Silent Prayer - The Jesuit (( Open to any who went along ))

[Roach Copeland]

Roach let out a whistle as Cadence began her protest. He had refused the tea earlier and was now back to just perusing the bookshelf again.

"Couldn't we just... give it what it wants and then have it appear and then take it back?" he asked, pulling out another book. He opened it up, snorted in amusement at the picture on the inside, and continued perusing. After a second, he looked up at the group. "You know. You tellin' me their ain't a way to make someone go into a death trance, slow the heart for a minute- shit, stop it, even- and give the Loa the chance to appear to enjoy the 'last breath'."

He closed the book, slipping it back into place. "Loa comes out, you guys do your thing, and then bam! Resuscitate the person. Shock his heart or somethin' until he stop walkin' towards the light and backs away from the Pearly Gates?"

He paused for a moment, considering. "Yeah, doubt the teachers would allow us to go on that sort of field trip... but couldn't one of them? Or some hero? What? you don't think some hero would drool at the chance to save an entire school of metas? He'd get tail for life."

Roach stopped, clearing his throught. "I mean... be well respected and stuff."

[Etienne Mbane]

The Jesuit sipped his tea thoughtfully. What this boy suggested was possible, however, it was risky. Not in that whoever danced on the razor's edge of death might not come back. That would be a risk they accepted. The risk was that, if this was a Loa, it might not be attracted to the staged murder, either seeing through it, not needing it, or simply not recognizing it.

"If wished to attempt that kind of deception, it may work. I would not rule out other means. Loa usually come to those who call them, whether they are houghan or mule or not, if the offering is rich enough. Getting them into a form that can be confronted, regardless of the method of invitation, would still be a problem."

The Jesuit set his tea down and leaned back, a soft smile on his lips. "I am sorry. I am not here to criticize and dissuade you from a chosen course."

[Cadence Calloway]

Cadence shook her head.

"...so...we're still looking at Etienne letting that...that thing ride him," she said, the words almost choking her. "Because unless there's some other way to get it into a form we can deal with, that's what's going to have to be done."

The idea of letting that Loa ride her friend again just...the others had no idea just how much that had affected Etienne. That thing had forced itself on him once before, violated him, forced him to do something he would never in a million years do of his own free will. She couldn't even imagine just how devastated he would be if he had to willingly let that thing in. And if that thing rode Etienne, she wasn't even sure she would be able to do anything about it. While they would get their chance to confront the being that was wreaking havoc on their school..it would be inside of Etienne's body. She didn't think she could bring herself to hurt that thing, because it would mean hurting him too.

She shook her head again. "No...no there's got to be something else we can do." She looked over at the Jesuit. "Is there anything in your notes that could help? Is there some other way we can get the Loa into a form we can deal with?"

[Roach Copeland]

Roach remained silent for a moment, watching Cadence's worry boil from the mind into the physical realm. He tried to ignore the pangs coming from her, the whispers of doubt and fear that were swirling around in her mind, but it wasn't hard to see that she was worried with that look on her face. He frowned, looks down at his feet- He might have been an ass but it wasn't everyday you met someone who cared that much for another.

Even Roach couldn't just ignore that and crush it with a joke.

"- Some other way we can get the Loa into a form we can deal with."

Cadence spoke those words and it was if Roach's mind rewound. Through her words and passed the jokes. Back to the book he had just opened. The picture he had seen in the book. The one that had made him smile. Turning towards the bookshelf, he pulled the book back out and began fingering through the pages.

It took a half a moment before letting out a victorious laugh. Looking up, he spun the book around and pointed to the picture of a the voodoo doll on the page. "Couldn't this control someone? I mean, I doubt it could work on a Loa... if it could, that would be frickin' awesome. However, if we're worried 'bout this thing makin' Etienne do horrible things, couldn't this leash it?" He turned around the room, showing the picture off. "Voodoo dolls control people right? So, couldn't we lock the Loa into Etienne and... contain him with this?"

[Etienne Mbane]

"Absolutely NOT!" The Jesuit leaned forward intensely, rebuke in his eyes.

After a moment, he sighed, and settled back in his chair. "Forgive me. Using a poppet to control another human being is the darkest form of evil. Any houghan who tried would likely sell their soul in the process, never mind one of you."

He brought a finger to his lips thoughtfully, "However, the suggestion does have merit. A poppet can, among other things, be used to keep a part of a Loa close. They are often given during dark or fearful times in one's life as a way of bolstering good spirits. The effect is usually fairly minimal, as no Loa would invest too much of itself without a steep price, and often discarded by non Houghan as the effects that any token gives. If you are intent on addressing this entity, and it is, in fact, a Loa, then a poppet could be effective."

[Jessie Sullivan]

Jessie bit her lip. She really didn't like the way this conversation was going. There had to be a better way than to risk someone's life in order to appease the Loa or to risk Etienne by letting it possess him. Or whatever it did. Jessie wasn't quite sure but whatever that thing was it certainly didn't sound the the type of thing one would really want creeping into their body or mind.

She forced herself to stop picking at the bandages on her arms and get her fuzzy thoughts into some form of coherence. It felt like she was ages behind everyone else but this was their best chance yet to get some answers, even if her questions were from five minutes in the past. Stupid Clockwork.

“I think I'm a bit lost here and way over my head but I have a few questions. The murders of people didn't start until about a week after the first reported incident on campus, with Thomas and Nurse Jenkins. Although I've kinda found some evidence of animal deaths happening around school before that but pinpointing when exactly that started has been really hard.”

Jessie took a breath to focus herself and continued, “Father, you said that the Loa can't directly effect people, right? That they just make things that they want more likely to happen? Then how could a person effected by the stuff on campus be bothered by the same protection that keeps the Loa away from Etienne? Actually... about that poppet stuff... Could someone with a poppet for a Loa like this one you're taking about, assuming that it is in fact the Loa of Murder, would that be something that could be effected by divine protection?”

[Roach Copeland]

Maybe it was the yelling or perhaps it was just the words, but Roach's eyes ended up narrowing as his lips peeled back into a snare.

People were always doing that. Accusing him that his powers were evil. That controlling others were some sort of unholy union that man shouldn't walk into. God forbid, a guy who could punch a hole through someone's head was more holy than his 'dark, dark mind control powers'! And while, yeah, the Jesuit had said using the poppet was evil and not just his powers, Roach knew what he really meant.

He heard it before from others.

So, he did the mature thing. He dropped the book on the floor, stuck his hands into his pockets, and mumbled a "Screw this Vege-Tale" before moving out the door. Moving down the hall, his eyes moved along the walls as more whispers continued to echo from the past thoughts that clung here.

He'd hang with Etienne and away from the lingering hints of doubt and guilt. Like he said, he never liked churches anyways.

(Might be gone for a day so I had Roach have a tisy and leave Awesome, post, though!)

[Etienne Mbane]

The Jesuit watched Roach leave with a raised brow. He shook his head sadly, knowing the boy's pain lay in his own self-loathing. He smiled. Most pain came from some form of self-loathing.

Picking his tea back up, he turned to Jessie. "I spoke with your Headmaster about this as well. It sounds to me like a case of traumatic coexistence, like whatever it is forced its way into the victim without permission. You might refer to it as possession, but that would be crude. Mr. Maximilian has already ruled out demonic and devilish influences. Sadly, divine powers cannot offer protection from the Loa. In some ways they are divine themselves. In others, they are more human than spiritual.

"But, no. What happened to your nurse sounded a lot like the coexistence that normally is willing and voluntary. If that kind of coexistence were forced, it would leave quite a lasting effect on the person, unless they had strong training and natural talent to protect them."

[Bronka Hajjar]

Bronka was only partially listening to the ongoing conversation. She wasn't sold on the utility of allowing Shortened Breath to possess anyone unless it led to some reliable method of destroying or at least banishing it. Besides, something Jessie said had distracted her. "The first incident involved Nurse Jenkins and... Thomas," she thought to herself. "We should check to see if he's affected the same way she is."

Turning back to the conversation, she waved her hand for attention and raised her voice a bit. "We're still not addressing the real question here, guys," she began. "What we need to know is how we can destroy this thing. Or at least get rid of it." She turned to the Jesuit and spoke forcefully. "Father Michael, we need to know how to hurt a Loa."

[Etienne Mbane]

The Jesuit frowned, clearly upset by the question. Among other things, he was a scholar, and few scholars liked the idea of damaging something they had spent a good portion of their life studying. Still, the children at the school may be in the greater danger. Reluctantly, he answered, standing as he did to clearly indicate their visit was coming to a close.

"You could starve it, of course, but here in Paragon, if your conjecture is accurate, you would have to drop the murder rate to zero for some time. If you could manifest it, or bind it, it would be a vulnerable as any other entity. However, bear in mind that it does not have any of the vulnerabilities that spirits or ghosts have. Silver, cold iron, rare earths, anything of that like will be no different to it than anything else."

He showed them to the door. "There may be another way, but it is a difficult path and would change that person's life forever. I would suggest that you do not go down that path of inquiry. It would drive most minds mad in researching."