Ahriman had a plan. He had a devious plan. It involved The heirach, lots of booze and possibly a trip to go fishing in the river. He hated seeing him run down and honestly wanted to help. So it was with this in mind he decided to kidnap the heirch in the traditions of frat boys everywhere.

Which was now why he was attemping, and failing to push the thyrsus out of the circle and into his car.

For a moment Animus simply braces himself, holding his ground effortlessly. Finally a light chuckle. "Words help, you know."

"Tried words, I offered three or four times. We are now getting you hammered, smahsed, buzzed and all the other words for drunk. we are having a good time!" He continues to push helpessly.

"And when was the last time you saw me drink?"

"Never. That would be why..." he thinks for a second "can Thrysus get drunk?"

Another chuckle. "You haven't seen Tug when he really goes at it, have you?"

"I haven't seen tug do much of anything other than shout at me and call me buscuit."

The Thyrsus shakes his head. "Biscuit is his familiar. But if Thyrsus can't get drunk, you wouldn't know it from watching him."

"Well can't they pretend to be drunk ... like drunken masters and stuff? like you can force your body to react like its drunk" he is slowly leading the other to his beat up truck. "Also... his familiars name is biscuit? don't spirits normally come with names that are less ... culinary?"

"It was ..." A brief flicker behind his eyes. Flashes of images, guilt. "We'd stormed the Kreugans' Sanctum to take out a group of Banishers, but they escaped. The fight was enough to awaken a pain spirit, and the two hit it off, for some reason." A quick shrug. "He named it after what it most looked like."

"You know it doesn't suprise me tug could charm a pain spirit... A pain spirit named biscuit... must have had issues with his momma's cooking if a pain spirit reminded him of it." he pops open the truck. "Mind you my daimon looks like a bad horror film so maybe I should start calling him "B-movie"

The Thyrsus snorts at the cooking comment, before turning serious again. "I've wondered about daimons sometimes. What is it like?"

"What? Having a daimon? Well.. okay you know that little voice in your head that tells you when you need to shut up and sit down and when you need to do things? That instict?"

"It tends not to be so much a voice for me, but yes, I know what you mean."

"Well..." he shrugs. "Its like that, only its a completely different person. "

He pauses. "See its the person I should be, the drive that makes me want to be more than I am.. Its me, but its not.

A look of confusion. "Different ... person?"

"Yeah like... he isn't me but he is. I can talk to him, he has different needs and wants, a different mind. He's all my insticts only removed and made into someone else."

A sudden nervous flicker, and the Thyrsus quickly takes a step backward. "Removed?"

Ahriman blinks. "huh?" he sounds stupid. "well no.. not removed... it's." He struggles to find a word. "I have INSTINCTS. I have to in order to function. You can ask Mike about my insticts... but its more.."

"More what?"

"I have given it a form all its own and sentience.. and it drives me to do better by literally being a voice in my head... it's my shoulder demon/angel if you would like."

"I mean everyone has a daimon you know."

"Mine just more vocal than most." he climbs into the truck.

Too interested to just let it go, the Thyrsus finally climbs into the passenger seat. "I never really could grasp that demon/angel stuff. For me, it's almost all imagery, quick flashes, and ... I guess it's just hard to imagine there being something ... else there."

"Of course there is. I mean I bet if I went into your head there's someone in there wanting to better you. It would be... " He thinks "Okay lets try it this way. Whats your worst flaw you can think of?"

"Worst ..." Flickers. A mutual promise. He could trust Ahriman. "I just ... sometimes running completely on instinct is the only way I can cope. It keeps me going, but ... I could never keep the presence of mind to lead others into battle."

Ahriman raises his eyebrows. "I see. So you deny your emotions to run on instinct. Your daimon would be pushing you to do otherwise, and is, hence why you can idetify it. So Your daimon would typify what you want to be. He would want to be a strong leader who balanced his instincts with presence of mind."

"Then you want to listen more to what your instincts tell you?"

"No... I have no idea what I want. My daimon's a bit pushy and doesn't tend to be very nice. I think it's a humbling thing but.. I can't really tell.

He turns on the car. "I mean we mostly talk about what I could be. I could be this I could be that... so what's holding me back?"

A sad smile. "You have a daimon to rake you over the coals. I tend to do it to myself. Not sure which is worse."

"Simple. Its worse when you do it, because the daimon inside you isn't being upfront, it's not showing its own opinion of you, or arguing, it's convincing you that its your fault and it never has a sense when to stop."

"And do you ever strike back at it?"

"I discuss with it yes. I rebel." he chuckles. "Just like you do or anyone else. It's through that struggle that I grow stronger."

The Thyrsus nods his understanding. "Because not fighting back means you're just prey."

"Exactly." He drives out. "I could introduce you one day."

"I'd like that." a light chuckle. "Maybe I could talk some sense into it."

"Not tonight though. I want to go wild tonight."

"Wild?"

"I was wondering, could you turn others into animals?"

The Thyrsus pauses, uncertain what to make of the question. "I can. But why? What brought that on?"

"Remember that talk we had about what it was like to be in the fur... I wanted to try it... "

"I --" He almost couldn't believe it. "So few people are ever interested in that sort of thing. But yes, I'd be happy to do that."

Ahriman laughs. "Well I am not normal. Thanks. For now though where do you want to go?"

"If you want to see what being an animal is like, we're going to need some space. Maybe woods somewhere outside the city?"

"Okay... I brought some beer, should we hold off?"

"Better to hold off. You'll want your senses sharp."

"okay" and so he drives out towards the woods. "So... why the arrows?"

"That is... why did you choose the arrow... I never asked did I?"

"I used to be Ladder. Eventually realized I was seeing more of the ideal of the order than its actual practice. Then when I saw myself starting to slip into the political maneuvers, I knew I needed some way to find myself again. The Adamant Way filled that gap." A light shrug. "Besides, even then, I instinctively needed to protect the people I care about."

"It's always instinct with you, isn't it?" there is a pause. "Sometimes I wish I could just let myself be instinctive." He sighed. "I would be a better soilder."

A quick nod. "It has to be. The Wilds aren't some park. All the predator-prey cycles play out on a grand scale. And you can't stop to think about where you fit into that, or something big will decide for you."

"I still think though if you can figure out ahead of time how to take on that big thing..." he replies. "but there I got thinking again." The woods are getting thicker.

Animus shrugs as Ahriman pulls the truck up to park. "And how long does that take? Two, three seconds? You could already be lunch." The Thyrsus steps out, seemingly unaffected by the morbidity of his own statement, beginning to walk to put some distance between himself and the road.

[color=grey]"Or you could have made someone else your lunch by having thought ahead of time." he steps out. "Is this going to hurt?"

Greater Shapeshifting; two targets


By way of response, the Thyrsus draws down the Supernal, wrapping the energy of the Primal Wilds around his and Ahriman's patterns. Clothes fall away as he takes to the sky as a owl, giving the Mastigos an encouraging hoot. It would seem he doesn't believe much in giving warning.

Ahriman blinks and looks around then tries to stand up, only managing to get tangled in his clothes. He huffs and puffs up his feathers slightly, looking a bit like a burrito in his sweater. After a few mintues of moving about he manages to stand and looks over himself. He then looks up at Animus.

The next hoot sounds almost like laughter, but the Thyrsus soon circles around to dive toward his companion, pulling up at the last second to give him a playful scratch on the way past, apparently not considering remaining on the ground an option.

Ahriman screeched moving down at the last second he then turned and flapped, flapped as hard and as fast as he could, trying desperately to get off the ground. At first they were mismatched, then they were flapping far too fast, then finally he got it right and he boucned once, twice and was off the ground.

The two take to the air, swooping in and out of trees. At one point Animus catches sight of a small rabbit, and quickly swoops down for the kill. Snapping it up, he once again takes to the air before circling back the way they had come.

Ahriman less swoops around the trees as dodging them as he gets used to the fact that he can fly. He watches the other enjoying himself though and soon comes to enjoy it himself, dancing along behind the other as he finds what he can do in the air. Still he tires quickly and drops behind, landing near his clothes and watches as Animus comes beside him. With a wide gesture he motions to the back of his truck.

A wide grin appears on the Thyrsus' face as he releases the spell, quickly getting dressed. "So, what did you think?"

Ahriman took a second to count his fingers and toes, and to feel right in his body again before he answer. "That.." his voice was raspy and cracks a little. He clears his throat. "That was amazin', It felt awesome to just..." he stops and thinks "feel alive.. "

A hand momentarily trails through the dirt. "It is nice, to just feel the sensations of other creatures. They pick up on a lot that we just gloss over."

"Yeah.. I was told to learn life to cure my lisp but I felt like that was cheating nature... Life's always felt like that to me... but maybe its more being closer to nature."

A brief glance toward the scar running the length of his arm. "I know. There's certainly enough ways to cheat nature in the Life Arcanum. But consequences have a habit of finding their way back to you." Even if it's the Abyss that enforces them. "But one of the first things you learn is how to open yourself up to the living things around you, to truly feel the web of nature. That's quite an experience by itself."

Ahriman nods then pulls out a beer and hands it to Animus. He decides to forgo one for the sake of driving home and instead sips on a coke. "Must be... " he says prompting the other to go on.

Eyes flicker toward the beer, and the Thyrsus almost pushes it away. You shared your world with him, are you going to deny him the chance to do the same? Finally, gingerly, he takes a swig ... and nearly chokes, before slowly relaxing.

A short chuckle. "Sorry, not used to the stuff. It's like ... just feeling connected, to everything around me. Almost like being in the middle of a symphony, but ... living, breathing."

Ahriman listened as he sipped the coke. He chuckles at the older man's inability to drink but shrugs lightly. "I used to go to the movies when I first got to Hollywood."

A light sigh. "I never could get into movies. They always seemed ... flat, like there was some potential that they were just ... cut off from." A frown. "I'm not even sure if I'm making sense."

Ahriman blinked. "The movies were horrible, so yes that makes sense. I just watched the people. Their minds were so much more intresting, their auras as well.. I felt connected to them."

"I think I know what you mean. "

A sad smile. "People. I try to connect, but ... so often anymore, I just run into barriers. If it's not my position, it's differences in thinking patterns, or -- or what I've been through." A hand brushes through the grass. "Animals, plants, ... hell, even spirits ... are simple, they follow their nature. People spend so much time hiding that, protecting ourselves, that ... sometimes I think we even forget who we are."

"Do we? Humans have a nature to be complex, and in that its simple." Ahriman leans back. "The nature of humans is to struggle with ourselves. We fight our internal battles and identify ourslves by the struggles and happiness. To fight for your connections is human nature, and to fail in that endeavor is human nature."

The Thyrsus takes another swig, managing quite a bit more grace this time, unconsciously matching Ahriman's body language as the other leans back. "Existance is War. The Wilds play it out on a grand scale, but yes, I see where you're coming from. And ... I know how hard I've fought for my connections, the ties that truly matter." A weak grin. "I think it's why following so many other Orphans in leaving civilization behind never had any appeal to me."

"Good. I worry you seem so drifty." the Mastigos smiles. "I mean you're the hierach man, and a good one. Anyone would be proud to look to you for guidence, but you seem troubled." He sips. "Do you need someone to listen?"

"I --" The question seems to catch him by surprise. "I just don't know how I can be sure of anything about myself, after what happened. After -- after the possession."

Ahriman looks at him. "That would worry me. A lot can be jiggled loose in your head after one of those. Still have you done anything lately that would hint you aren't you?"

"I don't think so, but ... he was me, enough that even Triquetra couldn't tell. It all seemed so effortless, that ... I just ..." The Thyrsus trails off, shaking his head.

"No, he wasn't you. There is no you other than you so he couldn't be you." The philosophy major smiles lightly. "I can't tell you anything about ghosts, And to be fair I tend to stay away from that, but tell me : if you had all the information in the mind of someone at your finger tips, the way they talk, they move, the speak, their memories and emotions, wouldn't you be able to mimick them?"

A light chuckle. "I suppose, although I'm not sure I quite follow that dizzying play of words." The Thyrsus' face suddenly darkens. "But then, with all that information, nudging the person toward whichever path I felt like might not be that much more difficult than mimicry. And what if he wanted me to become ... like him?"

There's a pause and then a shift and the purple eyes catch the light as he looks at animus.

"That is something that could happen. " the Mastigos finally says after a few seconds more. "And really the only way to check is to go diving into your Onerios because ghosts can't use magic... right?"

Those eyes. Almost eerie. Different. But to a Thyrsus so far from the mainstream himself, it was only intriguing.

"He'd been a mage, and ... I think still had access to his magic. But it was always flashy, large-scale effects. And, if he did anything to me, I don't think he would have needed it to be a spell."

The man frowns and nods. "Makes sense. If you had been walking around with a mind spell on you we would have noticed, or at least it would have worn off." he thinks "though I think it would be best to check. If he went messing around with you your daimon SHOULD have set it right but... sometimes that doesn't happen."

A puzzled look. This was really veering into unfamiliar territory. "Should have? And how could we tell if it didn't?"

"Well its simple. Remember how I said everyone had a daimon? Well we do because they are the keepers of our souls. They set things right, but its possible to stop them or trick them. We could check by bringing you into your own soul.

"Into my own ..." the Thyrsus shakes his head wonderingly. "I think I understand, but it's a lot to process. Qadesh spoke of the Oneiros before he vanished. Is this the same concept?"

"Yeah basically. I would meditate you into you mind and we would, over a few times, see if theres anything wrong."

A slow nod, although the idea still seemed strange to him. "Okay. I think that would help to settle some things."

AHriman looks over at him. "Just warning you... this is something that will be personal. You can't hide things in your onerios. Its you. Everything you are and were is laid out to see. " He sighs. "I would suggest trying to meditate into yourself first, get things straight, learn the lay of the land and meet your daimon. When I can help I will come and guide you.

"And will I be able to find the way there on my own?"

"You should be. The path is in your own soul." he sips again. "You simply meditate for a while and find yourself there."

"And ... how dangerous is it?"

"Not very. You can get knocked out of your meditation but you can't die... I don't think. You can also wake yourself up."

"Wake myself up?"

"yeah." Ahriman paused. "You aren't really following are you?"

"I'm trying, I just ... it's a little hard to wrap my head around. It's about like trying to explain to you the Shadow Realm."

Ahriman sighed. "Yeah I know..." He thinks. "Alright so the Onerios is you. Its a place made up of you, your preconceptions, your emotions, your memories. You understand that right?"

The Thyrsus nods once.

"Alright then this is easier. The Astral has layers. We are on the waking layer, then the waking meditation, then there is an Astral barrier, followed by a path. This path goes through your soul. The Oneiros is near that path. If you were to keep following the Path you would enter the Temenos, which is the collective soul of humanity, then continue on to Anima mundi, which is the soul of the world, and then if you kept going you would reach the abyss.

Does that make sense?"

"I -- I think so ..." suddenly a look of confusion. "Wait, does that mean the Abyss is ... inside us?"

Ahriman thinks for a moment then shoves another beer towards the Thyrsus. "I don't know? I mean maybe the abyss is more a state of mind than a thing. Or maybe our souls are just connected to the abyss in a metaphysical way. " He thinks "I know what my master taught me, but he was a slippery old man who didn't want me too know too much."

The Thyrsus' face turns serious, as a shiver runs through his frame. "I'm not sure I blame him. Sometimes I wish I could forget some of the things I've learned about it."

"Well it was less that and more he said if I knew things from him I would never understand."

He shakes his head, reminded of the former Curator. "Some people just like to be cagey."

"You can say that again." Ahriman muttered. "Anyway so... Your not heading past your onerios. Basically what you do is look along the side of the road and you will spot something calling to you, at least thats how I see it. You walk off the path and into your dream vestible.

"Vestibule? Is that just something that I'll know what it is when I see?"

"Yeah. It will have something to do with 'arriving', but yes. Mines a hospital."

"Okay. Anything else I should know?"

"Well Arcana work differently, I think... and really just remember you can wake up at any time." Theres a moment. "and if you are not sure bring a friend. Ariadne might be able to help... "

"I ... okay. And, if it's not too personal a question, ... why a hospital?"

Theres a moment and then. "It's where I came into the world... It's where bad news arrives... and it's where I came to a choice that sparked my awakening."

Curious eyes meet Ahriman's own, as the Thyrsus leans forward attentively. "What choice?"

"I... I decided that waiting for my father to die in a coma was useless... and that no matter what I would not accept that fate."

A small nod, almost imperceptible. "It must have been a tough decision. My own was marked almost by the absence of choice. Just forces beyond my control, and the will to reshape myself to be able to survive in those conditions."

"Yeah... " he sighs. "It seemed all my choices were thrust on me."

"But, in some sense, aren't those the ones that matter?"

"I guess?" he looks over as if asking the other to explain.

"What we do when we have to make a decision, when the eternal battles of existance are poised on a moment. Those matter." A light smile. "Sometimes they even resonate into the Supernal."

A long stare then. "I... guess."

The Thyrsus seems to deflate a bit. "Sorry. It made more sense in my mind, I guess."

His gaze momentarily flicks upward to admire the stars. "It's getting awfully late. Maybe we should head back."

"It made perfect sense. It just shook my way to of thinking. That bothered me." He looks up. "aw your not going to howl at the moon with me?" he jokes.

A brief flicker of a smile, as relief floods through him. "Maybe another night. Oh, and ... don't be surprised if your arms are sore in the morning."

"heh." he stretched. "Come on lets get home."