aeons_crackshot | Trinity/FreakAngels AU: A Heart as Cold as Ice.

Annabelle introduces herself as well. "That's good news!" John says with a grin. John has no idea how Connor picked up the trail, but if it works...well, he really doesn't care.

"I suppose we'd best get going then," he adds. "All aboard."

The dogs are eager to get going, so their start is fairly brisk for a while before the dogs settle into a more maintainable pace.

Has Connor ever been on a dogsled before?

No, not even anything really close. But he will settle down, give directions, and after the pace settles into something steady, even nap a bit.

He may be woken up from his nap several hours later by the faint feeling of Telluric energy in the area. Energy like that he may have felt from the Society's psychics and stalwarts. They're about 2 miles from where the trail he sensed earlier faded out.

He blinks awake, gesturing for John to slow down. "I feel something. We are close... better stop soon."

John nods, bringing the dogs to a halt. Not a moment too soon, as it happens.

A feeling of dread, doom, and primal fear attempts to envelop everyone, human and animal alike.

The dogs whine, whimper, and attempt to flee. It's only John's long experience with them that allows him to keep from bolting upright. "I've never seen them act like this before!" he shouts.

Annabelle's expression is grim. "Something doesn't want us here...."

"Something will have to get used to disappointment." Connor gets up, climbing off the sled, helping Annabelle off. "John, head back a bit until you stop feeling it, and wait. But get ready to run if someone strange approaches."

"Damn straight," Annabelle says with a fierce grin.

John nods, edgy despite his attempts at self control. "I'll do that. Just....be careful," he says and moves rather hastily away from the area.

Annabelle growls as they move forward. "Good thing this isn't the first time I've had something trying to muck about with my head."

Connor watches the man take off, then holds Annabelle's hand while they advance, sharing his mind shields. "Someone very angry... and strong."

Annabelle's relaxation when Connor shares his shields is clearly visible. The strain of trying to fight off those emotions was taking its toll on her.

She nods in agreement. "I've never even heard of someone being able to pull something like this at this kind of range."

As they make their way forward, Connor may sense another beacon of emotions. Fear, Worry, Pain, Distress, Concern, Need Help

Well, something knows they are there, most likely. "I think I feel... someone else." He stops to reorient himself and continues on.

It won't be long before they find the source of those emotions.

A severely plain, blond woman, stumbles through the snow. The emotions are clearly coming from her.

"Please...."she gasps. "Please help me!" She takes a shuddering breath. "It took him, it took my husband," she says with a desperate sob.

His first reaction is defensive: Connor lets his power flare as he reaches for the woman and wraps her into a mental shield, glowing openly with the light of the Package. "Where is it?"

The glowing produces a surprised sound from the woman, but sheer desperation overrides any other concern. That thing took her husband, she needs to find help for him!

She shudders with relief as Connor wraps her in the mental shield. "I, it went that way," she says with a sob, pointing north. Is anyone surprised at this point?

If Connor is picking up her thoughts at all, he may catch glimpses of a massive humanoid thing surprising them and dragging her husband off.

And that makes him pause: his first reading by the stream did not catch physical pain, and massive humanoid things are not known for being gentle.

He probes deeper then, for more information, looking at her memories in detail.

Her memories are hazy, veiled by terror and darkness. The thing wraps its clawed hand around her husband's ankle and lifts him, struggling, off the ground. She tries to pull him out of its grip, but it swats her with the other hand, leaving bruises and sending her sprawling, resulting in a twisted ankle....

He might, perhaps, notice that something is a little...off with the memories themselves.

Annabelle is keeping an eye out for trouble while Connor works.

Connor does not like to probe too much, but that bit of information might be need: he does a more focused examination, trying to find more details on what happened and how it happened.

Constance's husband, Richard, had rented a cabin up north as a getaway from society for the both of them. Last night, the thing attacked Richard when he was out fetching wood for the fire. It had been sheer chance that she'd looked out the window at the right moment to see the thing in the moonlight....

Annabelle sends Connor an inquiring look.

Connor will just read up the direction to the cabin, then. "You wait here." The mental shield should hold a while.

He then grabs Annabelle's hand. "This way. Something big and angry got her husband. I guess it got the other people too."

The instruction to wait here draws a protest. "But, but, what if it comes back here?" she stammers. Then she takes a breath. "and you might need someone to, to, look after him while you deal with that thing," she says, voice quavering.

"Ma'am," Annabelle interjects. "You're going to be a liability if we go after that thing in the shape your in." And possibly even if she was perfectly fine, but there's no need to point that out right now.

This does not, alas, seem to deter Constance.

"Annabelle is right." He looks at Constance. You will only hurt yourself. Start back to the city, we will catch up with you, but you must go now. Not a nice thing, suppressing her worry about her husband to avoid a bigger trauma later if he is found dead.

"Head to the city, we will catch up. Stop when you find somewhere sheltered from the wind, and rest there."

It's a bit harder than one might imagine would be the case to make the telepathic suppression take hold, but it does.

Constance blinks. "I...yes...I suppose I am rather useless," she concludes sadly. "I, I'll go. Please, just, help my husband."

"Go, and take care. We will do our best." Another little nudge, and after she turns and moves away, Connor tugs Annabelle along.

Let's hurry, the way she is worried about her husband, the suggestion will be rationalized away in a few hours at most. She can feel how he feels horrible for having to do that.

Annabelle follows, matching his speed easily. She's not happy about it either, but it was necessary.

If you hadn't done that, we would have had to either drag her back, losing time, or knock her out or tie her up. That was the most humane option, especially if things go as badly as they might. There is, after all, always the risk that they won't walk away from a particular mission.

She squeezes his hand reassuringly. As they move along, the feel of Telluric energy grows stronger and stronger. Something is producing truly staggering amounts of Ætheric radiation.

Still a rotten thing to do. Even if it is not real mind control, and nothing permanent... Connor simply does not like it.

It seems he did not need directions after all... shields up, Connor guides the way to the center of the manifestation.

Annabelle projects wordless comfort and reassurance. She's done her share of things that were rotten, but necessary.

The center of the manifestation is a cave, covered in strange crystals that hum with Telluric energy. Trying to find someone in here is going to be a bit like hearing a pin drop during a rock concert...

Not to mention what an empath might be picking up. They are near a location where many men have died, and they did not die quickly or painlessly. They were tortured, mind and body, for days before they were allowed to die.

Annabelle's hackles are on edge. Call it feminine intuition, but something about this place reminds her of Siberia.....

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