Silent Prayer - Preparations ((Open RP))

[Diego Mendez]

((What's your character doing in preparation for Wednesday's event? ))

Diego had his equipment strewn out around him in the bunker. Every arrow, every attachment, every arrowhead and gadget was separated into its own specific pile. He'd checked it all, took stock of what he had available to him, made sure that everything was working the way it was supposed to. His oil slick attachment was still having problems, but there wasn't enough time to fiddle with it. After this was over with, maybe he could talk to one of the other more tech inclined students to help him out. Right now though...he had a bow that wasn't going to tune itself.

It was hard to keep his mind on the task at hand. Even as he measured the tiller on his bow, he was thinking about last night's karaoke fun. When he'd brought it up, he'd hoped that everyone would have a good time. He hadn't quite expected things to go as well as they did. The only thing that had marred the evening was the fact the Loa had still made it a point to try and damper their fun, first through Eli and Aiden...then again through himself. They had still had fun, even with the hauntings. This thing hadn't stopped them from doing that. And while it was certainly doing a good job of making things miserable for its victims, they were still alive, still breathing.

He moved on to check his arrow rest, making a quick adjustment there. He drew his bow, pulling back until the string was even with the corner of his mouth to check the draw length.

Diego...yeah, he was miserable from the incessant dripping sounds, the blood that out of nowhere seemed to stain his hands. He was taking sleeping pills just to make it through the night now. But even with all of that going on, there was still a point of happiness that even the depression settling over the school couldn't blot out. Diego had gathered up the courage, had told Eli that he liked him. It was the first time he'd ever told a boy that. In the past, he always seemed to make the mistake of falling for a boy that was painfully and obviously straight. He'd half expected to be shot down. But that hadn't happened at all. Eli liked him too...

He eased the string back to its starting point, opting not to dry fire and potentially thwart his efforts at tuning the bow. He checked the markers he'd placed on the cam under the limbs to see if the timing was still right. Thankfully, everything was fine. He didn't have the equipment to adjust the cam timing at the school. He'd have to find a pro shop to do that at some point. He checked the nocking point on the string, the center shot. All that was left was to fire some arrows to see if he'd tuned everything correctly. He powdered up an arrow, the arrow rest and shelf on his bow. He fired a single arrow at a target he'd set up. He checked the powder on the bow, nodded when he saw no marks. Good. He went to the target and retrieved his arrow. He held the shaft at eye level, checked for marks. He nodded when all he saw were lines from the arrow rest. He scooped up a rag on his way back to his work space and wiped his bow down. When he was ready to shoot again, he pinned a piece of paper to his target. He nocked another arrow, drew the bow back.

The dripping sound that had been plaguing him for weeks now hits his ears. Diego cringed and fought the urge to curl up and cover his ears. His hands shook, the fingers that kept the string pulled taut threatening to release his arrow. He didn't have to look at them to know that blood was soaking the skin. He swallowed...forced himself to focus..and let the arrow fly.

He was not going to let this thing continue.

Unsteady hands reached for another arrow.

He was not going let the Loa torment him.

The arrow flew, struck home.

He was not going to standby while Eli and the others suffered at its hands.

Diego grabbed a third arrow and fired it.

They were going to bind it and beat it.

Diego mechanically went through the motions: pick up an arrow, nock it, pull it back, let it fly. His aim was shit due to his shaking hands, but it didn't matter. The act of pin cushioning the target was cathartic, though. Eventually the episode ended. He pulled his arrows out and placed new paper on his target.

[Etienne Mbane]

Cadence lingered at the door to Etienne and Simon's room a few moments before finally working up the courage to knock on the door.

Etienne sat on the floor, Simon catching up on his literature class reading during the lock down at his desk. Strewn on the floor around him were the materials Eli had given him to make the poppet to bind Shortened Breath. He worked on sewing the torso together when he heard the knock. Simon waited a moment, finishing his paragraph, but Etienne remained engrossed in his work. Finally Simon put a marker in his book and called out, "It's unlocked, Cadence. You can come in."

She opened the door slowly and poked her head in. She bit her lip a little bit. "Um...just...I didn't mean to interrupt or anything."

She saw Etienne in the floor, putting something together...the poppet most likely. "It...it looks like your busy. I can just come back..."

He looked up and smiled, his teeth stark white against his cappuccino skin. "Never too busy, 'moiselle."

His hands never stopped working, pulling the catfish gut thread through the cotton with a bone needle. Simon smiled and stood. "I think I'm going to read in the commons, ET. Mind if I bring the rat?"

Etienne shrugged. "Just make sure he ain't seen by no one who ain't want to see him. 'Specially Artur."

Cady moved out of the way as Simon gathered up the rat and his things and headed out. She stood in the doorway a moment, watching Etienne as he sewed. Her gaze lingered on the items sitting on the floor around him. She finally stepped into the room.

"...is there something I can do to help?"

Etienne shook his head. "Not wit de poppet. I want make it perfect, oderwise it might not get bound. Don't mean noting by dat, just dat you ain't learned to make one 'fore."

She bit her lip again and lingered by Simon's desk. She felt like...she felt like she had to do something. There was no way she was going to be able to keep up with the others against the Loa tomorrow, not after what happened after the demo the night before. Knowing that Etienne and the others were going after that thing, and knowing that she couldn't go along to at least see for herself that things were going to be okay made her worry even more. It was written all over her facial expression as she watched Etienne at work.

As if reading her mind, he spoke as he finished the seam. "I worried you going push yourself to hard if you come chasing de Loa wit us tomorrow, 'moiselle. Dat demo hit you pretty hard. But that ain't mean you ain't can help."

She glanced down, fidgeting with a loose string on her shirt sleeve. "How?" she asked quietly.

It wasn't just the fact that confronting the Loa was dangerous that had her worried. She didn't have to be psychic to guess that if things went South, the group would try to give Shortest Breath what it wanted. She hoped that Eli or someone wouldn't let that happen, if it came to it. Or worse, what if Etienne gave himself over to it to spare the school? Would he do that? The more she thought about it, the more her worries grew.

Etienne finished the seam, and tied off the thread, breaking the thread with his teeth. He sat for a moment in thought, looking down at the headless poppet. "Dis ting. It powerful. You seen it. I ain't know if I can fight it myself."

She looked over at Etienne. She knew that Shortest Breath had left some deep scars on her friend after it had forced itself on him. But so far, he'd seemed so sure that he would come out of this alright, because of the omens of his birth. The doubt she heard now though. She swallowed her own doubts and worries as she moved closer to Etienne. She took care not to disturb the materials for the poppet, unsure if making contact with any of the items would disturb the process.

"It'll turn out okay. It has to..." she said as she knelt down. "Besides, you did fight it before...remember? In Kings Row?"

He looked away from her, closing his eyes. For the first time since that night, he couldn't hide his fear any more. "I... I ain't ready for all this yet. If we win... He going know me, den he going come after me, 'moiselle. I ain't ready. I cain't... I..."

Cadence heart ached as she listened. She reached over and placed a hand his shoulder, tried to give him some reassurance as she gave it a gentle squeeze. She couldn't find the words to say that would help ease his fears.

Etienne sighed, somehow gaining strength at her touch. He always felt at ease around her, more at peace. He still couldn't understand why. Maybe Eli was right, and it was just that Etienne wouldn't understand why.

He tried to explain his fears. "Dis Loa, it got a hold of me. I ain't got no shield to hold 'gainst it no more."

"....then let me be your shield."

The idea came to her out of the blue. Once before they had beaten it.

"Let me ride sidecar. The last time we did that, it ran. This time it won't be able to. And if it knows that you can use my powers, it may decide to leave you alone entirely after tonight..."

Etienne looked up at her. Of all the people who had asked, who had offered, she had done it before. She knew the price the Loa asked of the mule. He knew she was strong enough to bear that burden with him. And the Loa had shrunk away from her fire.

"If you sure day you ain't mind de burden it put on you. I you ain't feared..."

Cadence smiled. "I'll bear the burden with you. And I won't be afraid, becuase I won't be alone. We'll do this together, okay?"

[Kai Eriksen]

The best thing about his mom was that he could tell her anything. His constant ally, she always understood. Boy trouble, crazy directors, his demanding schedule. She got it. She always listened, and she got it, and it helped. Except this time.

“He’s hurting everybody I care about, mom! He’s doing it and he’s totally heartless about it. He doesn’t even care. Eli’s started puking every few hours. He can’t even really walk. I hate it!”

“Kai?”

“And Alice gets like rigor mortis or something, and and he just doesn’t care, and Roach nearly killed Eli last night, and it’s all his fault, and he’s not even helping, and--”

“But he’s doing something tonight, isn’t he? He’s trying to bring it all to a close.”

His response had more pique than it should have. He knew it did, even as he said it. “Sure, because he knows what’ll happen to him if he doesn’t help.”

He regretted it, and the long pause on the other end of the line that followed it.

“I know this is hard. It sounds really hard. I think you feel things too much sometimes, Kai. Stop and think. Why would he do what he’s doing?”

He also regretted the pout he heard in his own voice. “I don’t know. He’s an inhuman monster with no feelings, maybe.”

“Kai,” she admonished in tones he recognized in his own speech. He didn’t answer, so she continued. The line popped. “Assume he did do it on purpose. Why would he have done it? What would his motivation be?”

Kai tried to swallow a lump in his throat that just seemed to keep getting bigger and bigger. Ar had said it right last night: he was frayed at both ends, and he was feeling it fully now. “I don’t know. To inflict pain on other people. Make people miserable.”

“Kai, honey,” she explained patiently, “demonizing him only adds to the pain and misery he’s trying to spread. People,” she paused, looking for the words Kai needed to hear, “copy the pain they feel in themselves in the world around them. Everybody suffers. Imagine how much he’s suffered to want to do this to other people.”

Kai kept quiet. It felt right to look out his window into the middle distance, so he did. It was a nice day out, if a little cold. Sunny. A stark contrast to the roiling furnace his mind had lately been.

“You don’t beat this by hating him. You beat this with compassion. Hating him just lets him win.”

He pushed on, trying to stop what she’d said from taking root in his mind. “But I don’t trust him, mom. What if he’s been working with the thing all along? What if it’s possessed him or something?”

Patience. Understanding. Firm strength. “You don’t have to trust him to care about him. You can watch him, and you can guard against him, but you have to care about him. He’s a person, and I’d bet anything that he’s in pain too. Maybe more than anybody else.”

Kai swallowed hard. “I have to go, mom. If a--,” He interrupted himself. He could try to protect her from worrying. She knew he was in danger, but she didn’t need to know just how much. “I have another audition coming up at the end of the month. If I get in, maybe you can come up and see it. I love you.”

“I’ll be there. I love you too. Stay safe.”

Kai noticed but tried to disregard the tremble in his hands when he came to rest the phone in his lap.

[Etienne Mbane]

Etienne tapped lightly on Cadence's door. He had spent the evening clearing his mind, preparing for the confrontation. He had time that day to explain how to control the energy and emotion that Loa brought, and for a long nap. Simon woke him in time for a good dinner and time to find his trance.

"'Moiselle? It time."

Cadence opened the door. She looked a little pale, due partly from stress over everything going on at the school and her own illness. The light gray sweatshirt she wore only seemed to make her look even more washed out. Aside from the nagging fatigue that plagued her more often than not lately, she was ready for this.

"Alright, I'm ready Etienne..."

Etienne stood at the threshold to her room, not entering. He already wore the face paint that helped him channel the Loa into him. Around his right wrist was the bracelet of teeth that Roach had lifted out of his pocket earlier. He wore a necklace made of finger bones, a snake skull pendant at the center of his throat. "May I enter?"

When she'd first arrived at Westbrook, she probably would've been scared out of her skin seeing him dressed as he was. But now...she knew the man behind the face paint, bones and skulls. She nodded as she opened the door wider for her to come in.

"Yes, come in."

She moved to the bed, figuring it was the safest place for her to be when contact was made. If someone came in and saw her on the floor while everything was happening, it would get really awkward really fast.

Etienne smiled softly, then set his small wooden bowl on the desk next to the bed. He poured rum, and broke up a large, dried tobacco leaf into it, and added other herbs, herbs that were used by midwives to ease the birthing process. He dropped to his knees, and called out silently to the Loa, speaking a single name. Shining Hope.

She watched him in silence, not wishing to disturb the ritual. Whatever nervousness, whatever fears he may have had before seemed to be forgotten. Cadence took a deep breath, and tried to do the same. She knew that any fear on her part was dangerous while riding sidecar. So she imagined her worries, her troubles leaving her with every breath she took. After a few moments, her mind was clear. Her amber eyes fixed on Etienne as he called out to the Loa.

He hunched his shoulders and arched his back in rhythmic pulses, calling out to the Loa for which he had spend the week searching, the Loa with which he had made an agreement. Nervously, the Loa approached, seeing an outsider, watched over by the White Man, present for the mounting. Silently, they conversed.

"Who is this? Betrayal?"

"She is coming as well. Dis ride will be shared."

"You would bring an outsider into you?"

"Dis outsider know."

The Loa considered, then agreed. "It is your life in peril, mule."

Etienne rose from his knees and bent over Cadence. He saw she was at peace, and saw her fear had been set aside. Leaning close, he let his breath out, then brushed his lips against hers, breathing deeply.

Cadence closed her eyes as their lips met. As her breath left her, she felt as if she were being drawn out of her body. She felt...free. Her body was just a husk, which had its limits, that was dying. She left it behind, and flowed into Etienne as he drew in her breath. She could still feel sensations from her own body, and knew from the last time that she would only drive herself crazy if she fought it. She willed her physical body to lay down..and after that, everything she saw, everything she touched...every sense was felt through Etienne.

As Cadence's spirit flowed into him, so did the Loa, Shining Hope. He searched the city for this particular Loa, knowing that to fight Shortened Breath, he needed an equally powerful and opposing Loa. A sense of wonder and possibility flooded into them. A giddiness that only comes from looking on a brand new life.

Carefully, Etienne pulled a blanket up over Cadence so she would be warm while he went out to face the Loa.