2020-07-19 GWTW: Blinded by the Light
Blinded by the Light
Storyteller: Nate
Location: Elysian Heights
Date and Time: July 19 2020
Summary: Talking to preachers and botching peek rolls..
Since the 1910s, Elysian Heights, along with a few neighbouring areas has been home to many of the counter-culture, political radicals, artists, writers, architects and filmmakers in Los Angeles. Thus while there is a bit of money here, this is a far cry from the fancy mansions of the truly rich.
There's an air of creativity, chaos and freedom of expression; graffiti isn't uncommon even if it's usually of the political or artistic bent rather than gang signs, and there are a good few hipster-ish cafes around as well.
The rolling storm and heavy rain hasn't stopped people going about their daily routines, with people dashing between cafes and businesses and homes. The preacher that the two are looking for is tucked under the eaves of a large office, trying to stay as dry as he can, still talking to passers-by but generally not having much luck as nobody wants to stop out in this torrential downpour.
Da-Eun has invited Riko along for an adventure, seeming more interested in the search for answers than the answers themselves really. She's an energetic person but when she's on the prowl she can be rather quiet. For now, though, she's walking down the street dressed in her usual hand-mended clothing as she glances to the side to the Fox at her side. "So, his name is Father Lopez. Um.. Juan Lopez? Yeah. Not sure what he looks like but I'm willing to bet if we find a sort of moldy street preacher that we'll have found him."
Riko had taken her scooter to get to the meeting point, and now wa following Da-Eun in jeans, T-shirt and a light jacket around, her feet hitting the pavement in unison. "Priests you find with the churches, right? Or you ask the community, they can tell."
"Well, yeah, most preachers are in churches. But he's a street preacher, so his church is.." Da-Eun thinks for a moment, shrugging as she peaks down an alleyway as she continues her casual march. "This? An alleyway or corner probably? But asking people is probably the way, you're right!" And so Da-Eun looks about for someone that she might pester to ask questions about a weird street preacher.
Leaning back on the wall of the building he's sheltering against, not far from where the two Shifters are, Father Lopez calls out to a couple of passing teens, asking if they want to be baptised before the end times come. They laugh and say they're plenty wet enough from the rain thanks, and he laughs and lets them go without further hassle.
Riko chuckles and gestures to the direction the baptiser seems to be. "Well, What did you expect? Seems like your lucky day today. There's one street preacher on a box for you. Think that's him?"
"Hmm! Well, street preacher. Asking for baptisms. Sounds likely!" Da-Eun laughs softly and stops far enough away to whisper back and forth with Riko in a way that's hopefully unheard. "What do you think? Go chat him and up and see what he knows? Maybe accept his offer of baptism to see what he has in mind?"
Riko raises an eyebrow at Da-Eun, shaking her head slightly. "Do you know a doc that could fix me up from thoe funghi in case something goes wrong? Why don't you be the one that asks to see his baptism, hmm?" Riko once more eyes over the self proclaimed father, biting her lower lip a moment. "I might at least try to patch you back together."
"Oh, I wasn't actually going to go through with it. But we could at least see, like, what the ritual looks like when he gets it started? I don't want spores in me." Da-Eun makes an -ick- face and scrunches up her nose as she shakes her head. "But yeah, definitely would be me if we did. I don't think I can fix you up nearly as well as you can fix me. Shall we?" She nods towards Father Lopez and starts walking in his direction again.
As the two approach the preacher, he looks up and offers a friendly smile. "The end times are coming, my friends. May I offer you salvation before the end?" He lifts his bible and a bottle of water in indication. Though it is an offer, he's not the aggressive type of preacher it seems.
Riko nods, offering Da-Eun a little nudge at the hesitation, but also a smile. "Yea, let's ee what he offers. Maybe he's promising us to see heaven or something?" Her sneakers hit the floor softly as she makes sure to stay at the side of the korean. "What kind of salvation, father?"
Da-Eun's hands clasp together in front of her as she rocks back and forth on her heels for a moment, a wide-eyed look given up at the preacher as she considers his offer. "Umm... maybe!" She looks to Riko and nods in agreement. What kind of salvation indeed?
"Baptism, daughters," Father Lopez explains simply. His next words have the cadence of a quote, likely from the Bible. "This water symbolizes baptism that now saves you also not the removal of dirt from the body, but the pledge of a clear conscience toward God. It saves you by the resurrection of Jesus Christ, who has gone into heaven and is at Gods right handwith angels." He lifts up his bottle of water in indication.
Riko eyes the bottle catiously, then looks over to Da-Eun. "What do you think? I mean, you did complain about feeling odd lately." Quickly the eyes turn back to the father, carefully measuring him again.
Da-Eun pauses for a moment, caught off guard by his choice of words apparently. Her head tilts to the side like a curious puppy and then she smiles again. "Umm.. maybe?" The Korean woman looks to Riko curiously before her eyes drift back to the Preacher. "Have you been to Korea, Father?"
Father Lopez looks faintly bemused at the question from Da-Eun, and he shakes his head. "No, never," he replies, puzzled at why she might ask such a thing. Then he looks across to Riko, tilting his head as she mentions her friend feeling odd.
Riko shrugs a moment, plunging her hands into the pockets of the jacket as she eyes over the preacher. "Well, it's your choice, Da. But really, you don't want to be trapped in some kind of Scientology thing. I mean, they have some kinda church thingy here in town, and it is a crime against design."
Da-Eun looks back to Riko again and hesitates just a moment before she steps up to Father Lopez. She slips easily into her native tongue as she speaks, "It is only right and proper to pay respects to one's elders. How would you baptise me??" <Korean>
"This is not Scientology," Father Lopez responds to Riko with a laugh. To Da-Eun he offers another Biblical quote; "You will drink the cup I drink, and be baptized with the baptism I am baptized with." This he does in English, perhaps not even noticing she asked her question in a different tongue, but seemingly understanding her words nonetheless.
Riko sighs a moment as Da-Eun slips into what she assumes to be Korean, but smiles, just listening and nodding for the moment, but then raising her eyebrow as the father answers something. If it was a proper answer she didn't know though. "Well, What do you sa, Da?"
Da-Eun blinks once then twice as she hears Nate's response. It's a coherent response to what she said. "You're very gifted with language, Father." In response to Riko's question, Da-Eun nods her head, "Where do we do this? And can my friend watch?" She looks back to Riko with somewhat wide eyes, hinting at the fact that she's quite concerned about what's going on here.
Blinking slowly, the preacher's confusion is clear at Da-Eun's question now. "Of course? It happens here on the street. One splash, one sip, and a few words," he explains, motioning again to the bottle of water. He sounds even slightly offended that she might think he would try to do something out of sight and hidden. "Then your light will break forth like the dawn, and your healing will quickly appear; then your righteousness will go before you, and the glory of the Lord will be your rear guard.
Riko just watches the two carefully for the moment, ready to try and aide Da-Eun if needed
The Korean girl steps over to Riko and whispers in her ear, "Get me out of here if this goes bad?" Da-Eun's hands then clasp in front of her and she bows her head slightly to the Father. "I'm sorry! I'm not accustomed to this. Your faith is a bit foreign to me. But, yes, if you're offering salvation then -of course- I want it." Her gaze fixes on the bottle of water, curiosity glinting in her eyes.
"Then receive the blessings of the Lord our Father," the preacher murmurs softly to Da-Eun, lifting his arm to tip just a few drops of water over her head, assuming she doesn't stop him. The bottle - freshly opened, it should be said - is then offered to her to take a sip, and he continues with, "Be cleansed of sin and light of heart, for His son died for your freedom."
Riko nods at her compannion at the little request, her hands slipping out of the pockets to intervene if necessary. The hiss of the fresh bottle opening has her eyebrows rise a short moment, but there doesn't seem to be anything off so far...
The water splashes on her forehead and she blinks a few times. She then wraps her hands around the bottle of water when it's offered to her, her eyes snapping to his arm. She hesitates and then tries to step back, hopefully taking that bottle of water with her. She suddenly decides she'd rather not take that drink.
Father Lopez doesn't fight with Da-Eun over who is holding the bottle; if she wants it, it is hers. He does seem confused though. "To finish, you should drink," he reminds her quietly, in case she has forgotten. His eyes then turn to Riko. "May I offer you salvation?" he invites again, seeming genuinely to want to help.
Riko shakes her head at the offer, more worried on her face at the signs of Da-Eun's distress. "I'm good with the mix of Shinto and Buddhism and lots of not caring ma dad taught me. But thank you for helping her out there..." She tries to reach over to the korean to try to usher her off in a little.
Da-Eun nervously rubs at her forehead with the sleeve of her jacket and turns to walk with riko, shaking her head at Father Lopez's offer. "No, thank you." She manages to still be a little polite as she steals the man's water bottle and quickly starts to walk away.
The preacher watches the pair hurry away, confused but not pursuing.
Riko scurries away with Da-Eun, looking for the next house corner to get around. "Do you feel any strange? Weak? I mean, if it isn't too bad, your healing should fix it... or should I try? Oh, he did say the Silver Lady. I guess he meant God and Luna? Strange..."
Da-Eun blinks at that mention of Silver Lady, shaking her head a bit. "Silver Lady? I didn't hear that. When did he say it?" She continues to rub at her forehead and will step into around the corner with Riko as they chatter, "I feel fine. But I saw under his sleeve. He's covered in this mold stuff." Her eyes then drift to the water bottle. "I don't know if there's mold or something -in- this water or maybe it's a ritual that invites a bane in?"
Riko sighs a tad, nodding at Da-Eun's notion. "Could be... Though... the bottle did hiss like fresh. Mybe we should get you to see a cleaner, if not a doctor? I mean, to make sure... At least he didn't like... hurt you out there. Oh, he mentioned her right before you spoke... I guess Korean to him.
Da-Eun blinks a bit at Riko's statement, confusion showing in her eyes. "I heard him speak Korean to me. He said devoted daughters. And.." She places a hand over her chest, "My name means Silver. Sort of. This is odd. He's odd. I think he's possessed. Maybe we should poke around in the Umbra and see what we see?"
Riko nods slowly, but once more checks if really everything is allright with her. "We can try... Though there is really nothing wrong with you? However, uhh... Things only leave an imprint in the Umbra after some time. Only if there was like a bane following him we'd see anything."
"Right, yeah, but.. maybe there -are- banes following him?" Da-eun seems pretty certain that she's okay! She smiles, trying to reassure Riko and herself. "No harm in looking, right?" Unless there are banes, in which case there could be a lot of harm.
"What about upsetting a netcrawler or something as we sneak in? Or eeting the bane straight away? There's quite some chance we get messed up, especially right in the middle of town. If we make it cross the gauntlet even..." With a sigh, Riko looks overher shoulder. "A peek maybe? That'd be somewhat safe..."
Riko is demonstrating the better part of valor and Da-Eun doesn't seem inclined to argue. She just nods her head, relenting to Riko's advice not to commit potential suicide. "Okay, yeah, a peek can't hurt."
Riko nods, offering a helpful smile before she offers a hand. "You know, either we need to both be at a spot where we can see him for that, or one needs to guide the other. No normal sight. So..."
"Okay. Yeah." Da-Eun holds the bottle in her left hand and reaches out with her right to offer her hand to Riko. "You guide and I'll look? Maybe we can start from somewhere safe, later, and come back here and look around. I know my way around fairly well."
Riko nods. "he's right around that corner. So I get you over there in case there is no open space n the Umbra, and then you eye him over. Are you ready?"
Da-Eun nods her head, her eyes closing for a moment as she takes a deep breath. "I'm ready!" But she's not. She's really not. Her eyes open again and then she freezes in place before she begins groping around her blindly, trying to find Riko. She speaks quietly though there's panick in her voice, "He.. help. Help! Riko?"
Riko plants her hands on Da-Eun's shoulders, trying to calm her, hands stroking the cheeks of the female. "It's ok, it's ok. I'm here. I'm right with you." She tries, gently trying to hold the groping hands.
Da-Eun eyes are open but it's clear that she's not really seeing anything, lacking any focus as they shift left and right. She doesn't respond to the spoken words and the touch to her shoulder makes her jump but then she feels Riko's hands on her cheeks and she takes a slow, steadying breath. Her eyes close and she whispers, hands slipping into Riko's as she whispers. "I.. I can't hear you. Or see anything. Or smell anything."
Riko holds the hands, fingers seeking to hush the Korean with one index one brushing over the lips from the nose to the chin. "Hush..." She whispers, then uses the finger to draw letters onto the palm of Da-Eun. I A M H E R E
Da-Eun's chest rises and falls with heavy breaths, trying to steady herself. Being without senses isn't a pleasant experience and the feeling of helplessness is a bit overwhelming. She goes quiet when that finger presses to her lips and she nods her head slowly after she feels the letters drawn onto her palm. She nods her head, keeping her hand in Riko's so that the Fox can guide her. "Thank you." She whispers softly.
Riko nods smiling, working on trying to make it as easy for Da-Eun as she can. "Can you see over?" she asks, writing the question into the palm as fast as she can while they still are there, out of line of sight of the preacher.
Da-Eun shakes her head at the question after taking a moment to make sure she understands. "No.. no I'm sorry." There's an obviously apologetic tone to her voice as she bites her bottom lip. "I messed this one up. I'm sorry."
Riko shakes her head, fingers once again writing onto the palm. "It's ok. Everything will be fine. Just wait a little." She just tries to calm her down for the moment. To keep her safe...
Without much else to do at this point, Da-Eun will wrap Riko up into a light and brief hug if allowed before reaching out to look for a place where she might plop down to sit and wait. She sighs and nervously fidgets with her hands, eyes occassionally opening and glancing about before closing again. It's awkward and tense for her.
Riko takes the hug, continuing to write that she is there and takes care onto the hands or back for a little, then help her find a bench or something so she can settle down. "It's ok, you'll be back soon."
Da-Eun follows Riko's lead, finding the bench with the help and sitting and waiting. She sighs a few times, feet nervously tapping against the ground as she waits. And waits. Her eyes blink again and she glances over towards Riko, a nervous laugh escaping her lips. "Oh.. there you are.." She whispers the words, her vision a bit blurry but quickly returning. She'll reach out to rest a hand in Riko's, nodding her head. "That was.. scary."
Riko nods a little, her hand stroking over the one given to her. "There... it's all ok, right? It's not bad to be frightened, but at least we can get you back. Lucky that you just tried to take a peek and not attempted to go over, right? I mean... no idea what we might have faced there."
"Yeah.. yeah you're right. Thank you." She leaves her hand in Riko's, seeming to find some comfort in the touch. Da-Eun leans in to rest her head against Riko's shoulder before she glances down to her other hand and that bottle of water. "Do you know anyone who might be able to look at this and see if there's anything strange about it?"
Riko shakes the head a little, then raises a finger. "Maybe David can have a look at it... He's good with figuring out what kind of people people are... I can call him."
"David is good people." Da-Eun remarks with a smile as she sits up straight and takes another deep breath before releasing it slowly. "And he'd be a good person to ask for help in finding a safe way through the Umbra to check out our preacher friend."
