Agents of the Multiverse

"Stop! I'm just trying to help you!"

The voice rose up above the trees, high and desperate. The pines shivered in a passing wind, as though disturbed by the commotion happening at their feet. A large grey shape was moving in the brush, flanked by a smaller one. The smaller seemed to be human, chestnut haired and well scarred, wearing what looked to be a hand sewn deer hide shirt and breeches. Her green eyes were wide with worry as she darted out of the way of the larger shape, which was at least the size of a pony. It was a wolf, its sleek, steel colored coat matted and its yellow eyes furious. It lunged at the woman again, and she toppled back, scrabbling on her backside out of range just in time. The shaggy creature's snapping pursuit was cut short with a sharp yelp and an abrupt and ominous silence.

Krepta winced in sympathy. She could smell blood, a sickly sweet and coppery tang that pervaded the air and lingered on the back of her tongue, even in her human form. She got up again, and carefully circled the psi-wolf, warily trying to get a better look at its back leg. The creature was laid out on the ground unmoving aside from its heaving sides as it struggled for breath, but its great jaws were parted in a silent, warning gape. There was no sign of the uncanny intelligence that Krepta was so used to seeing in the eyes of the psi-wolves, only the glazed look of someone in immense pain, and a wild sort of desperation that if she wasn't careful of, would certainly result in a lost finger or two, if not worse. Krepta didn't know this individual-- the psi-wolves tended to avoid her after what had happened to Kargo-- but whoever it was, he wasn't home right now.

Taking the chance that the lycanthrope was down for the count, at least for the moment, she edged slowly through the weeds to the source of the problem. There was a trail of blood leading to where the enormous wolf's backside was splayed out among a patch of wildflowers. It painted their lacy white petals with an obscene splash of red, already congealing in the shivery breeze rustling through the undergrowth. Krepta's eyes trailed up, searching-- it didn't take long to spot where the blood was coming from. The contraption locked around the shapeshifter's thigh was an ugly, brutal thing. It might have superficially resembled a bear trap, with large, cruel metal teeth that bit deep into the muscle-- and Krepta was willing to wager, bone too--- but there was something that glowed and pulsed a dull, sickly yellow in the lining of the trap that she couldn't quite make out. Krepta didn't know what it was, exactly, but she could only assume that it was doing something to mess with the psi-wolf's head. Even in pain, their kind weren't normally so... feral.

This was a nasty piece of work, Krepta thought with an extra pang of sympathy and no little trepidation. If it hadn't been for the psi-wolf's extraordinary powers of regeneration, it would have long bled out before she could have ever had the luck she had of stumbling upon the poor thing. But there was something more sinister at play here too... this trap looked like it had been designed with psi-wolves in mind. Someone in the area was hunting them. On purpose.

"Shit," Krepta breathed. She tried to edge closer. The wolf loosed a warning growl in response, lifting a head at least as big as her torso to stare menacingly at her. Krepta moved back again and chewed her lip. The wolf was starting to get its strength back, and if she riled it up too much it was libel to pull that leg right off trying to get at her, which would be very bad for them both.

She needed to go get help, but from who?

Death. Pain. Destruction.

For the last two weeks since Temenos first found himself in this vast new world it felt like his every thought, both in terms of waking dreams and moments asleep, were marred by a frigid canvas of black. Memories of pain, blood, and desperation as his world fought back against an endless threat, the Endless Night falling upon the realm like the shutter of a final curtain. His mind flashed with the memory of the many bodies back home, the clerics back at Flamechurch’s cathedral. They had once had their eyes shining with hope, their smiles kind and welcoming himself and those who entered, but there was something twisted about what eventually repaid them. The last thing he saw they had been their light snuffed away, empty stares gazing up into a dark sky with eyes unseeing, the tangy scent of blood all he could recall.

For the last two weeks, the image has been burned into the back of his mind. It had been a struggle to gain even the smallest wink of sleep.

Yet, Temenos knew there was no going back, was there? His home was destroyed, along with all of the familiar faces back at the Cathedral- even the old friends he used to travel with. For the first day after he arrived he had simply felt nothing but empty over the realisation, his eyes a distant stare hidden behind an emotionless and carefully painted facade as he retreated into himself. But now, after he managed to process it, he at least felt a tiny bit human.

And he at least had an idea of what he wanted to do next.

Temenos frowned in tired thought as he flicked through a small sheaf of notes that he was scrawling away in, his mind racing even as fast as he thought. He was perched on a small log in the Switchback Forest, muttering under his breath as he mentally worked his thoughts out onto the paper. Various notes could be glimpsed from the surface, key words- information and highlights towards ranks and information given towards the Agents, it seemed. All public information, fortunately.
“…Mayhaps, yes…” He trailed off, gently rubbing his chin with a hand as he purred in thought. “I suppose this could be a way to keep myself busy.”

Underneath the faint glow that filtered through the canopy of the treeline, he would almost appear like a strikingly bright sight for the shadow. His hair and skin were almost bleached to the point where they were porcelain, and this- alongside sleek and elegant features that could easily be mistaken for a woman’s- would appear oddly at home in the peace. He wore a long blue and gold clerical robe, the gold accents glinting in the light.

He wasn’t able to save his own home, but maybe this way…. It could be an opportunity to strike back. It was better than sitting around in Sanctuary and remaining idle, at least. But how exactly was he going to put a foot forward towards it? For a brief moment his mind flashed with the thought of telling them of his experience as an Inquisitor back home, but that was immediately combatted by a wave of homesickness, causing nausea to rise up within him. No… His former title meant nothing here, did it?

He had to make a new path for himself.

Yet, the cleric was snapped out of his thoughts as a loud voice slashed through the trees, alongside a feminine shout. His features growing pale he suddenly shot up, snatching up his staff from where it lay beside a nearby tree. Immediately he warily shot off towards the noise, hiding behind a bush so he could cautiously watch the events- just out of sight.

Immediately after he caught a glimpse of the woman and the wolf, however, his breath hitched. The very sight of the wild-eyed wolf alone caused his blood to freeze in his chest, but as he squinted closer and saw the faint glint of sunlight against the trap against around it’s thigh, his heart lurched. What in the Flame… He grit his teeth, a wave of sympathy flashing through him like a winter breeze against the skin. Poor creature.

Temenos crept forward a little, his hand tightening against his staff. He warily raised the weapon in case the creature attacked, analysing the creature with a cautious stare, but he soon spoke in a whisper to the woman. “…Goodness, miss. Aren’t you brave,” he breathed, observing the creature for a moment to make sure it was truly trapped before he took another cautious step forward, just out of the cover of the bushes. His heart was racing, unease creeping up in his heart like a frozen frost, but he forced it into hiding, carefully re-applying his crafted facade.

Krepta's attention was torn between the wolf and the newcomer. The skinny fellow who came creeping out of the bushes didn't look like much of a fighter, though she supposed he had a weapon at least-- not that a simple staff would do much against the crushing jaws of a psi-wolf. They were just lucky that whatever was in that trap that was messing with the poor thing's head was also keeping its psionic powers under control. All psi-wolves were telepaths, hence the name, though some were more powerful than others, and many had secondary powers as well which ran a whole unpleasant range from being able to talk to ghosts to the ability to light things on fire with their minds.

Krepta really didn't want to be on the receiving end of an angry psi-wolf with all of its capacities intact.

Lucky for both Krepta and the new guy, this particular psi-wolf was having a no good, very bad day.

"Thanks." Krepta's voice was tight as she replied to the silver haired onlooker's compliment. She threw out a hand to stop any more potential progress forward, however, her attention whipping rapidly between wolf and man, the former of which was slowly beginning to stagger to its feet again, growling low in its chest. It was a sound deep and powerful enough that Krepta could feel it in the hollow part of her own chest.

"Appreciated," she continued, shifting anxiously between them a bit further. Just a little, in case the man with the staff decided to do anything particularly 'brave' himself. "But my bravery won't keep you out of an early grave, so stay back, okay? They're in a lot of pain right now, and if you freak them out more they're going to hurt themselves, and if they get free, they're going to kill both of us," she warned grimly.

"Oh, very well, I suppose... Getting in a scrap would be a bit of a hassle," Temenos's whispered voice remained light and serene as he took in Krepta's words, his eyes never leaving the sight of the wolf in the trap as his hand tightened around his staff. In truth, despite the carefully crafted facade that never left his features, he wasn't going to deny the way that his heart was beginning to race rapidly in his chest, a raging torrent of adrenaline rushing through his form. Maybe had this been little more than one of the monsters he often found at home outside of Flamechurch, he would have held more confidence. But this wolf before them.... He didn't have a clue about what it was capable of.

Yet despite his forced attempt at a calm tone the Inquisitor, true to his word, took a step back. Yet he could feel his magick sparking up within his fingertips, ready to be released at any moment. If worst came to the worst, hopefully a blast of Luminescence could hold the poor creature- but that being said, did his magic even work here? He's tried to practise small bursts privately, but he hardly knew the extent that remained without some kind of training room. Not if he didn't want to scald a house, or a poor, unsuspecting shop.

"....May I ask what exactly it is? The poor thing," he whispered once again, narrowing his eyes at the psi-wolf. "It doesn't look anything like the wolves I've seen."

Krepta shot the man a look of annoyance over one shoulder. Was he just going to stand there and ask her stupid questions while she was distracted with a life or death situation? Of course he was going to. People only ever wandered by in situations like this to either take advantage of them or be worse than useless. She growled a half hearted response while she tried to creep closer to where the trap was. She needed to distract the wolf somehow while she got it off. If Krepta could do that, then hopefully the lycanthrope's own natural healing abilities would kick in.

Preferably without it chasing one of them down and mauling them.

"Psi-wolf," she said, grunting the answer. "They're a kind of lycanthrope, but they've got wiggy psychic powers. Usually. Something's wrong with this one. They haven't tried to call for help from the pack or brain zap me yet." Krepta considered herself rather fortunate over the latter fact. "I'm not sure who it is. I can never tell them apart when they're like this."

She glanced up at Temnos again, trying to figure out a use for him beyond standing there gawking.

"Do me a favor--" she said after a moment. She settled back on to her haunches some feet away while the werewolf growled and stared at her. "Go over there, but give toothsome over here a wide berth while you do it or kiss your fingers goodbye. Try to get its attention. Wave your arms or something. I dunno. Talk to it. Don't piss it off too much, though. I just need its eyes on you, okay?"

It felt risky, but Krepta hoped her plan wasn't entirely stupid, at least, because it was the only one that she had at the moment.

"Be careful," she warned.

Temenos listened with a firm nod, mentally keeping her words in mind. A psi-wolf… This new world held so many new odd creatures, and while he did find himself filled with a cold spark of terror at the thought, it also fascinated him. A lycanthrope… So, this creature was a human, just transformed? For a moment his spark of sympathy at the creature only deepened and he nodded his head, casting a firm look back at Krepta.

“Hah. Risky indeed… But I suppose it works in a pinch. ” It was risky, but as much as Temenos wanted to state something a little safer, he hardly knew a thing about these new creatures- or what they were capable of aside from what this woman told him. Being brain zapped wasn’t exactly on his agenda today. “But first, a safeguard.”

He subtly tightened his hand around his staff, mouthing something under his breath. Suddenly the air in front of him and Krepta would begin to shimmer, only very faintly. Sacred Shield. It was only a weak one in front of them and would likely only work to counter one attack, but it was better than nothing. Temenos could have added more strength to it if he wished, but more mana made it more visible, and he rather didn’t want the psi-wolf to be too aware of it’s presence, in fear of scaring it into action.

“…A simple shield,” he whispered as he glanced back at her.

The inquisitor then began to creep quietly forward, not making any sudden movements, and stopping far enough away to be wary if the creature attacked. “We will not harm you.” He said gently, raising his hands in a pacifying motion. His voice was quiet, as to not scare the creature, and also soft. “… You’re hurt. We simply want to help.”

Krepta eyed the shield appreciatively. She didn't know enough magic to know how well it would hold, but anything was better than nothing for sure. She glanced over her shoulder at Temenos as he spoke quiet reassurances to the wolf, and her green eyes followed his gaze to the creature. There was worry in her expression.

"I'm not sure how much it can understand you right now," she said quietly, circling in the other direction. "They're normally pretty sweet folks... Well... they don't like me much, but... they've never been aggressive. Definitely not like this. I've really never seen this before. Almost seems like no one's home right now. It probably doesn't matter much what you say. I'm pretty sure you could jingle some keys with the same results. Be careful," she reiterated.

Krepta fell silent herself, slipping back into the undergrowth. The wolf tracked her for a moment, growling, until it lost sight, then its attention was drawn back to Temenos. It rolled back its lips at him, showing pale gum and long white fangs, a silent warning. The wolf's eyes were round with pain and fear, and perhaps a touch of madness. It was hard to tell just how much intelligence was even in there at the moment. The silence was almost worse than the growling.

Krepta hunkered closer, moving slowly through ferns and bushes so as not to draw the were's attention-- at least not yet. She needed it to be fully focused on Temenos first.