Bad Dream? (Invitation only)

After the vision at the bar of Gawain, Maddie decided she needed to take a nap, so she went to her room for a nap. Why was she having visions of what she saw in the Ter'angreal. Maybe it was an after effect. Regardless, it had been a long few months, and she really hadn't rested much since she got back. Once she was back in her room, she laid her head on the pillow, and was soon asleep. it wasn't long before the dream started.

It was a nice evening, so Madeline decided to take Swifty for a ride, and watch the sunset. She decided to ride to the cliffs to watch it. It was near about dusk when she reached the cliffs. The closer she got she heard a loud familar voice. "Dad?" Why was he shouting, and more importantly who was he arguing with? She dismounted Swifty, and walked slowly to a tree to see what was going on. To her surprise there was no one there but her father. What also scared her was he had Gareth's bastard sword, a gift Gawain himself had given him, shaking it at someone who wasn't there.

It was then Madeline stepped out from behind the tree. She approached her father slowly. "Dad, what's wrong? There is no one here, who are you arguing with?"

Gawain's gaze fell on her then, and hefting the sword, he roared. Then, in a loud voice, he spoke. "Another Forsaken comes to me to die? Bring your worst, I'll end you here and now!" The swing came swiftly and would have taken her head completely off if she had not awoken.

Madeline awoke in a cold sweat, and screamed loud enough for everyone in ear shot, mentally and physically, to hear her.

Venis was sitting at her desk with her brow furrowed as she munched on saltine crackers. The source of her furrowed brow? Some things just weren't adding up. As she moved to get a cracker from the package, her stomach churned again. It seemed to be getting worse instead of better.

She closed her eyes and began to sort through the voices and feelings trying to separate them into beings to find the source of the worsening stomach ache. Of course, her answer was found not in her head, but in her ears. The blood curdling scream was loud enough to wake the dead, literally, as it seemed to stir Kahn who had found time for an afternoon nap himself.

Venis rose from her chair and made her way to the side of the bed. A chaste kiss upon her husbands cold lips would be enough to settle him back into his slumber. Then she was out the door to find that screamer. For that she needed to return to the voices in her head.

It took her a moment, as she was headed down the steps, to figure out that it had been Madeline. Now that she had a destination, her pace quickened. She headed down to Madeline's room and saw the door shutting of it's own accord. Before the opening was completely sealed by the door, long, bony fingers slid through and pushed the door back again.

A peek inside revealed Madeline on the bed, looking noticeably shaken, and De'Ryanna standing by her bedside. With a sigh, she entered anyway. She had not spoken directly to De'Ryanna since that day in the Meeting Hall when decorating for All Hallows Eve. But they had attended some of the same functions.

She slid into the door and moved to the side to allow it to close. She had heard De'Ryanna ask about Madeline's current state, at least, what had brought her to said state. So she figured that to do so again was redundant.

She made her way over to the bed, standing just back from De'Ryanna and off to the side. She would have been rude to stand behind her and be out of her line of site, no reason to be rude. Hell, there was no reason the two couldn't be civil to each other. So she waited, just as De'Ryanna did, for an answer from Madeline.

Tasha was sitting in her room at her table where all her lab equipment was set up. She was reading her most recent copy of The New England Journal of Medicine. Ha'Ruil was sitting in a chair near her and she had her bare feet in his lap. When she heard the scream she snapped her head towards the door.

She couldn't tell who had screamed, but she had a feeling that it would do her some good to find out. She slid her feet from Ha'Ruil's lap and got up from the chair. "Ha'Ruil, dear, I'll be back." She set her book down, with her page bookmarked, and leaned down to give him a kiss.

She slapped the side of her thigh three times so Leviathan would get up and follow her. Leviathan didn't stick to Tasha like glue, Tasha wasn't human and was less vulnerable than Casie. And Tasha was very glad that Casie had Kjay, because she worried about her sometimes too.

She headed out into the hallway. Her first stop would have normally been Venis' room, but the door was closed. So she closed her eyes and picked up on the scent of strawberries and raspberries. Then she just followed her nose.

Venis' scent lead her downstairs to Maddie's room. Now Maddie was like Tasha's unofficially adopted almost niece. It was a long story, the short of it was that she was, for all intents and purposes, Aunt Tasha. So when a turn of the handle on the closed door revealed it to be unlocked, she took liberties and entered.

With Levi on her tail she entered the room to find Venis pretty much at the foot of the bed, and De'Ryanna more off to one side of the bed. "Ladies." Said that way due to the presence of De'Ryanna more than anything. Between the two standing, Tasha could see Maddie on the bed looking rather distraught.

Now, Tasha could have easily guessed that at least one of the two standing there would have asked what happened. So she made her way over to the other side of the bed. She lifted a leg and sat down on the edge of the bed, facing Venis and De'Ryanna, just as Maddie was.

Leviathan jumped up on the bed and laid down facing Maddie. She slowly crawled until she was close enough to lay her head in Maddie's lap. Once her head was resting there, she looked up at Maddie to make sure she was ok.

Tasha reached over and pet Levi as she waited to find out what was going on. She was positioned so that she could move rather quickly to hug Maddie if that was what she needed. And yet, could still bolt out the door if things turned ugly between Venis and De'Ryanna. Taking Maddie and Levi with her of course.

Madeline was already sitting up in her bed, beads of sweat pouring from her forehead, pale as a ghost and in a panicked state. She heard Ryan enter the room, and ask her what’s wrong. She looked at De'Ryanna wide eyed. "Where's Gawain? Have you or your mom seen or spoken with him? De'Ryanna I need to know where our dad is."

She then noticed Venis enter the room. "Oh thank goodness you're here. Have you seen my father at all lately? “

At this point, Maddie was getting more frantic. “I will not let it happen again. I was too young to prevent it last time, and I’m older, stronger and have more power to let it happen to another love one. “

It was then Tasha entered the room, and hugged her, and Leviathan jumped on the bed with her. With Tasha ‘s physical touch, it allowed Madeline to take a deep breath, and focus. Because of the previous vision in the bar, and the fact she too had lost a loved one before to with same type of madness.

Madeline rubbed Leviathan’s head, and continued. “ I saw him, I saw Dad standing on Crimson Cliffs arguing, with himself, holding that sword that used to be Uncle Gareth’s. I tried to stop him, but it was like he didn’t know me. He called me another Forsaken, and swung at me with the sword. ”

Madeline was fighting back tears. “It was like Uncle Gareth all over again.”

Madeline looked a De'Ryanna with a sigh. "That's just it, I haven't seen our father since I met up with him, and your mother in Tar Valon. And I haven't seen your mother since she left me at the White Tower."

Maddie gave Kjay a big hug, he had been a dear friend of hers ever since she was a child, as had Cas. She turned to Cas, with a worried look. "No Cas everything is not ok. I just had a very vivid dream about my dad. You haven't seen Gawain by chance have you?"

She then told Cas about her dream.

Venis and Gawain had not spoken since the night that Benjamin had killed Madeline. Something went wrong that night. One moment he was offering her his blood so she could sustain Madeline, the next moment he was going off on her again. And that hadn't been the first time since she had come to the Inn that he had acted strangely towards her.

Her brows furrowed at the thoughts going through her head. Her right hand raised and she scratched at her head with her nails before she spoke. "Perhaps, perhaps he is slipping into a state of madness." She took that opportunity to 'feel' for him. She wanted to see what she could feel and sense from him. He was an ever present presence in her head.

But she had been keeping him at bay because they had been at odds so much. So she had no idea that things were headed towards the direction of madness. But with bringing him back to the forefront of her mind, she was able to tell a few things. "He seems rather ... Irritated? Perhaps that is the best way to describe it. He's not too far away, I mean he is in Rhy'Din."

She was trying to get a fix on his location so they could go find him. "I'm not sure why, but I am having trouble zoning in on him. He's ... Blocking me, or something is, maybe another someone. I can't tell." This, of course, troubled Venis. She had never had a problem like this before. Her worry was evident on her face, but for only a moment.

When Casie entered, Venis was still trying to pinpoint a location on Gawain. "I don't think he's so bad off that death needs to be an option ... Yet." Her eyes were closed and she was tilting her head in this direction and that. It was very hard to focus on him. "I think, I think that there's time to help him before we have to kill him." She hoped at least.

Her eyes shot open and were immediately focused on Tasha. "Had I been here, had I known. I'm sorry Tash. I won't let it happen again. I will do all I can." Her eyes were pooling with blood tears threatening to fall. She moved her gaze from Tasha to Madeline. "No, I will not allow this to happen again. I refuse to loose another in such a way."

Her hand reached out to the side, she was still staring, but it was more at the wall behind them than it was at them. She felt Casie's hand at her side and she took it in hers. She squeezed it gently before releasing it. She didn't blink, she didn't speak another word for a bit either. She was completely focused, and her focus was on one thing ... Find Gawain.

Well at least Venis could sense him at least, and it was good that he hadn't lost it yet. "That's good at least, but this is not the first time I've seen Dad in trouble. Earlier today, I had a vision of everyone standing around a casket in the lounge. I saw everyone crying. When Iwalked to the casket, I saw Tasha at the front, and asking, why is this happening again. When I looked in the casket, it was Gawain."

Venis nodded as she closed her eyes yet again. She remained silent as she listened. But she wasn't just listening with her ears, she was listening with her mind, and her heart as well, for those two things could help her. It wasn't long for her eyes to shoot open yet again. "I think I found him, well, I found someone and it feels like him. Come on Tasha, let's go get him." She hoped at least.

She waited while Tasha and Leviathan got up off the bed. "Madeline, if this is him I feel, I will bring him back here safe and sound, I hope." She smiled at De'Ryanna. "De'Ryanna, have a nice day, hope I can return your father to you soon." And after a slight hug to Casie, the three left the room.

((And so ends my participation in this thread.))

Madeline listened to her sister, she was right of course. "You're right De'Ryanna, and usually my dreams or visions are a warning anyway, and usually come to pass with in a month. So I'm guessing we have that much time to stop or prevent this."

Madeline took a deep breath, and calmed her nerves, and regain her composure. "Thank you De' Ryanna, and to you too Cas, and Kjay."

With that Madeline stood up calmed and collected. "What do we do now?"

"No, I rather not wait on Venis to return, and yes I was taught a locator spell, just give me a second."

Madeline took a map of New haven she had. She took a hair pin and pierced her hand. She clenched her hand to make the blood come quicker, and scattered the blood all over the map.

"Blood of my blood,
Flesh of my flesh.
Reveal yourself to me."
Red if Human,
Blue if other.
Reveal!!"

When Madeline said reveal, two blue lights started lighting up over the cliffs.

"There he is, in wolf form, who else is with him? De'Ryanna, do you of another wolf, that could be with him, De'Ryanna?"

"I have a brother?" Was probably not what De'Ryanna expected to hear from her, but that's the first thing that registered with Madeline.

Then the second thing De'Ryanna said hit. "Why would Benjamin be there with Dad, and would he be able to tell there was something wrong with Dad?"

Madeline had all ideas what he would do with her, and she did remember what he did to her the last time. "It definitely puts a new twist on things. But the two may still be related. I've only had two so far. With Garreth I had many, and frequently." Hence why my own adopted mom sent me away." At that thought Madeline tensed up.

"Anyway I agree, it would be useless to go straight after them. But I just don't want to sit here. "

Madeline sighed, and closed her eyes, she tried to see if she could get a good energy level on him. "He seems to be more... I don't know how to put it. More werewolf than human? I've been able to feel the human side of our father before, when he was in this form. But this time seems different. Is it possible he could stay like this, and not shift back?"

Madeline listened to De'Ryanna very carefully, and took her words to heart. Yes she did have the training to talk mentally to others, and her and Gawain did talk that way often. But this would require more than simple concentration, and thought. It would require a high level of power and energy, and anyone who could sense magic would know something was going on. What Madeline didn't know if one, Ben would be able to sense it, and two, if he did, would he know it was her.

Madeline took a deep breath. "I'll try, it's better than doing nothing."

Madeline walked to the window in her room and opened it,. She then took the hair pen she had pierced her hand before, and sat in the chair by the window and placed the hair pen in the other hand and closed her eyes. As blood dripped on her clothes. With her eyes closed, and the breeze coming in through, she could see Gawain, and Ben. "I see them," was all she said.

Maddie then raised her power level, and called out to her father.

~Gawain. Gawain Cauthon. Father, can you here me?~

((This thread will have a parallel thread on the Starry Myst boards. It is also called Bad Dream? (Invitation Only). From this point on, all posts will either be made to both threads on both boards, or be cut and pasted into the post that follows. That way, everyone can read the whole story as it plays out. It is also tied into A Return (Invite Only). Though, we are not double posting that one yet. It's going to run a little slower. So please, enjoy.))


Venis and Tasha had gone to where Venis had thought she had felt Gawain. It was a false alarm. Though, they had come across one of Venis' old friends who was pretty powerful in his own right. With a promise to come back and catch up later, she opened a mental link to Madeline to tell her it was the wrong being and that she was about to search again. But as she went to open the link she started getting flashes of images. And not all of them were pretty. She grabbed her head and doubled over.

What ever Madeline was doing, she was pulling a lot of power to do it. And some of that power was being pulled from Venis the second that she opened the link. Some of the images were easier to focus on as she cried out in pain. She could see Gawain in his Hybrid form. She could see Madeline sitting by a window. She saw De'Ryanna standing in Madeline's room, she saw Benjamin. But the image of Benjamin wasn't in focus. She saw blood and all sorts of things were coming in in the color blue. She had no idea what was happening, but she didn't like it.

Madeline had used the locater spell to find her father, and in fact had found him in his other form, with Benjamin, and that wasn't good.. This time was different some how. Usually when Gawain was in werewolf form she could always feel his human side, you could even see it in his eyes. But this, this was totally different. Her father didn't even look the same. So she decided to use a strong communication spell she learned on Avalon, to see if she could reach him.

The problem was that Benjamin had detected her. She knew he would probably sense her, and more than likely kill her, or hurt her in some way. And in fact he had dealt her a serious blow that spontaneously shorted out her nerve endings through her central nervous system. Before she blacked out she managed to send a mental cry out. "VENIS HELP ME!!" Then Madeline fell out on the floor in convulsions.

Madeline's cry was heard. And Venis knew the reason for it. As she fell to her knees she felt a lesser version of what Madeline had felt because of the open link. "Tasha ..." Venis was curling up on the ground in a fetal position. "Madeline ... Needs you ..." She was fighting the effects of the backlash of the backlash.

Though, she was unsure of it's source. But soon it was over and the images stopped and all the was left over was the residual headache. She pushed herself up with her hands as she stayed sitting upon the ground for a moment. "Go, get Madeline stable, don't let her die Tash."

Tasha knew it had to be pretty serious for Venis to be sending her. So she shifted into her panther form, not caring about the ripped clothes or the fact that when she got back to the Inn and Maddie's room, she would have to shift back and be nude. She simply took off in the direction of the Inn.

Venis waited the length of a few breaths and then pushed herself back up to her feet. Whatever Madeline had done, it was strong. And one thing resonated above all else. Gawain was pissed. So she figured that her best course of action was to find him and find him fast. And she had an inclination that perhaps this form would not be the one to find him in.

So as she took off running, not knowing why she was headed that direction, she hurdled a bush and when her feet touched the ground on the other side, they were the four paws of a solid white wolf with ice blue eyes. Venis was a shifter vamp, and only Gawain and one other would know her in this form.