on, useless," he chides Mathias gently, heading for the door.

Mathias just laughs bitterly for a moment, before he leaves the house, and hops into the passanger side door. "Could be worse I suppose. Always could be worse, just thankful to Gaia it wasn't."