After the Obelisks (ATTN: Garage Scene group)

~~Narration~~

The weary, half-dead group crosses the Gauntlet through Animus' Gate, and filter into the Sanctum.

At one point during the long walk, Armstrong had torn a strip of material off of her shirt and wrapped it around her head to keep shadow-gunk from getting into her eye. It fucking hurts, but she'll be damned if she lets herself look bad in front of the rest of these people.

Theo practically collapses into the nearest appropriate thing that can withstand a accomodate a reclining position. While uninjured, he was emotionally exhuasted. He was still putting stuff together and organizing his recollection of what happened. Light-headedness didn't help this at all.
He would have liked to go to sleep and not think about anything till tommorrow but he was pretty sure only nightmares would wait there after what he'd seen. He wished he could just clear his head but his mind was set on him reliving the sights, sounds and feelings of the battle.
"So, what now?"

It feels odd returning to the Sanctum. Objectively, it hasn't been that long since Animus was last here, but so much has happened since then that it feels like he's been gone for ages. He run's his hand along his familiar's ephemeral fur. "I missed you, Guardian."

He looks around the room, surveying everyone's injuries. "The first thing is healing people. Also, I imagine that the hallow has generated a fair bit of tass. Perhaps Captain can draw mana from it?"

Animus quickly grows somber. "Fiddler would know better than I do. This was Blackfire's place. I joined them at Discovery Park, and we only stopped here briefly before heading back."

"Yeah, I'll take care of the tass."

Captain goes and works on dissolving the tass down into mana, channeling it into Animus. (How much tass do I have to dissolve?)

Fiddler shows Joshua the kitchen, while Animus begins healing the group.

Armstrong approaches Captain and his Sleepwalkers after Animus heals her. She holds out her hand. "I'm going to need the keys to the van you guys left at my place."

Ensign hands over the keys: "Here they are, its actually Ruby's van. So ask her what to do with it before you do whatever with it."


Supernal Vision, Forces Armor (4)

"I'm not comfortable joining up as a cabal with you guys; and its not because I don't respect you. I want your numbers so I know who to call whenever I have my back against the wall. You guys are good. And I've seen SEALS, and your still better. I'm just not settled enough yet." Captain looks sad actually.

~~Narration~~

Armstrong takes the keys and Teleports to her Sanctum; the others discuss and decide on the cabal specifics.

"well gentlemen and ma'am, it has been a pleasure, but I have to go." He exchanges phone numbers with those there, before leaving, thanking Animus and theo again for the healing. Captain and Crew leave.

Theo considered the idea of forming with these people. He barely knew them. He was only here to help Ruby really. He had barely arrived in time to go with them into shadow. Did he really want to become part of a group whose motives he didn't know?
Still there was prompting he felt. A small part of him that saw all the chance and misgivings as oppurtunities and tests. Despite what he would have guessed his response to be in a situation like this, Theo said "A cabal sounds like a good idea."

"I... isn't it a little soon to be speakin' of whose going to cabal and all?" Ruby whispers. There's been so much upheaval, so many lives passed through and out that she worries about getting too attached.

"Truthful, the Consilium ain't done much a job of keeping our people in order." She admits. "Maybe we need some folk with some sense about them to make Sacramento a welcome place for the wandrin..."

"I" Ruby stops for a moment, bit lower lip in thought. "You all want to do me a big favor? I'm going to be on the case, setting sense to the ley lines in the city. Maybe... maybe you could help a little." She smiles wanly. "'Spose it's a terrible boring job, but... it'd be less so with company."

--Armstrong shows up at the Sanctum about an hour and half after teleporting away. She's showered, changed clothes and gotten a set of black eye patches from somewhere.--

"Sorry that it took so long, I had some calls to make." She looks around at everyone and hands Ruby the keys to the van. "What are we talking about?"

"Ruby was just asking for some company while she maps out the city's ley lines.

"I wish I could help with your eye, but ..." Animus trails off, shaking his head sadly.

"I've arranged for a replacement," Armstrong responds curtly, "for several things."

She looks at Ruby. "Why are you mapping them?"

Armstrong ignores any further mention about her eye. She's handling it on her own.

"What kind of help would you need to map the lines?"

Theo spoke up on the new topic.
"Not sure, part of the reason we need to do it. Might be good to have a proper rest though. I don't think most of us would be up for walking or driving around town after what we've been through.
"Where and when would be a good to time to meet up latter?" he inquired of Ruby.

Armstrong pulls out a small day planner and pen, and after a moment her grip tightens on the pen. She moves the planner onto her other knee where she can see it. "I'm going to be out of the country on Monday, but I'll be back before Tuesday. I work," she doesn't say where, "Weekdays somewhere between eight and five, depending on the day."

"Hang on, Ruby. I have a rental, I can drive you home." Theo jogs a short distance after Ruby, then snaps his fingers as if remembering something. He turns and gives a short discription of his talents.
"Not really that skilled in the Arcana just yet. My greatest understanding lies in the sphere of life. I've studied art history, anthropology, and occult symbolism, though.
"Till later."

Matthew calls back to Theo, "Don't sell yourself short. You saved lives today."

Armstrong rolls her eye, then stops it because it makes one side of her face feel twitchy. "I gave you your keys. Your van is in the driveway, after all. I'm an adept of space and I have some skill with both Fate and Mind. I am also a member of a legacy that allows me to approximate a scrying effect at will."

Fiddler sighs. "Guys, I'm sorry, but I don't think I'm sticking around. Between this, and that guy at Calligan's house, I'm just not cut out for this. I'm a musician, for god's sake."

Animus turns to Fiddler. "This city is a dangerous place right now. If that's not an environment you're comfortable in, then I doubt anyone will question your decision to leave."

"Legacies are the refinement of your soul. Once you get to a certain point in the development of your Gnosis, you can take a more direct hand in it's growth. You learn how to focus your vision of how magic works in a more specific manner than normally and your soul responds to it, Attaining new abilities that the Fallen World sees as natural. As you refine your soul and your vision in tandem, you gain further, more esoteric Attainments as side effects of your focus. While I can only currently focus my senses into a jargon jargon babble babble strange words chatter chatter jargon babble jargon to sense non-local events, more powerful members of my Legacy can use the same jargon babble strange words chatter to send themselves from one location to another without any degradation of the babble chatter polysyllabic jargon, or in layman's terms, instantaneously." It becomes obvious through the glossolalia of hyper technical jargon that Armstrong is a teacher of some kind, probably highly technical math somewhere. Or she's gone insane and has been building some kind of ramshackle particle accelerator somewhere that she shouldn't.

Animus looks startled. "We never did try to track down the guy who jumped Calligan. Any ideas on what happened to him?"

~~Narration~~

Speculation on Vector continues for a bit, and then the remaining Mages talk some more about forming a Cabal. Fiddler bids them farewell, and exchanges phone numbers, before he leaves to being packing to leave.