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Terri reaches the top of the stairs, slingshot in hand with the feather she plucked from the ground sticking from one of her pockets. When she saw the woman, Terri is unsure what is exactly going on and decides to wait a moment before acting too stupidly.
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Betony Rue bars Rick's way as he tries to enter the room in order to interpose himself between Emma and the strange creature. The Ogress then glares at John as if she will not hesitate to see how much organic matter still lies hidden within his clockwork form as he pulls out his gun. The mad woman cringes away from them all, even as her hair appears to rear forward, snakes now visible within the dark tresses as they hiss at the Changelings, particularly the Manikin. She scuttles backward, until her back rests against the mirror, almost as if she is guarding it.
"Stay out of this Mr. Pereg, it is none of your concern. Mr. Gears, put that weapon away immediately, or leave my house. Now... Emma, tell me exactly what you did to Moira"
"Nothing. She bit me, Bets."
Emma, for her part, looks equal measures hurt and embarrassed. However, she puts her hands out in a calming gesture towards the other Lost as she moves to join them at the door.
"Don't hurt her. Her name's Moira... she lives here. She just has... good days and bad days. I think today's looking like a bad day."
Terri feels drawn to the room as she notices a large black bird perched outside the window, looking in. For some reason, it reminds her once more of her dream.
Rick may push past Betony Rue with a contested STR+STA roll. If John keeps pointing his gun at Moira in his next post, everyone will need to roll Initiative
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Terri slips her own weapon out of sight and moves forward, gently placing her hand on John's forearm in an effort to convince the Manikin to lower his weapon.
"Do as she says John, we've jumped to the wrong conclusion, it seems."
She gives Rick a brief nod before speaking to Betony Rue.
"Is it okay for me to enter?" she asks, eyes darting towards the blackbird perched outside, the pull of it weighing heavy on her mind as it felt like the waking and dreaming worlds had come together.
Was it a message?
All Terri truly knew was an eager motivation to help and it pulled at her heart.
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John sighed as he clicked the safety on and slid his weapon back into his jacket. "Very well." He with a nod to Terri. The Manikin still looked very tense and his gaze did not seem to let Moira out of his field of view. He kept his arms crossed as he stepped back and observed. Something about this did not feel right to him. But like many other times in the past he could not figure out what.
What he wouldn't give for a drink right now.
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Rick, reluctantly, pulls up short as Betony Rue blocks the doorway. And, more importantly, as Moira seems more intent on retreating to the mirror than taking another bite out of the Blightbent. An unbidden thought crossing his mind concerning how awful it must taste to bite someone covered in oil like that.
His eyes do narrow slightly, but he decides to swallow the retort about how they apparently had differing views on what may or may not have concerned him. People attacked in his vicinity tended to rank high on that list. But he was willing to wait and see how this played out, for now.
And what was with that damn bird?
Yeah, frustration may have been starting to boil over a bit.
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Betony Rue tenses for a moment in the doorway, expecting resistance, then moves into the room when it appears that her visitors no longer seem eager to threaten Moira. The other Lost notice that the Ogress' face almost softens with motherly affection as she thoroughly examine Emma's wounded hand. Almost.
"The skin has been broken. Wash it thoroughly with soap and warm water, then bring me the First Aid kit. Yes, Miss Nutkins, you may enter, but do not make any sudden movements. She is far more dangerous than she appears."
Emma nods to her landlady, then catches Rick's eye as she walks toward the hall bathroom.
"Help me carry?"
Moving over to Moira, Betony Rue attempts to calm her. As the Witch speaks in a low voice, the snakes in the feral woman's hair melt back into the dark tresses and the animalistic aspects of her face shift until she soon appears as a sweet old lady. One of her rheumy eyes scans the room in confusion as she rests against the mirror.
"Where is she? She must stop. It's not good for her.."
John recognizes the mirror behind the old lady from the last time he was in this house. It appears normal now, but he recalls that it had once seemed somehow... different. However, his thoughts are soon interrupted by a light tapping at the window. Looking at the bird pecking at the glass, Terri follows its gaze into the room to a shelf near the bed. Catching a shiny glimmer, her eye is drawn to an ornate silver flask. The sight of it fills the squirrel woman with a sense of peace and comfort. Terri feels a powerful urge to hold it... if only for a minute or two.
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The question caught Rick slightly by surprise, even with a wounded hand what kind of first aid kit needed two people to carry it? Unless she was looking for a chance to say something to him about what had happened without Betony Rue present to overhear? "Umm, sure."
He gives the crazy bird one last wary glance, noting the flask as well, then follows Emma down the hall to the bathroom to get her hand cleaned.
Deja vu, really. Though at least this time she hadn't sliced it open herself.
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Terri nods and allows a gentle smile to touch her lips, keeping her eyes on Moira. Stepping over the room's threshold and the pecking catches her attention and when she notices the flask, she can't help herself.
Shiny.
Carefully moving over to the shelf, ensuring of no sudden movements, Terri stretches and picks up the flask and looks at it, running her thumb over the intricate pattern on its surface.
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John Gears frowned hard as he not only looked at the mirror but at the room itself. It was perfectly normal as far a he could tell. Either the mirror had been moved or something had happened to the original room that was unnaturally slanted. The constant unease he felt and the sudden arrival of the black bird continued to build on the Mankin. I am really starting to wonder if putting this place to the torch would be better for me in the long run.
The fact that Terri had changed course from the bird to some random flask with some strange level of intent also put him off even more. The thought that there might be a stiff drink in it passed his mind for a moment, but he dismissed it. It was not his. Or Terri's. "Terri. You should put that back." John said as clearly as he could to Red Squirrel.
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Emma looks up at Rick as she washes her hand in the sink. Once she dries her hand, the Elemental opens the cabinet door and starts to load Rick's arms up with glass jars and bottles.
"Deja vu all over again, huh? Hey, I know Bets can be a bit much sometimes, but her heart really is in the right place. And Moira... well, she ended up that way because she was trying to protect us. So, don't be too hard on her, okay?"
Back in Moira's room, the old woman's face shifts into a younger visage and her hair appears to catch fire as Terri picks up the flask. Her eyes are wide with anger and fear.
"NoooOooooo! That's not yours! You can't..."
Terri, however, hears a different voice in her head as she holds the flask.
"Will you swear to gamble your own soul to help the souls of others? Do you have faith in the Blackbirds?"
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