Post by Irina Davayte on Apr 5, 2019 9:01:53 GMT -5
Irina Davayte idly watched the land roll out of sight as the plane moved away from the island of Japan and toward JFK airport in the United States. She pulled out a textbook, and started working on her Differential Equations homework as the jets propelled the plane higher. She preferred to sit in the middle of a plane, next to the huge jets, because even though it could be louder, it was the site with the least-turbulent ride. As an engineering student, she had carefully considered these factors in choosing her seat.
Although she had never flown before the age of eighteen, since moving to Japan from her homeland of Russia, she had become quite comfortable with travel. She settled in to her homework, politely turning down the stewardess’ offer of a blanket. The plane was warm enough as it was. She supposed it was a good seventy-two degrees. The elderly lady two seats down from her graciously accepted the blanket, and wrapped her shawl around herself more tightly. Irina turned the vent pointed toward herself to full-blast.
She adjusted a pin in her hair, smoothing it to perfection. She wasn’t quite sure what she was going into, but she always liked to look put-together. There were reports of excessive Hollow activity in a specific area of Louisiana, and Irina was sent to investigate. As possibly the least threatening-looking in the department, she was sent out on a long weekend from school. She had casually told the TSA agents at the airport that she was headed there for Mardi Gras, as her trip had fallen on that week. Being a college student leaving Japan with a Russian passport, she actually passed by the security rather easily. The agent probably assumed that as a foreign student, she was in the sort of financial situation to fly around anywhere she wanted, looking for a party.
As far as the people in the concerning area of Louisiana, Irina would tell them that she was there to investigate electrical problems in the area. In a pinch, as an engineering student, she could speak a little of the technical jargon if needed. She had a feeling that wouldn’t be a problem, however. As far as she could tell, there was only one residence in about a kilometer radius, which was registered as belonging to a single eighty-three-year-old woman. ”Should be easy to convince her of my story,” Irina figured. Actually, she tended to get along with older people pretty well. They tended to be calmer and more congenial than young people. Soon, she arrived at her destination city. She left her extra clothes and things in the hotel room she had booked, but didn’t stay to relax.
According to satellite images, the once-functional driveway to the house was completely overrun with plants. In fact, it seemed that the only way to approach the residence was by the adjacent river. Resultantly, Irina has researched ahead of time while back in Japan, and found a reputable company from which to rent a small boat. It wasn’t unusual for a college student to want to explore the world, she figured, and put her hair in a high ponytail to fit the part. Pulling off the carefree young person attitude would be more challenging for the serious Irina, but she highly doubted that a small company that rented river boats and canoes would do any serious psychological evaluation of her. Sure enough, they handed over a boat with no fuss, and would even come pick her up at their designated location when she was ready. Irina told them that she might pause for lunch, so she could take a while, and arranged to call when she was ready for a pickup. Then she set out toward her destination.
Using the GPS on her phone, Irina found the house, or at least where it should be. It took her about a half an hour to reach the spot. She didn’t particularly enjoy the trip. She hated the water, so she had selected a wide-based boat that was unlikely to tip. That didn’t, however, do anything for the mosquitos, balmy air, warm temperatures, and water creatures. She hoped not to find any alligators, but did see a snake slither through the water by the bank. When her phone indicated that it should be close, she parked the boat by the bank, anchoring it to a tree with rope. Her veteran granddad had taught her to tie different knots, even though she hadn’t spent much time with watercraft. She thought she saw a house, close to the river, but camouflaged into the scenery.
Irina approached the house with trepidation. It must have once been beautiful in its heyday. The large house had plants and algae growing wild all over it, but at one point, it had probably been white. It stood well above the water on tall stilts. The house was large by any standard, but especially for an elderly lady living alone. With six windows on the first level, and four plus a huge dormer window on the second, she figured it must have at least 10 rooms. The stilts on which the house stood spanned about 2 stories in height, and the house itself was two stories tall. The first story had a wrap-around porch that must have one held many visitors; why else would someone build such a feature?
The house had an oversized front door, which, oddly, faced the water, not the side that the driveway sat on. From the porch descended a winding staircase. It too was covered in algae and plants, so Irina couldn’t imagine that any eighty-something ladies were leaving this home by this route. The home’s resident must have some sort of elevator in the front, she figured. Irina carefully ascended the staircase, which seemed to have salt or something else gritty on it, which helped her remain steady. Some of the planks of the staircase looked rotten, and she walked carefully, testing each step to see if it would give out on her, but none did.
Reaching the top floor, Irina reached for a corroded doorbell, surrounded by an intricate design of flowers and squirrels. Before she could ring it, though, the door flung open, and Irina was face-to-face with perhaps the angriest little old lady she had ever seen. The woman’s skin was wrinkled and leathery, as if it had seen a bit too much of the sun. Her coarse gray hair was in a wild-looking bun atop her head. The woman’s green eyes widened in surprise to see someone there, them narrowed as she examined the young lady before her.
”Hello,” Irina said as warmly as she could manage with a stranger, before the other woman could speak. ”My name is Irina. I work with a company that has noticed some unusual electrical activity in your area. We tried to contact you several times to let you know that someone would be out to investigate, but unfortunately, we were unable to get a hold of you. Would it be alright if I came in?” The woman stared at her with a mixture of anger and confusion.
”Of course no one can get a hold of me! I cut all the phone wires last week. They were letting all kinds of bad juju in my house. Not to mention, the government is using it to spy on me. And ever since I cut those wires, ain’t nobody bothering me to pay that phone bill!” she added triumphantly. She looked at Irina suspiciously, with an air of trying to suppress her anger. ”Ain’t nobody supposed to know how to get here anyway, little girl. My nephew took me off all those satellites last month. He told me so. Not to mention, I made sure I grew all those plants over the drive anyway. The only way to get here is up the river.” She peered out toward the water.
”Yes ma’am, I took a boat to get here,” Irina said gently, gesturing toward the little boat on the side of the stream that she had rented in New Orleans. The old woman stared at her with eyes still narrowed. ”Where are you from, little girl? I ain’t never heard that kind of talkin’ you got there.” There was no way this woman was going to respect Irina easily, let alone trust her. ”I’m from Russia, ma’am, but I’m studying engineering in Japan. That’s why I was sent to make sure everything gets under control with the electrical impulse in your area.”
”Well I don’t let anybody who ain’t from America or from Louisiana in my house,” she said, crossing her arms. ”Okaaay,” Irina said slowly. ”Let me start over,”[/font] she thought. ”Well, that’s alright; I can check on some things from out here,” she said. ”Like I said, my name is Irina. And what is your name?” The woman broke out in a grin. She had successfully stayed off the grid enough that this little girl couldn’t find out her name! Even if she did find her house. ”My name’s Voodoo Mama Juju,” she said emphatically, with a look that made it clear that Irina was not to ask her “real” name.
“And you really don’t need to have a look at anything, dear. I’m quite alright,” she cackled good-naturedly, her scrutinizing look suddenly gone. “Your judgement is just a little bit clouded since you’re expecting.” Irina looked at her with one eyebrow raised slightly. “Expecting?” ”Yes, dear. Pregnancy will do that to a woman. It’s alright. You’ll get your sense back in eighteen years or so,” she added, not trying to be condescending. Irina was speechless. ”I’m really not pregnant,” she tried to correct the woman after a brief pause with her mouth slightly ajar. Irina glanced at her abdomen, suddenly self-conscious of her small frame.
”You may not be showing yet, but you’re at least six weeks along, dear.” Irina gritted her teeth, irritated not only with the woman’s excessive use of the word “dear”.
”Like I said, I just need to check out some things regarding electrical activity in your area,” she said, pulling a scanner she’d borrowed from Kazura from her backpack. It did really measure electric impulses and radio frequency, just to help back up her story. ”I don’t know what anybody told you, but I don’t even have none of that electric stuff in my house or near my house. You need to go along and get on home, child.”
”Really, I’ll be quick,” Irina insisted, already stepping down the first stair. ”No, you’re not listening!” the older woman huffed. ”Nobody comes here, not nobody! You need to get in your little boat, and you need to get away from here, now. This is my home, and this is my swamp. You have no business here.” Irina was tired from her long flight, and already irritated with the woman. ”No, that’s not going to work for me. All I need is for you to let me check things out.”
The old woman’s face was scrunched up in fury, save her wildly wide eyes. She pointed an arthritic finger at Irina’s face. “Listen here, little girl! I. Told. You. To get out of MY SWAMP!” the crooked old woman said in staccato, punctuating the last six words with a wag of her finger. Eyes piercing, she held her chin upward and to the side so she could look down at Irina, who was just a bit taller than her. “Anyway, all of this juju around here can’t be good for your little one,” she added, abruptly calmly. “I am not pregnant!” Irina snapped, finally losing her temper. They both turned to a loud howl in the trees.
”LOOK WHAT YA DID, LITTLE GIRL!” the woman shrieked wildly. ”You done woke up the Shadow Creatures,” she whispered ominously, beckoning Irina closer to hear, then returned to shrieking, making her jump: “YOU NEED TO GET OUTTA MY SWAMP!” Irina rubbed her ear, now thoroughly irritated. ”I am here to help you,” she reiterated through her teeth, rubbing her temples as she scanned the area from which the sound came. ”Ssssh. I got to take care of that Shadow Creature out there in the distance. You stay right here,” Voodoo Mama Juju commanded quietly, relenting and allowing Irina to stay on her front porch.
”So you know about the Hollows?” Irina asked with relief. ”I don’t know nothin’ about what you’re talkin’ about, child. That out there,” she pointed, ”Is a Shadow Creature, and there ain’t nothin’ a little girl like you can do about that. I’ll take care of it, and then you’ll be on your way. I just need to go inside and get an eye of a lizard. You stay right there,” the old woman said confidently, pointing at Irina’s feet to indicate where she should stay. Irina shook her head as she briefly put it in her hands. Oh well. At least she could take care of the Hollow while the strange lady was inside. It was, after all, the reason she had come here. She ran down the stairs once the old woman was out of sight.
Irina had never seen an alligator before, but the creature that she caught a glimpse of through the trees was no regular crocodilian. At least it moved slowly. The Hollow’s legs stuck out at the awkward-looking angles, making movement on land appear difficult. Its massive overbite reached through its mask, revealing teeth that must have been several inches long each. Irina held her sword hilt in her dominant hand, activating its blade. She touched the side of the icy blade gently. She was still amazed by its solid strength.
Hundreds of tiny thudding footsteps softly thundered down the staircase after Irina. ”What do you think you’re doing?” an incredulous voice demanded in a harsh whisper. ”Where did you get that toy, and what on Earth do you think you’re doing around that Shadow Creature?” The woman swung what apparently was the eye of a lizard on a string in Irina’s peripheral vision. Irina wanted to put her face in her palm. She maintained sight of the Hollow instead, talking to the older woman out of the corner of her mouth. ”Don’t worry; I’ve got this under control.” (Really, she wasn’t so sure that she did have it under control, but crazy or not, she wanted to keep the other woman out of her way, and in a safer spot.)
Remaining Reiatsu: 2250 - 200 (activate level 1 fullbring) = 2050
Primary fullbring: 1/10
Although she had never flown before the age of eighteen, since moving to Japan from her homeland of Russia, she had become quite comfortable with travel. She settled in to her homework, politely turning down the stewardess’ offer of a blanket. The plane was warm enough as it was. She supposed it was a good seventy-two degrees. The elderly lady two seats down from her graciously accepted the blanket, and wrapped her shawl around herself more tightly. Irina turned the vent pointed toward herself to full-blast.
She adjusted a pin in her hair, smoothing it to perfection. She wasn’t quite sure what she was going into, but she always liked to look put-together. There were reports of excessive Hollow activity in a specific area of Louisiana, and Irina was sent to investigate. As possibly the least threatening-looking in the department, she was sent out on a long weekend from school. She had casually told the TSA agents at the airport that she was headed there for Mardi Gras, as her trip had fallen on that week. Being a college student leaving Japan with a Russian passport, she actually passed by the security rather easily. The agent probably assumed that as a foreign student, she was in the sort of financial situation to fly around anywhere she wanted, looking for a party.
As far as the people in the concerning area of Louisiana, Irina would tell them that she was there to investigate electrical problems in the area. In a pinch, as an engineering student, she could speak a little of the technical jargon if needed. She had a feeling that wouldn’t be a problem, however. As far as she could tell, there was only one residence in about a kilometer radius, which was registered as belonging to a single eighty-three-year-old woman. ”Should be easy to convince her of my story,” Irina figured. Actually, she tended to get along with older people pretty well. They tended to be calmer and more congenial than young people. Soon, she arrived at her destination city. She left her extra clothes and things in the hotel room she had booked, but didn’t stay to relax.
According to satellite images, the once-functional driveway to the house was completely overrun with plants. In fact, it seemed that the only way to approach the residence was by the adjacent river. Resultantly, Irina has researched ahead of time while back in Japan, and found a reputable company from which to rent a small boat. It wasn’t unusual for a college student to want to explore the world, she figured, and put her hair in a high ponytail to fit the part. Pulling off the carefree young person attitude would be more challenging for the serious Irina, but she highly doubted that a small company that rented river boats and canoes would do any serious psychological evaluation of her. Sure enough, they handed over a boat with no fuss, and would even come pick her up at their designated location when she was ready. Irina told them that she might pause for lunch, so she could take a while, and arranged to call when she was ready for a pickup. Then she set out toward her destination.
Using the GPS on her phone, Irina found the house, or at least where it should be. It took her about a half an hour to reach the spot. She didn’t particularly enjoy the trip. She hated the water, so she had selected a wide-based boat that was unlikely to tip. That didn’t, however, do anything for the mosquitos, balmy air, warm temperatures, and water creatures. She hoped not to find any alligators, but did see a snake slither through the water by the bank. When her phone indicated that it should be close, she parked the boat by the bank, anchoring it to a tree with rope. Her veteran granddad had taught her to tie different knots, even though she hadn’t spent much time with watercraft. She thought she saw a house, close to the river, but camouflaged into the scenery.
Irina approached the house with trepidation. It must have once been beautiful in its heyday. The large house had plants and algae growing wild all over it, but at one point, it had probably been white. It stood well above the water on tall stilts. The house was large by any standard, but especially for an elderly lady living alone. With six windows on the first level, and four plus a huge dormer window on the second, she figured it must have at least 10 rooms. The stilts on which the house stood spanned about 2 stories in height, and the house itself was two stories tall. The first story had a wrap-around porch that must have one held many visitors; why else would someone build such a feature?
The house had an oversized front door, which, oddly, faced the water, not the side that the driveway sat on. From the porch descended a winding staircase. It too was covered in algae and plants, so Irina couldn’t imagine that any eighty-something ladies were leaving this home by this route. The home’s resident must have some sort of elevator in the front, she figured. Irina carefully ascended the staircase, which seemed to have salt or something else gritty on it, which helped her remain steady. Some of the planks of the staircase looked rotten, and she walked carefully, testing each step to see if it would give out on her, but none did.
Reaching the top floor, Irina reached for a corroded doorbell, surrounded by an intricate design of flowers and squirrels. Before she could ring it, though, the door flung open, and Irina was face-to-face with perhaps the angriest little old lady she had ever seen. The woman’s skin was wrinkled and leathery, as if it had seen a bit too much of the sun. Her coarse gray hair was in a wild-looking bun atop her head. The woman’s green eyes widened in surprise to see someone there, them narrowed as she examined the young lady before her.
”Hello,” Irina said as warmly as she could manage with a stranger, before the other woman could speak. ”My name is Irina. I work with a company that has noticed some unusual electrical activity in your area. We tried to contact you several times to let you know that someone would be out to investigate, but unfortunately, we were unable to get a hold of you. Would it be alright if I came in?” The woman stared at her with a mixture of anger and confusion.
”Of course no one can get a hold of me! I cut all the phone wires last week. They were letting all kinds of bad juju in my house. Not to mention, the government is using it to spy on me. And ever since I cut those wires, ain’t nobody bothering me to pay that phone bill!” she added triumphantly. She looked at Irina suspiciously, with an air of trying to suppress her anger. ”Ain’t nobody supposed to know how to get here anyway, little girl. My nephew took me off all those satellites last month. He told me so. Not to mention, I made sure I grew all those plants over the drive anyway. The only way to get here is up the river.” She peered out toward the water.
”Yes ma’am, I took a boat to get here,” Irina said gently, gesturing toward the little boat on the side of the stream that she had rented in New Orleans. The old woman stared at her with eyes still narrowed. ”Where are you from, little girl? I ain’t never heard that kind of talkin’ you got there.” There was no way this woman was going to respect Irina easily, let alone trust her. ”I’m from Russia, ma’am, but I’m studying engineering in Japan. That’s why I was sent to make sure everything gets under control with the electrical impulse in your area.”
”Well I don’t let anybody who ain’t from America or from Louisiana in my house,” she said, crossing her arms. ”Okaaay,” Irina said slowly. ”Let me start over,”[/font] she thought. ”Well, that’s alright; I can check on some things from out here,” she said. ”Like I said, my name is Irina. And what is your name?” The woman broke out in a grin. She had successfully stayed off the grid enough that this little girl couldn’t find out her name! Even if she did find her house. ”My name’s Voodoo Mama Juju,” she said emphatically, with a look that made it clear that Irina was not to ask her “real” name.
“And you really don’t need to have a look at anything, dear. I’m quite alright,” she cackled good-naturedly, her scrutinizing look suddenly gone. “Your judgement is just a little bit clouded since you’re expecting.” Irina looked at her with one eyebrow raised slightly. “Expecting?” ”Yes, dear. Pregnancy will do that to a woman. It’s alright. You’ll get your sense back in eighteen years or so,” she added, not trying to be condescending. Irina was speechless. ”I’m really not pregnant,” she tried to correct the woman after a brief pause with her mouth slightly ajar. Irina glanced at her abdomen, suddenly self-conscious of her small frame.
”You may not be showing yet, but you’re at least six weeks along, dear.” Irina gritted her teeth, irritated not only with the woman’s excessive use of the word “dear”.
”Like I said, I just need to check out some things regarding electrical activity in your area,” she said, pulling a scanner she’d borrowed from Kazura from her backpack. It did really measure electric impulses and radio frequency, just to help back up her story. ”I don’t know what anybody told you, but I don’t even have none of that electric stuff in my house or near my house. You need to go along and get on home, child.”
”Really, I’ll be quick,” Irina insisted, already stepping down the first stair. ”No, you’re not listening!” the older woman huffed. ”Nobody comes here, not nobody! You need to get in your little boat, and you need to get away from here, now. This is my home, and this is my swamp. You have no business here.” Irina was tired from her long flight, and already irritated with the woman. ”No, that’s not going to work for me. All I need is for you to let me check things out.”
The old woman’s face was scrunched up in fury, save her wildly wide eyes. She pointed an arthritic finger at Irina’s face. “Listen here, little girl! I. Told. You. To get out of MY SWAMP!” the crooked old woman said in staccato, punctuating the last six words with a wag of her finger. Eyes piercing, she held her chin upward and to the side so she could look down at Irina, who was just a bit taller than her. “Anyway, all of this juju around here can’t be good for your little one,” she added, abruptly calmly. “I am not pregnant!” Irina snapped, finally losing her temper. They both turned to a loud howl in the trees.
”LOOK WHAT YA DID, LITTLE GIRL!” the woman shrieked wildly. ”You done woke up the Shadow Creatures,” she whispered ominously, beckoning Irina closer to hear, then returned to shrieking, making her jump: “YOU NEED TO GET OUTTA MY SWAMP!” Irina rubbed her ear, now thoroughly irritated. ”I am here to help you,” she reiterated through her teeth, rubbing her temples as she scanned the area from which the sound came. ”Ssssh. I got to take care of that Shadow Creature out there in the distance. You stay right here,” Voodoo Mama Juju commanded quietly, relenting and allowing Irina to stay on her front porch.
”So you know about the Hollows?” Irina asked with relief. ”I don’t know nothin’ about what you’re talkin’ about, child. That out there,” she pointed, ”Is a Shadow Creature, and there ain’t nothin’ a little girl like you can do about that. I’ll take care of it, and then you’ll be on your way. I just need to go inside and get an eye of a lizard. You stay right there,” the old woman said confidently, pointing at Irina’s feet to indicate where she should stay. Irina shook her head as she briefly put it in her hands. Oh well. At least she could take care of the Hollow while the strange lady was inside. It was, after all, the reason she had come here. She ran down the stairs once the old woman was out of sight.
Irina had never seen an alligator before, but the creature that she caught a glimpse of through the trees was no regular crocodilian. At least it moved slowly. The Hollow’s legs stuck out at the awkward-looking angles, making movement on land appear difficult. Its massive overbite reached through its mask, revealing teeth that must have been several inches long each. Irina held her sword hilt in her dominant hand, activating its blade. She touched the side of the icy blade gently. She was still amazed by its solid strength.
Hundreds of tiny thudding footsteps softly thundered down the staircase after Irina. ”What do you think you’re doing?” an incredulous voice demanded in a harsh whisper. ”Where did you get that toy, and what on Earth do you think you’re doing around that Shadow Creature?” The woman swung what apparently was the eye of a lizard on a string in Irina’s peripheral vision. Irina wanted to put her face in her palm. She maintained sight of the Hollow instead, talking to the older woman out of the corner of her mouth. ”Don’t worry; I’ve got this under control.” (Really, she wasn’t so sure that she did have it under control, but crazy or not, she wanted to keep the other woman out of her way, and in a safer spot.)
Remaining Reiatsu: 2250 - 200 (activate level 1 fullbring) = 2050
Primary fullbring: 1/10
