View source for 13988/This is a Rift, not a Riff. A single consonant makes a world of difference.

{{Log Header
|Date of Scene=2021/11/28
|Location=Lucifer's Penthouse, Melville
|Synopsis=The Pacific plate wierdness was investigated with Constantine. Earth elementals and a strange device that looked like a spikey ballbearing was found. But someone did their math homework. Plans must be planned!
|Cast of Characters=231,61,735
|pretty=yes
}}
{{Poses
|Poses=:'''{{#var:231|Sinister (231)}} has posed:'''<br>"Speaking of Constantine, I sent one of the limousines to find him at one of his known haunts. Summoning him by beer coaster, whilst amusing, is beginning to get squicky," Sinister observes this from his position of comfort on the couch of Lux' penthouse. Everything looks very neat and tidy, the wall of Whiskey shines its amber light on all and sundry where it is illuminated for best viewing. The massive couch is occupied, both by Doctor Essex and by Lucifer, who both appear to be laying about in laziness. There is nothing untoward showing though, other than feet, which in SOME cultures could be considered scandalous.<br><br>No, rather the pair are recumbant underneath a single wing, fringed in red and cloaked in black acting like a blanket over the pair. <br><br>On the coffee table: Numerous occult books on the elemental planes and their denizons, rifts and mystical pathways. Some are open, from the attempted musings.<br> <br>

:'''{{#var:61|Constantine (61)}} has posed:'''<br>As the elevator doors open the smell of tobacco drafts in. "Cheerio." Constantine takes a scan of the place before exiting the small cabin casually. He seems not as drunk as usual, clearer in the eyes. "Thanks for the limo. Did you know that Charlene has a sideline as a state dart champion? She even has endorsements and shit." His gaze locks onto the books. "Charlene, the driver. What have we here..." After a small frown, John shrugs. "Those books are more novels than useful, I hope you know that."<br> <br>

:'''{{#var:735|Lucifer (735)}} has posed:'''<br>Lucifer lifts up just a bit as Nathaniel speaks about having sent a limo to find Constantine. Then he settles back down again because at least his full monty is covered by a black-red tipped wing. Not to mention, he's just a bit too comfy to simply break such a thing just because company is coming.<br><br>So when the elevator dings and Constantine steps into the penthouse, Lucifer's gaze shifts to the man and he offers a single nod of greeting. "Charlene is a lot of things. Dart champion is one of them. Where do you think she practices?" He asks with a grin that turns into a scowl as Constantine remarks on the books. "Not all of them. Do not walk into my home and insult me on my book collection. I have works that people can only dream to exist because they do not know of their existence, and am very particular about what deserves a spot on my library." He pauses. "That said. I know most of them are merely facts buried among story telling, but we're dealing with...what may be becoming a bigger issue. So I go where I can to gain knowledge as I need."<br> <br>

:'''{{#var:231|Sinister (231)}} has posed:'''<br>"Well, to be fair, you don't use a treatise on elemental diversity as a how-to guide. So I'm not terribly surprised that those are more novel than useful, but it -does- depend on the context in which you are appreciating them. A more thorough study on the denizens of the elemental planes would be very hard to come by. Hello Constantine, welcome to Lux, you have a /knack/ I swear..." and because feathers were ruffled, he turns his face to Lucifer and gives him a kiss on the earlobe. "...the day you don't get irritated with him, I'll know to stop calling him the Hellblazer." The wing ruffles and a bit of shoulder shimmying occurs, before it's withdrawn and Sinister grumbles his way to sitting upright. <br><br>There may be an eyeful. Or he may have clad the Devil in an outfit of Sin. You -never- can tell.<br><br>"You have been the topic of quite some debate, John. But, you're something of a crackerjack in the barrel, when it comes to fixing other people's catastrophes. It seems almost to be a raison d'etre for you."<br> <br>

:'''{{#var:61|Constantine (61)}} has posed:'''<br>"I brought you a... present. To thank you. Both." John is sporting a wily grin, blatantly ignore the conversational fire lit under his metaphorical feet. He knows when he's being teased and tortured. The trenchcoat delivers a bulbous, squatty brown glass bottle. The label is yellowed and dogheard, scratched in places, drawn by hand. "1677 Saint Louis de Pont-Rouge Armagnac. Was found in the wreckage of a Spanish sailship off of Borneo. Perfectly preserved." He places the bottle... away from the books, on another end table. Safe. "Someone said bigger problems. How bigger?"<br> <br>

:'''{{#var:735|Lucifer (735)}} has posed:'''<br>"The day I don't get irritated from him will be the day Hell literally freezes over." Lucifer says this and then grunts as Sinister actually begins to sit up which forces Lucifer himself to have to move too. Unfortunately for Constantine, the Devil is NOT clad in Sin-wear. He is, in fact, full monty with all the bits and bobs just hanging out. At least for a moment. It doesn't take long for Lucifer to perhaps actually touch Sinister and ask for something through the mind link they share so that he can, indeed, become clad in Sin-clothing.<br><br>"So there's a rift in the Savage Lands, there's another confirmed rift off the coast of a pacific island just east of Japan. There was the rift you closed at the light house..." Lucifer offers, beginning to levitate the books back to their proper places on his book shelves. "We've seen the skrit come back to life. And patterns are emerging that these rifts are opening...and staying open. For...some unknown reason." He glances to Nathaniel. "Have I got that right love?"<br> <br>

:'''{{#var:231|Sinister (231)}} has posed:'''<br>"Essentially," a touch of Sinister's hand upon Lucifer's shoulder and clothing pours down from the point of contact, spreading out and enclosing. Very soon, the devil is wearing prada. Or rather is wearing Armani, as Prada doesn't usually do men's suits. A deep red waistcoat, black slacks, white pirate shirt. Simple, but stylish. "And I am too much of a newcomer to magic, to know how that might even be achieved and what it might mean, other than potential disruption of elemental reflections on earth. I imagine, at least." <br><br>The bottle is floated over though, turned by the invisible hand so that the labelling might be read and appreciated. "The brother of Cognac, but rarer for it. Our thanks," it's actually a genuine tone, he is surprised by the gift. "Even today, these bottles go for a pretty penny, from the winery that's still active. This is priceless."<br> <br>

:'''{{#var:61|Constantine (61)}} has posed:'''<br>"More... rifts?" What boggles John's mind is the way Lucifer gets dressed like by magic but it's not magic. I-Can't-Believe-It's-Not-Magic, trademark of Essex Multinational. "Hey, you're welcome. This fell in my lap and I thought of you guys. In my home it would get lost or drunk, you know?" Now he looks troubled and his gaze is drifting down. "Can't be astrological or it'd be obvious. We'd know. It's not cryptozoological either, too widespread. Something or someone very powerful is poking holes in reality from /the other side/. Or sides." He blanks out for a moment then his gaze snaps up at Lucifer's crotch. "Nah, it can't be what. Something is eating at the veil itself, weakening it. Just like... blue jeans worn out at the knees, if you will."<br> <br>

:'''{{#var:735|Lucifer (735)}} has posed:'''<br>"But these veils... these rifts..." Lucifer begins as he gives very gentle 'habitual' tugs on his Essex-Clothing to look more becoming. "It has to be doing it from within the rifts right? Nothing has been able to go into the rifts from our side aside from beings like you or I with inter planar travel abilities." He offers as a statement that's supposed to be a question. "What we're wondering is...if you can close them. Like you did the one at the lighthouse. Though we also might want to go back to the lighthouse and see if - perhaps - the rift has been opened again or is attempting to be opened. Not to mention, when you went into the rift and brought us with you, there was something within it that...ought not to have been there." He reminds, gently. "...What I mean to ask is...do you think you can....help us?"<br> <br>

:'''{{#var:231|Sinister (231)}} has posed:'''<br>The almagnac is floated back to rest in pride of place on the mantle, not with the collection of oddities and mystical things, but at the far end, where more ordinary things reside. Sinister smiles a little at the tugging of the clothing, then glances down at himself. He's just got a dressing gown on at the moment, with his fuzzy raven slippers; a hand to his chest and it metamorphoses, becoming shirt and sweatshirt, layers forming over the top that become kevlar reinforced greatcoat. Pants. Boots. The last a leather fedora set over his long black hair. His eyes flash red, illuminating the entire area for a moment, then fade back to their usual hue. "A dragon-lord servant with seven heads all speaking as one, in a giant mosaic of expression," he looks over to Lucifer. "That shouldn't have been in the elemental plane at least. Which is mysterious..." he looks back to Constantine. "And you've been formally asked, by Samael himself. Will you help, John Constantine?"<br> <br>

:'''{{#var:61|Constantine (61)}} has posed:'''<br>John takes a long draft of liquid comfort from a flask. Then another. "The Necromages... They kind of belong. Kind of?" He shakes his head out of annoyance. "Of course I'll help. I'm helping. I can't wrap my head around this, it shouldn't happen to start with." He huffs and puffs a sigh full of cigarette smoke, paces and stops. "Imagine the beach. You have the sand, you have the water. Land stops where water begins. Now imagine that the sand and the water are not in the same dimension. The veil is just a metaphor to say you shouldn't be able to see or reach what's not there for you. Lucifer is right, nothing should cross without planar shifting powers or a way to make a conduit. Erosion is very, very bad. And it's not merging either, we're getting multiple planes intruding."<br> <br>

:'''{{#var:735|Lucifer (735)}} has posed:'''<br>"Multiple planes of different elements. Remember the skrit? Fire sprites in the Savage Lands. I believe the wisps are actually the Odir, air sprites, from when we were at the lighthouse. The Fex will likely be in the rift within the ocean. Even though it's in a spot where no water falls...Actually... we should show you that place. It's pretty sick even if its not supposed to exist. Which makes me wonder where the Luki might be... they'd be the earth sprites..." A breath, then another. "See. I know some stuff. He grins then and lights up a cigarette.<br> <br>

:'''{{#var:231|Sinister (231)}} has posed:'''<br>"Well, I think we should go back to the Lighthouse in Conneticut, first. It's safer than the crevace in the pacific fault line terrace, Lucifer. And if that is still stable and shows no signs of anything untoward, then we'll know that the rifts can be properly shut." Sinister logics, nodding to Lucifer and looking back to Constantine. "So, out of curiosity, what would continued erosion do, to this plane of existence? The realm of earth?" It has to be asked. <br><br>And because it's cold outside, he puts hands together and draws them slowly apart, meshing up a long-coat of exquisite fibres, silk lining, wool and down layers, perfectly tailored by the end of it, for Lucifer's frame. He shakes the coat out and holds it up toward the devil.<br> <br>

:'''{{#var:61|Constantine (61)}} has posed:'''<br>"It's never happened before in recorded history. Yes, we should go. Lighthouse is fine, I agree. I... we need eyes on. Hands on too." It is not often Constantine shows that much anxiety and lack of patience. "And I really, really don't want to have to deal with any of the Elemental Guardians. They should be on top of this kind of stuff, which means they're either behind this or overpowered. Fuck. It's not my area, right? I do exorcism and disenchantment and de-hexing and hauntings." Reaching the elevator, he presses the call button. The doors open. He presses the button again, three more times, before realizing it's already there. "This is Sandman level bullshit, I tell you..."<br> <br>

:'''{{#var:735|Lucifer (735)}} has posed:'''<br>Lucifer smiles at Nathaniel as he creates a coat for him to slip into, which he does and then shrugs it on at the end. "Oh, this is very nice. Very nice indeed." He says and then presses a kiss of thanks in a chaste way to Essex's cheek. At the questions between John and Nathaniel for a moment. A breath. Another. "Doesn't closing rifts involve some sort of disenchantment?" Then he tilts his head as John heads for the elevator. "Where the hell are you going? Get back over here."<br> <br>

:'''{{#var:231|Sinister (231)}} has posed:'''<br>"So, at your best guess, it would... boil the seas, set the land a-crashing and smashing and probably send the climate into a spiralling nosedive?" Sinister supposes as he slides on the coat to Lucifer's shoulders. "The elemental guardians don't seem to be paying this much mind, or they're the ones behind it and if that's the case, we're going to need a stiff drink. Deep breath, John. And yes, ahhh... come on over here. Sometimes, less speed more haste?" he points at the floor infront of the devil a few times with a single finger.<br> <br>

:'''{{#var:61|Constantine (61)}} has posed:'''<br>Sensory overload sends John into blinking furiously, as well, as opening and closing his mouth. He leaves the poor lift alone and obediently returns next to the power couple. "At my best guess, two things: either those spots are sub planes of their own and each of them overlaps both our reality and their respective elemental plane and something is trying to bring everything at the same vibratory level, creating a double funnel. The deeper you get to the nexus, to the singularity if you will, the closer your frequency is to zero. Nothing can have a 'zero frequency' though so if you keep pushing... you get translated to the other side."<br><br>John gives Lucifer a suspicious look. "Tell me you have a helicopter on the roof." Then he returns his attention on Nathaniel. "The other thing would be that something or someone took the time to build a conduit between the two worlds in a gradient of frequencies. For something to cross over though you need to either dim or increase its frequency to match or the difference would shred the moving item. The way around that is... huh. Shapeshifting at an existential level."<br> <br>

:'''{{#var:735|Lucifer (735)}} has posed:'''<br>Lucifer blinks. "You go through magic doors all the time and doing a little teleportation in real time, what, scares you?" Lucifer asks this while listening to the conversation the two men are having. He doesn't follow most of it. Some of it, maybe, but he gets lost in the middle of making a tunnel at a zero frequency to crush the other side of the yellow submarine. Once John is close enough, he reaches to grab the man's shoulder, laces his other hand with Nathaniel's own and in a plume of smoke that scents of brimstone and sulfur, they exit Lux and when the smoke dissipates they are but feet away from the lighthouse.<br> <br>

:'''{{#var:231|Sinister (231)}} has posed:'''<br>The wind is cold, in winter. By the ocean in conneticut, it is practically a whetted knife. And the long abandoned lighthouse stands black as night a stone ediface. Except for a tiny glimmer up in the top of the tower. "Still amazing that it doesn't take enough power to power new york city for an hour, to do that," Sinister comments, bringing Lucifer's hand up to his lips and breathing a warm glove onto it. "Forgot those, sorry..." smiling cheekily, he looks up at the ediface, then takes several steps forth and rises up the outer wall to look inside the lantern hub. <br><br>It's nearly a belated thing, as the wind howls a little then wanes off with the crash of waves on the shore, that telekinesis lifts his companions up also. Sure, Lucifer has wings, but this is more expedient. "So, you're talking about oscillations through the resonant frquencies of reality, in the nature of all matter being composed of fundamental particulates. Even an elemental is made /of/ matter, in an elemental state, I would suppose. Something that cycles through all the oscillations of resonant frequencies would be quite a piece of engineering. I have a feeling though, that someone's just picked a small wavelength band and may have gotten lucky. Hmm. Look." Inside of the lantern hub, there's a speck. It is not a rift, but a tiny little... well... stitch? A stitch perhaps. Or maybe... no it's a solitary creature, looking a little like a chipmunk only attenuated and whispy. It's bouncing around a specific spot, giving off a tiny amount of light. There's a few others now that the eye adjusts, whiffling noses and bouncing. "Would those be Odir, Lucifer?"<br> <br>

:'''{{#var:61|Constantine (61)}} has posed:'''<br>The whole brimstone teleportation gives Constantine a pause. His legs go slightly weak but that's experience preparing him for the landing. Magiclegs. Other would call it drunkedness, maybe. It works and for John it's all that matters. "What scares me is the possibility something's cosmic is bent or broken. A magic door links two spots. It opens, it closes, done. This? It's a revolving door and we don't know how good it's been built. Did I mention energy potentials shredding stuff like it's nothing?"<br><br>John gives up on trying to make a celestial look at the cosmos from a mortal point of view. It won't work, ever. "Hello there. What are you?" He lights up a cigarette, keeping an eye on the cross-planar rats. Holding the cigarette like a piece of chalk, he uses the ember to trace a fiery circumference in the air. With a few more whispers, he fills that circle with a different shade of color. "This looking glass... lense... is attuned. Like polarized sunglasses I guess. Look." He grabs the 'lense' and moves it between Lucifer and the Odirs.<br> <br>

:'''{{#var:735|Lucifer (735)}} has posed:'''<br>"Right. You don't trust in my ability to transport. Even though, technically, it's just my own door that links two places together. You use literal doors. I use smoke. It's the same concept." Lucifer points out and then shrugs. As Nathaniel breathes gloves to life on his hands, he ducks his head in a silent thanks. Once they're nearer to the creatures, he crouches down and watches them for a moment. Before he's able to say anything, John is handing him a lens of sorts and he uses that to look at the creatures a bit better. "Oh hello... I wonder what's brought you here..."<br> <br>

:'''{{#var:231|Sinister (231)}} has posed:'''<br>The nearest little odir pricks transparent ears up and looks like a startled rabbit at the glass of the lighthouse, right at the onlookers peering in. There's a whistle that sounds so much like a shrill wind, only muted and far and away and all the little air elementals flit down and away, hiding out of sight, their lights vanishing with it. There were not that many, but they did linger and sniff around the site where once a rift pulsed. They have their answer... the elementals can still feel where it -was- but the rift itself seems to be safely closed. <br><br>On the upside the giant mushrooms aren't there any more, they were apparently a transient effect. Likely a good thing, as if people popped in and found mushrooms in the lighthouse when they came to do maintenance, it might have been a bit peculiar. <br><br>"Nothing peculiar other than a few little leftovers, it seems. This bodes well. Although it does mean that we don't have an excuse not to go to the Pacific rim, my love." Sinister murmurs.<br> <br>

:'''{{#var:61|Constantine (61)}} has posed:'''<br>"I suspect we'll find sort of the same over there as well." Constantine moves the lense around, litterally: as he spins slowly in place, he drags the lense with him, giving a whole 360 examination of the 'crime scene'. As he turns, the hue of the lense subtly shifts, growing more red as he looks away and then slowly coming back to neutral as he returns to his starting point. "I have the feeling this is not magical in nature. See, that kind of power is usually wielded by beings who can just wish things to be. This is gradual, not instantaneous. It's not... finite."<br> <br>

:'''{{#var:735|Lucifer (735)}} has posed:'''<br>"Is that you're way of batting your eyelashes and telling me to take us back to the place we were before?" Lucifer offers this while looking over to Constantine after asking that and he shakes his head. "Closed rifts aren't our concern, honestly. And the elementals are known for being able to pass back and forth with no issue." He says this, takes Sinister's hand and then places his hand on Constantine's shoulder. With the contact, it's another round of brimstone scented smoke, and suddenly... they can breathe, but there's a LOT of pressure within the cavern. That is... under the sea. Literally. Look up, there's the ocean, right above your head, only the water isn't filling the cavern. "We're... deep within a trench. And can breathe. Figure this one out."<br> <br>

:'''{{#var:231|Sinister (231)}} has posed:'''<br>It is quite literally a dome of water. And because timing is everything -- there's a pulse from behind them, in the 'dry' bit, that causes a mass of ripples to be seen all across the water, like a standmixer set off right next to a water bowl. Ripples! "There's also this, which is disturbing in the extreme..." Sinister reaches a hand into that wall of water and spins his hand in a circle to create a vortex, a whirlpool. It spins... but then dips -INWARD- into the air, rather than outward into the ocean beyond. "And there's... those..." he points behind. <br><br>And provided Constantine at least turns around, there's a couple of tunnels. No... four tunnels. THere were two before, now there's four. And they're rather circular and relatively smooth tunnels, like some kind of giant worm ate through the stone. "I have a distinct feeling like something has been munching down here." He observes in a dry tone.<br> <br>

:'''{{#var:61|Constantine (61)}} has posed:'''<br>John turns around to look will working his jaw and pushing a pinky in each earhole in turn to help with the uncomfortable change of pressure. He's not made of cosmic stuff or that adaptable. "Aanvul." With that single spoken word, a glow of hellfire lights his eyes and recedes. One. Two. Three. Four. "Some things you can only figure out by not trying to explain them." His magical looking glass was left behind in the Devil Transit. He paces a bit to the left, a bit to the right. "This is not some kind of bending of the light. There are four tunnels. Something is digging here. Something with the strength of a titan." He turns his attention to the reversed whirlpool. "This is way scarrier. The laws of physics have been bent out of shape. It's lucky they're not broken or..." He doesn't finish the sentence. He just shakes his head 'no'.<br> <br>

:'''{{#var:735|Lucifer (735)}} has posed:'''<br>Lucifer nods and looks to Nathaniel as he demonstrates what's going on and how physics are actually bent here. When he looks back towards the caverns, he blinks. "Weren't there two yesterday? Now there's four? So quickly?" He says this and then takes one step forward towards where the tunnels have been carved. "This isn't good... but if the Fex are here, how are they surviving? They're literally water elementals and act just like fish. Their entire plane should be a water world. Like Atlantis or something."<br> <br>

:'''{{#var:231|Sinister (231)}} has posed:'''<br>"I have a feeling this isn't the Fex. If it's an elemental, methinks it's a Luki. This is right over the techtonic plate, Luci." Sinister murmurs, glancing back at the vortex that has run out of momentum and is swirled mostly back to flat...and then gone in the wall of water. "My friend, what we're looking at her is a gravitational mass. The water's being drawn in but also held back by an application of specific pressures on the surface tension. Given that it makes my sinuses feel mighty peculiar, I'd say we're at a pressure that's approximately six times atmospheric. Maybe more." <br><br>He nods though, looking back at the tunnels and letting his eyes unfocus. Or rather, the light becomes a kind of glow that suggests he's not immediately present. "I can feel... about... I think that's six or seven minds. They don't feel like anything I'm accustomed to, though."<br> <br>

:'''{{#var:61|Constantine (61)}} has posed:'''<br>John is all for experimentation. Right now he's experimenting the effects of alcohol at six times the normal pressure through direct ingestion. He waits for about a seconds and a half and finds the results inconclusive, so he doubles the dose. "How many pennies are we from that surface tension breaking?" he asks, half serious. His tone has lowered to a level that almost doesn't echo. He's being careful. "When did you notice the..." He draws a blank. "... pan-dimensional blendings? This here doesn't feel like what we've seen at the lighthouse. It's as if someone has been tweaking their experiement from one site to the other, learning and homing for a wanted outcome."<br> <br>

:'''{{#var:735|Lucifer (735)}} has posed:'''<br>"One of Nathaniel's clones noticed odd actiity off the coast of Japan. We were...relaxing at home I think?" Lucifer tries to recall. "There was even half a thought to ignore it, but then the readings actually proved to be as weird as they were being noted so we came here and found..." He gestures then. "Yesterday there were two tunnels, now there are four. Though how many pennies we are from the tension breaking..." He looks to Nathaniel then. "That's your expertise. I just got us here."<br> <br>

:'''{{#var:231|Sinister (231)}} has posed:'''<br>"That my dearies, all depends on if the gravitational force that's creating this bubble, is disrupted. And even if it is, I can buy us enough time for Lucifer to teleport us." Sinister, with utmost confidence, informs. This is demonstrated by the diamond in his forehead flashing brilliantly red and a dome of telekinetically held force shield arcs into life above them all. "It can withstand quite the tonnage, for a short time." The flash of light occurs once again and the shield fades, with a nod to Lucifer. &lt;&lt;If the pennies drop, we would have maybe a handful of seconds with my shield. That should be enough, but it would rely on you, Angel mine.&gt;&gt; A thought, a smile for Lucifer and then he sobers. "I'd had that thought myself though. As if the lighthouse was a test run and further probes have been more refined. I wonder though, at the Savage lands. I have a feeling we may find out the origin of the rest of this, at the heart of Erebus. Methinks /someone/... may have been refining rift technology. And figuring out relativism in where to place such efforts. Come."<br><br>He strides forth then, picking the right closest tunnel at random and ducking a little to enter it. It has perhaps a six foot diameter and he stands usually at six foot five. It is a bit of a stoop.<br> <br>

:'''{{#var:61|Constantine (61)}} has posed:'''<br>"Oh." Not that Constantine is relieved by Nathaniel's confidence in his telekinetics. "I'm not scared of being crushed. Or drown. Right now, we're the only ones who know about... all this... and if something happens to us, probably no one will notice until the future of the world is compromised." He lights up, filling his lungs with compromised future. "I can share that spell of mine if you wish. It uses Hellfire to huh... equalize your body's state with your surroundings. Pretty handy in extreme weather but also will get you tired faster. I wish I had brought some jerky stick..."<br><br>Without a second thought he follows to the tunnels' mouths, leaving a safe distance from Nathaniel, still. Room to move, to panick without much harm. "What you want here is a traditional witch. With a cat or toad you can send ahead to spy for you." He gives Lucifer a glance. "I know you've been mixed into this wiccan thing. All that 'heresy hunting' where several conflicting truths collided, right? Sucks being a scapegoat, mate."<br> <br>

:'''{{#var:735|Lucifer (735)}} has posed:'''<br>If the pennies drop. How many pennies do they have left tho? None the less, at that thought from Nathaniel, Lucifer gives a nod. Constantine may not want to be too close to them, but the need for contact to teleport is going to drive him to make sure Constantine stays close. He follows into the tunnel, and has to smirk at some of the comments that Constantine is making. "If I wanted a witch with a familiar, I know a few I could have asked. We thought of you for reasons that rule out bringing a witch and their familiar..." He offers this and then shakes his head. "Why do you assume I was a scapegoat for that?"<br> <br>

:'''{{#var:231|Sinister (231)}} has posed:'''<br>Sinister looks over his shoulder as the others follow. Beyond to Lucifer in fact, before alighting on Constantine. He nods to the devil, then walks with confident caution a few more steps, only to stop and look back again. "Actually not a bad idea, that..." he mutters. "Thank you for helping me think of it," he stops forward progression, in order to concentrate. What happens thereafter is the form of him collapses in a flurry of black fur and eyeballs, until there's a plethora of black foxes in a pile. Almost all of them look back, with ears pricked toward the other two, then one detaches and with a glance at the pile, which look back at -it-... it trots on forward on silent paws. The rest of the fox pile reforms into Sinister, who turns himself sideways in the tunnel to 'block' it effectively, casting the closest hand toward them all in a splay. Images form -- mental illusions from the height of the fox, as his gaze looks the other way. <br><br>FOX VISION!~~ dunnuh dunnuh dunnuh, pause sniff. Scent lights up like colours, one mild and soft, another brilliantly crackly and electric yellow, like acid. It sneezes, hunkers lower, smells more. More soft scents, trot trot. Ears prick. Tunnel is angling upward, into solid rock at the end of the fissure. It climbs, there's a pile of the absolutely horrid smelling yellow vomit colour. It appears to be a rock pile, mostly of igneus rocks, but in it, there's also sparkly things. Gemstones? Hop, hop. HOLY MOTHER OF ... a thing is inching along the end of the tunnel, into a larger burrow of sorts. THere's several other shapes in there too, which the fox approaches. They all look like worms. Like dune worms, actually. But... not actually as big as those that come from arakis, after all. Teeth like lampreys. <br><br>Sinister's murmur "...bloody hell."<br> <br>

:'''{{#var:61|Constantine (61)}} has posed:'''<br>"Eeesh. I guess there's a reason why they didn't evolve eyes." Constantine probably never watched or read Dune. Or Alien. "Efficient form, no joke." He shakes his flask and it reports near emptiness, so he finishes it. Who needs a watch when you carry your own spirit clepsydra? Not John, that's who. "What are we looking for, anyway?"<br><br>Then he remembers what the instant fox sprouting interrupted. "Sorry, I got sidetracked. All the thing about the witches making deals with the Devil, right? Some of it might be true but... hey, I've been around you for a while now and I've not seen you tempt or corrupt anyone. Your name was tarnished back then, for sure." He offers a smile to the Devil, although a pained one. "Slander is part of being important I guess."<br> <br>

:'''{{#var:735|Lucifer (735)}} has posed:'''<br>"That's because you haven't been around during the times that I was tempting or corrupting someone..." Lucifer offers to Constantine and then pushes past to go see what Sinister is seeing. He pauses when he sees them, blinks, rubs his eyes and shakes his head before looking again. "Bloody hell is right... for fucks sake..." He says this, inching further into the burrow point. "They're fucking massive...and probably don't even realize..."<br> <br>

:'''{{#var:231|Sinister (231)}} has posed:'''<br>"As far as I can tell... they're ignoring me," Sinister replies, pointing his other arm down the tunnel. "Which makes sense, as I don't think I'm what they usually eat. I have a feeling that they wouldn't care if I was in their way though. Hold on..." <br><br>Fox vision hunkers low, as if tensing up, then gallops down the tunnel into the burrow as the end of that fat tail clears the way. There's a pile of these things, one that is much, much larger than the others, which seem to be kind of... curling up with it. A mother and its ... larvae? A queen and its workers? Either way, true to the summizing, none of the worms pay the fox much mind as it hops up ONTO them and on, over and to the other side of the burrow. It's still standing on the largest one when the vision in the illusion Sinister shares, stares at what looks like the end of the crevace, where it would naturally have been, before the big things ate through the rock and farted out ozone. There's a ball. It looks like an enormous ballbearing, only with spikes all around it that are imbedded into the rock and arcane symbols etched into the surface. Lights on the main module blink on and off and beyond it, a tiny little tadpole sized worm falls out of the rock face, in a shimmer of wobbly reality.<br> <br>

:'''{{#var:61|Constantine (61)}} has posed:'''<br>"We barely realize ourselves. There's no way of knowing... shit." John tosses his half finished cigarette with what seems to be disgust. But then he sees the big mystical morningstar thing. "This is new. Mystical egg, man made. Seems to confirm my intuition: this is not random." For a moment, he get lost in thoughts... but just a short moment.<br><br>"There's no way to know when the whole link... window... between planes will move or close again. We should track back before we find ourselves misplaced." He reaches out to lay his hand gently on Nathaniel's shoulder. "I know you want samples. First, we have a duty to return, else your findings won't mean rubish. We'll come back. There are other ways."<br> <br>

:'''{{#var:735|Lucifer (735)}} has posed:'''<br>Lucifer watches the worms for a moment and then looks between Nathaniel and Constantine. "If we leave now, we're going to have to come back quickly. If these Lukis were able to eat two more burrows in two days...think about how many more there will be if we come back later...like a week from now." He offers. "We are very much on borrowed time, but I agree with Constantine, we should go to our safe space on the Pacific Island and make a plan of action..." He doesn't even wait for agreements or protests. He simply grabs both by the arms and poofs them back to the front of the hotel so they can get rooms and then talk about what do next.<br> <br>
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