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[wyldfire]

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[wyldfire]

[By the time Jordana made it throb to the center of the foliage, she had some thorns caught in her fur that failed to pierce through her hide anymore than superficial scratches that barely drew blood except for the thorn that had gotten her in the nose. The Garou had decided against clawing her way through the greenery, resisted cutting anything, and just muscled through.

Her ears and tail drooped seeing Ivy and she dropped from crinos to lupus for a careful approach. It wasn't until she crept up to the leaf nest that she stopped and waited a moment before shifting back to homid.

Jordana then just sat down next to Ivy. She didn't touch her even though all it would take was a slight lean over. She also didn't say anything. Her presence was more important than her words.]

[greenpower]

[Ivy doesn't respond immediately, but she does notice the Garou's approach. As wired as she is, mind blurred with the plant life around her, she couldn't have missed the approach. She shouldn't be doing this. Her powers can exhaust her, and especially with autumn coming and the amount of work she's been doing on the settlement, she's burning into her reserves with this tantrum.

She needs to, though. If she doesn't, then she's going to either pick a fight or let her monster out.

Or both.

But after a moment, she sighs and leans closer.]

I can't believe she's just gone. [That's hyperbole, but it feels like it.] I didn't even realize what was gone, what, two months?

[wyldfire]

[With Ivy seeking the closeness, Jordana felt it was okay to put her hand lightly on Ivy’s back. It opened the Garou's shoulder should the other woman wish to be hugged.]

But you knew something was wrong. Even if your mind couldn't put recognize it, your heart did.

[greenpower]

I should have tried harder to figure it out. At least then I would have known what happened to me.

[She doesn't go for the hug, but she does slump a little closer and the leaves around them open slightly, slowly, taking a less defensive position.]

It's fucked up.

[wyldfire]

[Jordana weighed whether to pull Ivy into an embrace but decided it was still too soon. Instead, he thumb rubbed gentle idle circles on Ivy’s back.

It is. [She ducked her head down a little to catch Ivy’s eyes.] But you know now.

[greenpower]

[Ivy doesn't protest the touch, letting herself warm up to the presence of someone being with her.]

It feels like now that I've figured it out, everything should come back. Like you solved the puzzle, yay. Here's your own fucking memories as a prize.

[wyldfire]

Unfortunately, RMT is a discredited psychotherapy. I don't know any techniques to recover lost memories.

[They were also supernaturally repressed not naturally so. Jordana wasn't willing to say they'd been erased or removed as much as the pathway to them was gone. But if that was the case...]

May I attempt to purify you with one of my Gifts? It works on both people and spirits... it might help if it's just a spiritual blockage. At the very least, it won't hurt.

[greenpower]

[The offer stirs Ivy enough to lift her head and consider it, at least. The scientist in her is skeptical, wants to ask questions. The part of her that's spiritually connected to nature and has seen Jordana turn into a wolf is more willing to say fuck it.

What else does she have to lose?]

All right. I don't know what a spiritual blockage looks like, but... why not?

[wyldfire]

Think of it like a kink in a hose.

[Jordana moved her hand from Ivy’s back to rest at the base of her skull.]

There's fire involved but not the kind that will hurt you. You're not of the Wyrm. The gift is called the Flames of Hestia.

Just keep your eyes on mine and breathe. It'll only last a few seconds, and I've been told the sensation is surprisingly nice. Alright?

[She wasn't going to use the gift until she got a final okay.]

[greenpower]

[At this point, she's willing to try it.

Like Jordana said: it couldn't hurt.]

All right.

[She levels her eyes on the Garou's and tries to relax.]

[wyldfire]

[Jordana put her other hand over Ivy’s heart and waited one more moment before tapping into her connection to Gaia and sparking the Flames of Hestia.

Bright white fire ignited about both of the Garou's hands but nothing caught ablaze, nothing hurt as the essence of Gaia burned away any impurities. Normally this gift would heal the effects of poison too but in Ivy poison was not an impurity. It might help lessen the effects of overextended powers, but mostly it felt like slipping into a nice, relaxing, hot bath.

And then it was over; the flames gone and Jordana withdrew her touch. The warmth lingered for a while. Unfortunately, it didn't restore Ivy’s missing memories.]

[greenpower]

[Ivy's poison can't be neutralized anymore than a foxglove could be—she's living, and the toxins are a part of her. The feel of the fire is pleasant, like a quick warm shower and it does feel as though it eases a tension in her that's been there since she was first resurrected.

But it doesn't do anything a couple of edibles and a deep tissue massage wouldn't have.

She takes a deep breath, closing her eyes as the flames fade away.]

No joy.

[wyldfire]

[That disappointing.]

I had to try. Thank you for letting me.

[greenpower]

Thanks for trying. Like, I do feel better. It does feel nice. Like I could go for a nap and regroup.

But...

Sorry. Looks like I'm still fucked up.

[wyldfire]

[Jordana was silent, trying to think of anything else she could do, and then she shook her head at herself. She was just going to ask.]

Would you like a hug?

[greenpower]

[Ivy pushes the heel of her hand to her brow but it doesn't have the same controlled violence it might have a moment ago.

She nods.]

Yeah, I could use one.

[wyldfire]

[With offer accepted, Jordana enveloped Ivy with her arms, pulling her close, and let the other woman decide how tight of a hug this would be. It would be better that way. A proverbial shoulder to cry on.

She was warm and present; that's what mattered.]

[greenpower]

[It doesn't exactly help. Ivy isn't sure anything could help short of fixing this or killing the Duchess or Samyrtan (and probably not that). But it does give her a little more comfort in the face of it. Like it sucks, and the gentle reminder that some things don't suck doesn't make the situation any less awful.

But it does make it a little easier remembering that she's not alone.]

[wyldfire]

[After a few moments, Jordana stroked Ivy’s hair.]

I can tell you the things you've told me about her and you... if you'd like.


[It wouldn't be much more than a few grains of sand from a missing beach, but it was something and likely the only other thing Jordana has to offer. It's not like she can use Rite of the Questing Stone to locate Ivy’s missing memories.

And then Jordana lifted her head up suddenly, looking away from Ivy off into the distance. Back toward the castle. Now that was an idea.]

[greenpower]

I remember some things. Like how we met, and how... fuck. I remember being her friend, and there's this feeling like—

[She cuts off, not even sure how to describe it.]

What did I tell you?

[wyldfire]

[After a moment to refocus, Jordana told Ivy about the things she'd said about Harley, Ivy voicing she thought Jordana and Harley would get along, that she'd like the Biker vibe, and all the other little things that had come up in the months that she knew the verdant woman. If she gave the impression at one point that she may had been hoping for a possible threesome if Harley had ended up there, it was entirely accidental (if true).]

I know that's just a drop in the bucket, but... I don't know what else to do to help you. Other than going to find your bone tree and destroy it.

[greenpower]

Shit. That thing is still in there, isn't it?

[Ivy doesn't look toward the castle, but she doesn't have to. She knows it's out there, wrapped in an island of Void.]

You don't think it's that... not easy, but simple?

[wyldfire]

[It was hard to say how many of those trees had survived the explosion the Garou had heard not long before the word that Zlatka had been saved and they needed to flee the castle had reached her ears. But given the rate that they had grown and the number of them, Jordana was willing to bet on them still being there in the castle.]

We know the bone trees here, the ones not grown directly from people may have their spirits in them. That man that said he could hear the trees indicated that he may be hearing random ambient memories from them.

If it is what took the memories from you, it stands to reason that they may be contained within it. My people - myself specifically - have the ability to take spirits and place them inside physical items to empower them. Usually, this is through a negotiation process with the spirit in question, sometimes temporary while others are more long term, but if necessary or the spirit is hostile, we can force the matter. To free the spirit, regardless of whether it was willing or not, you break the physical item.

So it may be that simple.

[But definitely not easy seeing as they would need to get inside the castle first.]

[greenpower]

It's worth a try. Maybe it will make me feel better to smash a few of those so-called trees.

[Impostors. Ivy knows just how hard they are to destroy, but they can be destroyed and it's fucking worth it.]

There's no way she's not going to take her castle back after losing it like she did. Only a matter of time before we get the opportunity.

[wyldfire]

Exactly.

[And then Jordana sighed.]

I've already committed to helping my girlfriend look for that captive guy if we try to take the castle back. I can't promise I'll be able to help you destroy the tree.

I want to, but...

[She can't be in two places at once.]