They all had sat around the table. A few still standing. Cypress looked towards Ash and the woman who he called Lyric; was Lyric. From the moment she had walked in through the doors, Ash did not let her go. Cypress understood this feeling. She understood that her pack sister was back, yet she was still a human. One of her small hands moved to brush along Silent's side. They had never really gotten along. Tonight it was about the past and making new choices in life. They were all growing up in different ways. It wasn't hidden that when Silent ran the pack, that Cypress had refused to join. In fact any pack that Silent ran would never have her in it. The only Ulfric she followed was Ash. Perhaps in her own way, Cypress had forced Ash's hand and made him take up the mantle again. It was his rightful place, she knew it and knew his inner beast knew this as well.
White wolf eyes turned fully on Ash. "She can't live here with us Ash, she's human. You know this, only the vagamore is allowed on pack lands." It had been Ash's rule back in Salem. They hadn't changed for the Skoll. Moving around so she could place her hand on Ash's shoulder. "To all of us, Lyric is pack. In her human body she cannot run with us, my Ulfric." Cypress moved to take a seat by Ash. She was in her own cryptic way letting Ash and the rest of the wolves gathered around know what she was thinking. Someone here had to turn Lyric. Bring her back into the fold again. "She needs to make the choice, does she wish to run with us again, or stay as she is. If she chooses to be turned, who would do it? It is against your laws to turn anyone without your permission." White wolf eyes glanced over to Lyric then turned finally back to the rest of the wolves at the table wondering what they would say to this proposal that had been placed by the Skoll.
They were wolves and wolves were pack animals, to run alone was to die alone. Geller would never let her live it down, if he knew what she was thinking in that moment. She locked that thought away. No man she's cared for has ever returned her affections in the romantic way, it was time to embrace the pack with the love she had to give and couldn't.
-- Edited by CYPRESS HARMON on Saturday 20th of August 2011 05:03:32 PM
Having settled into the realization that something impossible had just occured (for the umpteen millionth time) the core group of them was attempting to discuss what options that left them with. Reaching behind him Ash let his pale fingers lightly brush against his Freki's leg where she leaned against his chair and he took a long slow breath. Lightning kissed eyes looked past Lyric on his left to where Cypress was sitting and speaking to all of them. Energy was running hot throughout the room and Ash sought to temper it with the brush of his cool aura and that smell of the Highlands that wafted from him like a forgotten memory.
"I know the laws my Skoll. There is no need to quote them to me."
And if his crisp accented voice sounded a bit agreived could he be blamed when the dead were rising again and coming home to roost? Lifting a hand he brushed his pale fingers back through the sleek length of his black hair. His gaze moving slowly over the people who had gathered, the last person they came to rest on was Dr. Malcolm Book. His eyes maintained their piercing appraisal of his friend the Doctor as he contemplated their options, but Cypress was correct about one thing; in the end this was Lyric's decision.
"Malcolm, mate, perhaps you had better give Lyric....Jolene.....the facts here. Liklihoods, risks, choices. Otherwise she'll be choosing her path based on emotion and I'm not sure that's a foolproof way to be led in the right direction."
Since Malcolm knew more than any of them about the strictly medical side of their 'disease' Ash stilled and listened to what he had to say. The facts would be laid out for Lyric giving her the choice that most of them had never had. Even as Malcolm was talking Ash couldn't really be sure what he hoped she would decide. Part of him had yearned to have their songbird back ever since leaving the islands, but another part of him felt like bringing her back into their fold would only put her on a dangerous path again. Letting his doubts ripple beneath the surface he waited for Dr. Book to finish.
Verdant hues shifted towards Ash sharply as he mentioned his name, and Malcolm found himself nodding at his words.
"Right. Likelihoods, risks, choices..." He turned his attention to Lyric, ahem, Jolene. Bloody hell, this was just going to be even more confusing.
"The first risk is of course, surviving infection. I could perform a few tests and we could strengthen you up with a proper diet first to help along the infection if you so choose to go that route. Three months to get you into tip-top shape if you're in the worst of shapes...which you don't seem to be at the moment, so maybe significantly less..." Malcolm had been reading more of Jessica McFarland's work that had been published, and assimilating data to come up with the right proper 'speciman' for infection. It had all been quite theoretical, of course, until Jolene-slash-Lyric arrived. He realized he was rambling about diet and excercise when he caught himself.
"Likelihood you'll die is entirely dependent on your condition. As this moment without any proper tests I'm comfortable with a statistic of sixty percent. That is, if your new body is not immune to the disease, which we can find out in tests." Malcolm had never actually met anyone immune to the disease, but that did not mean they did not exist. He had actually heard of someone in New Orleans, or nearby, that was supposedly immune, but had yet had the chance to investigate said rumor. "The risk is very great. There's an eighty-five percent death rate just from the first shift, usually shock sends them into cardiac arrest and then you know, well. Typically that person isn't surrounded by pack to assist in the change nor do they have previous memories to help in the matter, so I am happy to lower the risk to only seventy percent. It is still an incredible shock on the system, despite the memories and the help from us." He spoke his last few sentences slowly, wanting her to understand the severity of the consequences should she choose the path of the wolf. "You will be unable to carry a child to term. The shift kills the embryo and flushes it from the system in a natural abortion. If you choose to become a werewolf, that is everything you would have to look forward to. Have you any questions?"
He kept his viridescent hues on the beautiful young woman, watching her reaction to try and determine how she felt about all of this. Reading emotions was not his forte, and quite frankly, women overall made him nervous. He just hoped she wasn't about to burst into tears, which he wasn't sure if she were or not...
Silent for once in her life was being true to her name.Her mind still trying to process what was going on. Listening to each person as they spoke..Yet only hearing them in a dream like state. This didnt make sense. It was hard to make sense..Even to Silent who had seen people die and be raised again. But that was Tino and Wilde...And both were deamon touched...And Lyric...No Jolene...No Lyric in this ..Fuck it was to confusing. This was beyond insane. The how hadnt even been explained. But at the same time it didnt need to be. Did Silent believe this was Lyric? Yes. Her munnin was missing from the fold.Then there had been those moments in Rome that Silent..Not only felt the songbird but smelt her in so many places. Especially those where Memphis had been.
Cypress's touch brough Sil back to reality if even for a moment. Those bright tri colored hues would turn to meet those colorless white ones.Still unable to her voice she turned her attention to Malcom. Feeling bad some for those who she had turned in the past...None of them had been given these options. Gabriel had been infected in her earily days as a wolf. It was truely his strong will that he was alive..Yet here he was now the Ulfric of Amsterdam pack. Then there had been Dierdre, Sirus and now Nyx. They had all survived the infection. None save maybe Nyx had suffered Silents oddness. Scooting he seat closer to Lyric/Jolene Silent saw no other choice other then the woman rejoining her beast. If Lyric was truely in there..She needed her wolf. The wolf needed the woman. But still Silent had said nothing.
Silent contuied to listen to the good doctor...Children could be had still especially for someone in Jolene/Lyric's situation. Eggs could be frozen. Or in Silent's cause you creat your own line of wolves. In her own way she had become what Gabriel called her. Rhea. "Not that there is pressure to have children" The seriousness in the room could be cut with a knife. So it needed something said. "In all honesty there is so many modern things..That hell they didnt have back when I was infected..And even if they did it wasnt even considered. America has taking jumps and leaps in ways that other countries shun us. You can freeze your eggs. Ive heard its the thing to do." Sil would shrug some.
"And dont they have some kind of vaccine or shot or something that acctually infects someone? That they give terminal people that would rather live our life instead of giving into death?" That was the blessing of the beast it distroyed everything that was wrong with its host's body. Its gift to them for the gift of life in a way. Unlike a vampires gift where the person would live forever yet always suffer the pain of their inflictions."Yet that I hear is like playing russian roulette because the actual strain you get is never known.For all the doctors know you could become a werewombat or something" Looking down at her hands she would return to her silence because the next thing out of her mouth would of been an offer that by pack laws could equal death. Which was to infect Jolene herself.Which to reunite the wandering wolf with Lyric and make her whole once more.
Jolene said nothing for a long while. Ash said to sit and so she had. That didn't seem to change at all. Honestly, if Ash even tried his sit power, she might have done it on instinct. Watching Cypress, she just admired the woman. Then her eyes shifted to Silent, to Malcolm and finally looking up at Ash.
Only when Malcolm started to speak to her did she look at him. His rambling of health, diet, her percentage of being infected and then if she was immune to it. Immune? She had never heard of anyone being immune. She guessed it could happen, Malcolm was saying it was possible. Even so has he was talking, she wanted to throw something at him, at Ash. She knew all this. Not having kids, did they forget she had been a wolf before?
She knew Ash was giving her a choice. A choice none of them ever had, well she didn't know so much about Malcolm, but it was a choice Silent and Ash didn't have. She knew Cypress picked to be what she was.
Her emerald green eyes turned to Silent listening to her. The edges of her thick lips turned upwards to give her a smile. When she had become her name sake again, Jolene did the only thing she could think of. She turned her face so she could brush cheek to cheek with the lupa.
"I'll freeze my eggs just in case I ever get the crazy idea of having kids." Offering a smile to Silent for the idea. It wasn't a bad one honestly. She didn't think she'd ever want to make a wolf family, but then again she didn't know about the future either. Her hand moved to Ash's leg and let her fingers rest there on his thigh. Even now she needed his comfort. The other hand was resting on Silent's arm and she could feel Cypress close by as well.
Turning back to Malcolm she asked "I'm not sure if you have a medical kit with you here, but would you like to take a blood sample to help you see if I'm fit to be infected? I mean we could now, or I can go wherever you have your tools?"
What would Ash say? Did he want her to stay human? Did he want her to keep safe and out of the supernatural world? She couldn't. Even if he was against it, even if he forbid anyone to infect her, she would never be safe, she could never be out of the supernatural world. She was a supernatural. She just had no powers or anything to prove it. But inside this body was not the soul it came with.
-- Edited by JOLENE REDFERN on Monday 22nd of August 2011 06:49:27 PM
When Llidya felt Ash brush along her thigh, she thanked whomever for the self-control she now had. After what had happened at Gellar's house, she knew she would need it in this group of people. She had a plan though, it would take a few days, if she wanted it to work out.
The Waldorf was good. She could just buy out a suite, and then call him like it was a case. Llidya was very good at her professional voice. They'd been talking more in their professional voices in the past six months than they had talked about real important stuff, like oh, say, Malcolm coming back from the dead. And apparently, Jolene too. They needed a new pack name. The Unkillables. You Kill Us and We'll Come Back baby...No, it had to be like, the something something pack. Alliteration was good. The Perpetual Pack. No the Permanent Pack...no. The Pervading Pack. Didn't pervading mean all mighty? The Persistent Pack of Permanence.
Llidya was pulled from her distractions, the stupid things she thought about all a distraction from Ash's damnable hand on her leg. Damn it. She watched Lyric, listening to Malcolm, then Silent. She herself had nothing to say, only her support to offer. She knew that Lyric would pick the choice of infection. She would have made the same choice, if Alex hadn't made it for her. She'd had a wolf, thought she had a wolf, the kitsune had been real enough for her, and then had it taken away. And then returned again. There was that persistant part of the working pack title. Llidya smiled to Lyric when she spoke, her hand moving to Ash's shoulder to give him a bit of a massge.
