Closed Don't Panic (Ssanya)

[Madeira Dusk]

Madeira knew Ssanya was a Dhani. This was a comfortable, accepted fact. But it wasn't until she was pinned to the cobblestone, cursed with heightened senses she couldn't control, watching her best friend shift forms for the first time that the weight of that fact truly hit her.

As she watched, Ssanya's long dark hair retreated into her scalp. Her pupils split her new molten gold eyes, and her lips receded around her snarling needle teeth. The burnished brown skin bubbled like melted wax as bones rearranged themselves, and scales erupted like fissures in cracked glass. On top of her legs a tail as thick as her hips was slithering and growing, tipped with a heavy black rattle. Trapped and unable to look away, she was watching something she cared for so deeply transforming into a nightmare.

She screamed. A confused mess of Vani and Common spilled from her lips, screaming for help, for mercy. The Dhani caught her wrists and forced them above her head, then leaned over her until they were inches apart. There was nothing she recognized in that flat, snake-like face. No glimmer of her friend in the hooded eyes and the forked tongue that hissed at her in a language like wind over shifting sand.

Then she opened her mouth, and two thin, wickedly curved fangs stretched for her throat.

Something primal in the mouse detonated then. Madeira's soul was ripped and battered as the sheer force of its terror won it complete control of the Spiritist's body. And unable to feel the strain of her heart or the pain of her underwhelming muscles, it increased the fight of her body tenfold. Trying to lift her trapped wrists from a creature both too heavy and too strong, Madeira was the only one who felt the bones in her right elbow splinter under the force.

Then the Dhani roared with a sound like she was ripping her own throat apart. The panic that chased itself around and around her body, fuelled by the curse, reached a crescendo. Her fluttering, overtaxed heart stopped.

Was this what it was like to die? It was worse than Madeira imagined. There was less peace and much more pain. The ghost was gone, yet the trained Spiritist didn’t even feel her go. The mouse had slipped away unnoticed, fleeing the fetish and the dying woman. Then gentle hands lifted the skull away too.

The second it was lifted away her heart gave a great, shuddering bang, then continued sluggishly. Madeira breathed her first full, unfettered breath in bells.

Oh gods, she was still alive. Dizzy and in pain, but alive. She would have sobbed with the relief of it, but she couldn’t find the energy. But there was a sound, something tortured and sad, begging her not to die. She rolled her head to the side and saw the monster, with her head bowed, crying, apologizing.
No, not a monster. Ssanya.

Most of the people had fled the plaza, but a handful had stayed. Some were tourists rooted to the spot with a shock that Alvadas had yet to beat out of them. But more than a few locals had broken into a run toward them. They were shouting, unholstering weapons, rushing to save the little human woman from the big, scary Dhani that attacked her.

As soon as Madeira recognized what she was seeing she scrambled to her knees. Her left hand found a loose cobblestone the size of her fist, and with it she rose shakily to her feet. Her right arm hung loosely at her side, the elbow pointing thirty degrees in the wrong direction. It didn’t hurt, not yet, but she could feel the bones grinding together and a great wave of nausea seemed to emanate from it. She rose the stone above her head and yelled in a voice dry and cracked from overuse.

“Don’t touch her! Don’t you dare touch her!”

[Allassanachassanya]

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"Speech"

"But... But miss," one of the approaching strangers stuttered to a halt, "That thing just attacked you!" Disbelief was written clear across his face, alongside a pinch of his own fear, but Ssanya couldn't see it. Her head was bent over like a wind-beaten blade of grass, and she couldn't stop the tears that ran down and pooled in the corners of her lips, leaving tracks across the supple scales that covered her face. She peered through the cradle of her arms at the unfolding scene though as she heard Madeira speak, even though her own self-loathing whispered that she should bury herself into the sand and disappear for good. It was the first time she had ever felt so unsure of her own race, having never cared enough about what other people saw in her. She didn't care that her would-be assailants saw her as a thing or even as a monster. That was fine. But if... If Madeira thought she was a monster, that would cut deep. Siku was far from her thoughts and her prayers. The mightiness of the Dhani race was not something she felt pride in any more. Maybe it was because she was so far from home and the influence of other Dhani. Or maybe it was something else, some reason she had to prove her own self-worth without the cheap lens that was the hollow belief in the overall superiority of one race over another.

She wasn't thinking clearly though, because if she was she'd be able to see how even with an injury the bright figure that was Madeira in the weak sunshine was still standing up to protect a creature far larger than her who had just, for all intents and purposes, attacked her. Instead, all Ssanya saw was that terrible, bent arm and the weariness battling across her face. That hadn't happened because the ghost had broken it, because in her addled mind she reasoned that a spirit did not have enough strength to break an arm, but from her own actions to the spiritist. Her head felt light and dizzy and she gulped painfully, her throat feeling raw from the soul-wrenching scream she'd just uttered. "Why did I go ssso far?" Her voice barely left her mouth. She murmured, quietly first and then louder. "Madeira, pleasse. Pleasse! Sssit down, are injured. I hurt you!" Then she stood up, trying not to stare at the limp arm, trying not to let the shock wrap around her head and make her completely forget how to function.

Now addressing the small group of worried citizens of Alvadas, she tried to look as non-threatening as possible. It was difficult. Every twitching glare drew her attention to another part of her body that she had never thought of as dangerous before. Her teeth tucked back into her mouth, making her speech slightly less full and spitting, but she could barely get the words out without tripping over her sentences. "Look, I... It looksss bad. I wasss doing sssomething she assked, sssomething that wass needed. Wait." She stretched her shoulders, making them click, and forcing the handful of people to recoil slightly, weapons held nervously as they debated whether she was a threat or not. They just needed proof that she wouldn't and couldn't, mentally or physically, cause any more harm. So she began to shift from Dhani to human, scales blending and merging into light brown skin across her body. She shrunk too, growing smaller and almost stumped, with her back sloped over and her whole body as depressed as the way her heart felt. She began to move her hands to cover her naked body, but by now she didn't give a petch who saw her without the clothes that usually hid her skin from view, and so she let her hands fall to her sides in defeat. Her dark hair spun in wild waves down her back. That was the only warmth she had, and she shivered violently as the seemingly cool air danced across her caramel skin.

They must trust her, and understand that she was not a killer, even if she no longer believed herself. She gathered her steel and her wits, and spoke with as much clarity and conviction that she could. "I will caussse no more harm to thisss woman. We go to healing place. I ssay sssorry, a hundred timesss. Do not hurt me, Mad... Maddy isss capable of hurting me if sshe wissshess." She breathed in shakily, and ignored the doubtful looks the onlookers shared between themselves. It was Madeira who needed attention, not her, never her. Despite her own swirling mass of dark and lurching emotions, she recognised the trauma her friend had just been through, and knew that she needed help, and as fast as possible.

The same man who had surged forwards first was the first to sheathe his weapon, although his hand stayed on his belt warily. "Look, I don't trust you," he nudged his head towards the snake woman, who only stole a brief look of blank horror at the damage she'd caused, "But it's clear you need help young lady. We'll help you as far as Ionu's Mercy, to make sure you get there safe." And make sure she doesn't do anything else, he implied with the dark look cast her way. Ssanya smiled weakly, uncaring of the mistrust, and quickly rushed towards Madeira to catch her before she could fall. The injured woman felt deceptively heavy as she leant against her, but Ssanya did not know how to touch her, feeling as if every move of her own gave the pale woman a chance to feel that same terror of before. She didn't want to make her feel more afraid of her.

And where was the ghost? What had happened to it? Madeira certainly hadn't fully exorcised it, or whatever it was that made the ghost disappear for good. That meant it was still around somewhere, presumably guarding the fetish or waiting for the right moment to haunt it. Maybe it would even go for Madeira once Ssanya had left...! In panic, she yelled at the sole man who had decided to help them. "Quick, pick up that, there, on the floor!" He looked at her, searching for a trick, but she pleaded with her eyes. "It important, wait! Pick up by sstring, not bone. That'sss important too." Her eyes flickered over the plaza, searching for the shimmer of the ghost, but she couldn't see it. The man bent down, and his fingers clasped the string. He held it out warily. Ssanya's heart stilled as she waited for the ethereal onslaught, but nothing came. She breathed out. "Let'ss find Ionu'ss Mercy."

The string of the fetish slipped into her free hand, and she gripped it tightly. If the ghost wanted the fetish, she would take it in, not Madeira. It was foolish, but what else could they do at that point? In front of the curious strangers, now was not the time to be discussing maledicted bones and anguished ghosts. She was almost sure that the ghost was gone for now, but anxiety still tugged at her fingers and made her cast frantic glances around whenever she thought no-one was looking.

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[Madeira Dusk]

Madeira's arm was starting to shake with the effort of holding the rock above her head. Even when the men started sheathing weapons and murmuring amongst themselves, the skinny blonde woman made sure they knew they were not welcome.

But even as she stood there defending her friend in her own pathetic way, she couldn't bring herself to look at her. The fetish was gone, but the image of the Dhani poised over her with fangs extended had been seared into her mind. The memory was sour with terror, and she was sure it would resurface the moment she saw the long, sinuous new body of her closest friend.

Suddenly a shoulder was wedged under hers, catching her just in time for the rock to clatter to the ground. And the soft, dark arms of the Ssanya she knew and adored was suddenly holding her tentatively around the waist, like she was scared she would shatter under the contact. Madeira looked down at her, trying not to let the relief to see her in her human skin show on her face. She gripped her shoulder hard with her good hand, and noticed that she was shivering with cold and completely exposed.

"What kind of gentleman are you?" Madeira snapped at their mistrustful guide, while holding out her skirt to cover as much of Ssanya as she could. "Give the lady your coat!" And the man must have been surprised, for he shrugged out of his blazer immediately. Madeira helped Ssanya into it one-handedly. The pea-green blazer almost hit the top of the diminutive woman's knees, but there was not much she could do to keep it closed.

Now that they were moving again, the numbness was wearing off Madeira's broken arm. The nausea was still there, combined with a dizziness that made her very thankful for the shoulder beneath her, and now it was as if her bones had been replaced with burning coals. But she didn't let it distract her. She needed to talk to Ssanya, and tell her what she knew. She had a good guess as to where the ghost was, and a special insight into what the purpose of the fetish was, and she could explain none of it while Citizen Soldier was breathing down their necks.

Thankfully, the Mercy was never far when you needed it. They had shuffled their way around one corner when it appeared. The bandage and inverted triangle symbol was hanging over the door of a tall sandstone building.

Madeira stared at their chaperone until he took the hint and opened the door for them. Once they were through she was about to kick it closed when he slipped in behind them like a greasy shadow.

"I'll wait here." he said pointedly, and sat on one of the rickety chairs by the door. But he wasn't reassuring her, Madeira realized. He was warning Ssanya.

Yet before the Spiritist could open he mouth to explain that no really, she didn't want him, a didn't take kindly to his veiled threat, a kindly nurse came to meet them.

“Oh dear, that's quiet the break!" she cooed gently, her smile soft with sympathy. "This way. I'll get you a bed and make sure the doctor can see you as soon as she can."

A chime later Madeira was sat on the edge of a bed covered with starched white linen, and Ssanya was offered a seat on the padded chair at the head of the bed. The nurse had unbuttoned Madeira’s sleeve and pushed it aside, so the whole gory reality of the break was on display.

"You didn't rupture the skin, that's good." the nurse was saying as she ran the lightest of touches over her twisted bone. "Your elbow is dislocated very badly, and I'll bet you've fractured your forearm. What happened?"

"I... fell." Madeira lied with a half glance at Ssanya. As a Spiritist and therefore a practised bullshitter, this lie had rather less creativity than she could usually manage.

"You've burst every blood vessel in your face", the nurse began dubiously. "I've never seen blood pressure this bad, your companion is naked under someone else's jacket and there is an armed man by the door who insists he escort you out."

"I fell really badly?"

"I see." the nurse smiled in a way that said they were fooling no one, but thankfully dropped the question. "Your arm is cold. The dislocation is putting pressure on your circulatory system. I'll need to reset it before I get the doctor. Ready?"

"Ready for what?"

Crack.

•••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••

After Madeira was done screaming, and her arm (now pointing in the right direction) had been set in a linen sling to keep her from aggravating it further, the nurse bustled away to get the doctor and see to her other patients. Before she left she closed the curtains around the little bed, and promised to come back with an opiate for the pain.

The moment the tapping of her shoes disappeared down the hall, Madeira motioned Ssanya closer.

"San! San, look at me. This is not your fault." she began in hissing whisper, looking straight into her chocolate brown eyes and taking her hand in her own. She did not miss the shame that radiated off the small woman since they were in the plaza. It hurt to think she was blaming herself for something Madeira begged her to do. "You saved my life. I knew I could count on you. That's why I found you in the first place. So... thank you." She smiled for the first time that day, her relief pushing through the salt of dried tear tracks and bloodshot eyes. She would not bring up the Dhani form she had seen so briefly. She wasn't sure she could face it quite yet.

"But I have news. Listen. That fetish is a Kelvic skull. It was pulled from a grave surrounded by birch trees. And the only place I know in Alvadas that's always surrounded by birch trees is the Emerald Pond.” she shuddered involuntarily. Having grown up in Alvadas, the Emerald Pond was in most of the horror stories children her age told each other. “I'm sure the ghost is there. It was her daughter."

She fell silent as a pair of shoes shuffled past the gap at the bottom of the curtain. She waited until she was sure they were out of earshot before speaking again.

"We have to get out of here, before the nurse gets back. We don’t have time for them to drug me and wrap me in plaster. If that ghost is at the Pond we need to be too. And for the love of the gods we can't let Mister Hero see us leave. What do we do?"

[Allassanachassanya]

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"Speech"

Ssanya ceased shivering as the coat slipped over her shoulders. She was glad of the warmth, even if she couldn't help shuddering with displeasure as the rough texture of the stranger's coat grated over her skin. Still, she paid little attention to herself after that. Madeira and she and the hawkish man made their sorry way to Ionu's Mercy, and she was extremely glad that the city's illusions weren't being their usual, capricious self that day. The building they found as they rounded the corner was majestic in a creamy-coloured stone, with a small sign swinging over the dark oak doors that led into the building beyond. Ssanya looked at the stone work and vaguely thought of back home, but as they pushed the creaking door open and slipped gratefully into the lobby of the clinic, all thoughts of architecture left her. The man plonked himself down on a rickety old chair, and she could feel the watchful stare even as the nurse led the two of them into a curtained off section.

A similar chair sat, lonely-like, beside the neatly made bed that the nurse sat Madeira down on. She was talking, the nurse, her soft, lilting voice questioning and stating and explaining. The Dhani woman was listening carefully, but her eyes were flitting here and there distractedly. It was stress, she supposed, stress about the recent revelations about her own soul, and stress as to what would happen to Madeira. It didn't sound good- ruptured this and dislocated that. Ssanya wished then that she knew more about the human body, and briefly began wondering what on earth the nurse meant, to 'reset' the broken arm (because that was what it looked like to her, despite the small explanation to the contrary), when suddenly Madeira was screaming and Ssanya was gripping the arms of the chair as if she was being murdered.

Her heart, which had gradually been calming down after the shock of that confrontation in the plaza, came back with the powerful strength of a leaping wolf. It took a huge amount of willpower to stop herself from leaping from the chair and yanking the nurse away, even as Madeira's pained voice died down and it became clear the nurse had actually, miraculously, done exactly what she'd said she would. Her world shrunk until all she could see was the only friend she had in the world, and the guilt that was now once again eating at her agitated heart. All the colour and warmth usually present in her narrow face drained until, ironically, she looked like she'd seen a ghost. But she didn't move from her chair, not until the nurse had gone and Madeira beckoned her closer.

She listened, but her ears were full of cotton, blanking out her reassurance. The weak smile that flitted across her face fell once again as she tried to gaze into Madeira's eyes with the same level of intensity that she was giving her. It was no use. But...

Are you mad? That was the thought that passed through her mind, as she listened incredulously to what she had to say. Or rather, that was the first thought. The second one bashed down the shame that was threatening to swallow her, and was completely won over by Madeira's own confidence that radiated from her, even with the arm in a sling and the various cuts, bruises, and burst blood vessels that decorated her. Ssanya wanted to go to the Emerald Pond and defeat the ghost and help the Spiritist do all the crazy things she did. She wanted the adventure, the thrill and terror of a confrontation with that which she did not understand in the slightest. She was also magnetically drawn to the fetish that she'd stowed in the coat's roomy pocket, wondering what it did and how it worked and the nature of the person who had made it.

For a long moment, she balanced the desire to keep Madeira safe with the need to discover and solve the mystery. The two were completely opposed, after all. Out at the Emerald Pond, just about anything could happen and it probably would be bad for both of them. But if they did not go, if Ssanya refused to help the Spiritist... Well then, although Madeira could heal for as long as she needed, the threat still remained because of the bone talisman residing safely, for now, on her person.

She wanted to tell her to rest and that they could deal with it when things got better. But instead, the words that came out of her mouth were not, "You must stay safe", but "There musst be a way to disguisse uss, or a way to get out a different way." She cast her eyes about, looking for anything that could help them. The curtained off 'room' was barely that, and held little inside that might disguise them from 'Mr Hero' below. The nurse had left a reel of bandage lying on the small table accompanying the simple bed, and a perhaps there were things in the drawer underneath but she didn't see it as it was hidden from her viewpoint. Ssanya certainly couldn't escape through the front door - the coat she wore would be instantly recognisable to the man it belonged to. But Madeira might, if she had some way of hiding herself from view...

Her mind raced and alighted on the only thing she could think of. It wasn't a brilliant idea, but it could work for one of them at least. They didn't have long before the doctor came, and each tick felt like a chime too long. She stumbled over her words in the heat of the moment, "Madeira, ussse the bandagess to wrap round your head and hair and you can walk out I think if you are quick. I will think of sssomething and meet you outssside. It'sss sstupid but iss all I can think."

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[Madeira Dusk]

Ssanya seemed to struggle with herself for a moment. Yet when she spoke, it was with a plan. Madeira's smile widened.

"A disguise? Yes, good. We can do that, I'm sure."

Their little room was bare and sterile, but there was a little stand of drawers to the left of the bed. Madeira swung her feet to the floor and leant carefully over to slide open the drawers. Inside were several clean towels, an emergency first aid kit in a leather bag, and a simple linen shift for patients.

So this and a roll of bandages was all they had to work with. Madeira closed her eyes, pinched the bridge of her nose and tried to channel Allister, her actor bondmate. Surely, if she dumped all this at his feet, he could think of some outlandish disguise to get them through. She could feel Ssanya looking at her as her mind turned. The Dhani seemed jumpy. Now that Madeira was riding the sweet relief of freedom from the curse and the ghost, it made Ssanya's agitation even more obvious.

No, no, she couldn't afford to be distracted. Think!

And suddenly it all clicked into place. She lifted her head, pointed to the Dhani and said: "Take off your clothes."

Her one good hand was already at her own throat, threading the long row of buttons on her dress, when she came crashing back to herself. The fire of a thousand suns burned in her cheeks and she clutched her dress closed, though she had only opened it as far as her collarbone.

"The dress! You need this dress, I mean. I'll put on the patient gown and wrap my head. You can wear this and do what you need to do. It’ll be way too big, but there's nothing we can really do about that. Now for gods sake turn around!"

Once she had struggled out of her faded green dress and slipped the shift over her head, she turned back to Ssanya. The undyed linen gown, with knots up the back to preserve modesty, was sleeveless and hung straight from her shoulders to her knees. Since her typical mode of dress was so demure as to be prudish, she felt completely exposed with her skinny limbs sticking out. She stood with her legs planted firmly together, her broken arm slung across her chest, and her burning eyes daring the Dhani to laugh.

“Here, help me wrap my head", she nodded to the bandages on the bed.

••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••

Once she was done up she was unrecognizable as the bent, wrecked woman that entered the Mercy several chimes ago. Now she was a pasty, genderless burn victim with a broken arm and the legs of a chicken. She gave Ssanya a thumbs up.

"Meet you outside... Good luck."

With that she shuffled out from behind the curtain and down the hall. She kept her eyes to the floor and her posture bent, doing her best to blend in.

The patients ignored her, dealing as they were with their own problems. The nurses were harried, and didn't do more than check that the shuffling patient wasn't actively dying before turning to the more pressing patients. And like this she passed through to the front room almost unnoticed.

The door outside was open just a sliver, and light poured in from outside. Yet her misguided protector was sitting right in the beam, which fell across his hawkish nose. He was staring off into space, slumped in the rickety waiting chair and absently chewing his cheek. Madeira shuffled by, sneaking glances at him and sweating under
the layers of bandages. She was level with him, and just reaching for the door handle, when the unthinkable happened. His eyes flicked to her just as she was looking at him, and her stomach plummeted as a dim, confused spark of recognition flared in his eyes. He threw his arm across the door to block her way and squinted blearily at her.

"Wait..."

Her first thought was to play dumb and push by, but she was certain he would just catch her by the waist. Yet she couldn't very well tell him to get out of her way without revealing herself. So in a clutch of desperation she channelled her servant Jomi, who knew more languages than she did, and liked to demonstrate it by swearing at her in all of them.

“Titless lunatic!" she barked at the man in a raspy voice, parroting her foul-mouthed ghost with no idea what she was saying. “Blow me, grave robber! I don't give bag of badger shyke! Dog petcher!"

She continued the spiel in what she suspected was Fratava and Turkant and possibly a mix between the two. The hawkish man was just staring at her, slack jawed, his arm lowering with the weight of his amazement. Wether he knew what she was saying, she had no idea. But he could hardly mistake the tone. When her way was clear she wrenched the door open and just about leapt to freedom.

[Allassanachassanya]

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"Speech"

Ssanya couldn't help but smother a smirk as she watched Madeira realise what she'd said, but she turned around as the woman asked. As it was, Ssanya was only wearing the man's coat, so she dropped it unceremoniously and swapped clothes with Madeira. She relished in the warmth of the dress, though it was exactly as she had said..- far too long for her. She picked at the long sleeve and stifled the idling, sneaky temptation to peek until the women were both decent once more. Madeira would probably want to kill her for this thought, but she reckoned that the slight Spiritist didn't need to present the prudish front quite as much as she did. Still, when she looked at her once more, she couldn't help but wince. "You look... terrible." There was concern in her eyes, but they no longer had time to let Ssanya wallow. She pushed back the lingering burn of shame and began to help Madeira tie the bandage around her head.

Ssanya watched Madeira leave, her confidence evident even despite the unusual get-up. Now she had to think of her own plan. Madeira looked much different to when she entered Ionu's Mercy, but Ssanya was still recognisable by her face and her borrowed dress. Besides, the man at the door would undoubtedly be looked out for her specifically, as she was such a monster. She ground her teeth together, and tensed at the sound of footsteps. She needed to get a move on.

A few moments later, Ssanya walked from the room and began to wander the corridor. She turned in the opposite direction to the main door they had gone through and hurried with her head bent low as she kept the edge of the wall so as to avoid suspicion, until she was a way away from the room Madeira had been taken to. The Mercy's corridor had opened out into a wider space with a tall ceiling. Her bare feet made slapping noises on the marbled floor as she paced, trying to find an alternative exit. It didn't seem likely though. An elderly woman with a knife sticking out of her thigh smiled tightly at her; Ssanya tried not to stare at the vicious cut, and then in the spur of the moment she spun on her heel and knelt down at her bedside.

"Yes, dear?"
"I've lossst the exit. Do you know how to get out, isss there a door closser than the main door?" She hesitated, already lambasting her bare-faced lie, but the woman frowned and slowly shook her head. "No, dear. I don't know. So far as I know there's only one door in an' out. Sorry I can't be of any more help." Ssanya nodded tersely and said her thanks, but in reality she could almost feel the tick, tock of time passing. She leapt to her feet once more and paced back to the doorway.

She began walking, and then suddenly a bird twittered, loud enough and sweet enough to make her stop in her steps. She turned her head, and there as if placed by Ionu, was a window just past the doorway of a tiny little room. Ssanya looked left and right, saw that no-one was about, and darted into the room. It was dark, except for the flickering of light travelling past the leaves of the tree that grew outside the window. There was a bed in the room, but it was empty for which Ssanya was mightily glad.

Madeira's long dress clung to her knees as she launched herself at the window frame, but finally she dragged herself over the edge to sit herself on the ledge. The drop wasn't far, as she had not got further than the ground floor, so Ssanya dropped to the outside world with a bit of an ugly landing that made her curse as her feet trod on the sharp paving stone. But she was free, and she hitched up the dress in an unladylike fashion and ran until she was at the front of the building.

When she arrived, she was breathless and red-faced and just about ready to tear the dress at the knees for how unuseful it was being. But Madeira was there, thankfully, and she couldn't help but giggle breathlessly as she took in the haute couture bandages she wore. The first words out of her mouth were not an apology for her lateness nor her monsterness, but a statement formed as a question, "We need to go to the Emerald Pondss, yess?" Though it was a question, Ssanya clearly lent an inflection of hurry. There were things they needed to talk about, yes, but there were other, more pressing concerns of ghosts and possession... and malediction. Matters of the remorseful heart would have to wait.

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[Madeira Dusk]

Grades Awarded!

Don't forget to edit/delete your grade request!

Madeira Craven

Skills

• Endurance: 4xp
• Meditation: 2xp
• Teaching: 1xp
• Spiritism: 2xp
• Investigation: 2xp
• Planning: 2xp
• Intimidation: 1xp
• Leadership: 1xp
• Disguise: 1xp

Lores

• People: Micha Netven
• Location: the Wolf's Cave
• Ssanya: can make soulmist
• Spiritism: reaping memories
• Spiritism: overriding possession
• Lore of recognizing the signs of a Dhani shift
• Lore of Ssanya's Dhani form
• Lore of how to scare a ghost
• Ssanya: broke the curse
• Intimidation: using threats and demands

Awards & Retribution
- Broken arm

Notes

Allassanachassanya

Skills

• Planning: 3xp
• Observation: 5xp
• Meditation: 1xp
• Spiritism: 1xp
• Running: 1xp
• Tactics: 2xp
• Unarmed Combat: 3xp
• Intimidation: 3xp
• Rhetoric: 1xp
• Leadership: 2xp
• Investigation: 1xp
• Climbing: 1xp

Lores

• Lore of the scent of Madeira's fear
• Spiritism: how to make soulmist
• Malediction: signs of a curse
• Madeira: possessed and cursed
• Intimidation: the threat of body language
• Madeira: scared of Ssanya's Dhani form
• Ssanya: broke Madeira's arm
• Leadership: giving orders
• Location: Ionu's Mercy
• Lore of Madeira's forgiveness
• Tactics: a plan of escape

Awards & Retribution
+Cursed Fetish: the maledicted rabbit skull is worn around the neck on a simple leather cord. Though capable of enhancing the senses of the wearer, but will also give them the overwelming anxiety of a prey animal.

Notes
Notes here.