Willow (![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png)
frogfear) wrote in ![[community profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/community.png)
deercountry2021-09-06 12:14 pm
frogfear) wrote in deercountry2021-09-06 12:14 pm
(no subject)
Who: Willow and You
What: Acclimating and exploring Gaze
When: Early September
Where: Around Gaze
1. First Night - For Clockhouse Residents
To say it's been a long day is something of an understatement. Has it really all just happened in one day? From turning back into a human, and nearly drowning, to necromancers and pirate ships, and crabs, and reunions with old friends, and scattered memories. It's hardly a surprise that by the time Willow finds her way home, she's exhausted, and quickly retires to her room for some much needed sleep.
The dream is strange; she would have expected nightmares about being back in the ocean, or about tentacled pirates, or reanimated dead. Instead, it's a strange, disjointed dream of a dark forest, a full, pale red moon, and distant howling.
She wakes with a start, and jumps out of bed. The first thing that hits her when she opens her eyes is that she's lower to the ground than she's used to, and the world around her has a strange quality to it - it's dark, but everything is sharp and clear, bathed in a mix of blues, greys and yellows. It's not until she looks down and sees paws where her hands ought to be that outright panic hits.
No, no, no. This can't be happening - she's already been a squid today, and a human, and now, what's this? She dashes to the bathroom, sliding when she hits the tile floor, and puts her hands - no, paws - on the sink to look in the mirror. A wolf! She's a wolf. Not like the werewolves from home, but an actual regular wolf. She looks grey to her own eyes, but her coat is a soft red interspersed with dark guard hairs.
She pushes off the sink and paces in circles. It's a full moon, sure, but she hasn't been bitten by anything, she doesn't think. A spell, maybe? She's sure she didn't cast anything, although she's been vaguely aware that her magic feels different here than it did in Deerington, or Sunnydale. Suddenly, she remembers Amy, trapped as a rat for three years - does she ever not want to be stuck like this long term.
Ozpin - Ozpin is experienced with magic, he'll know what to do. She just has to go find him, and surely he'll be able to help her find a way to turn back into herself again. It's not until she leaves the bathroom to go sound the alarm that she notices the figure still asleep in her bed.
What.
It's a strange sensation to watch yourself sleeping in bed from another form, and Willow isn't quite sure how to parse it. It has to be some kind of spell, or curse. Something to do with Trench, maybe, she's not sure. She thinks back to the nights in December, she shared her dream guide's form, but this doesn't feel the same somehow. This isn't sharing another form, this is becoming something else entirely while her regular physical self appears to be comfortably asleep.
Hey! Hey! Wake up!
It comes out as three short yips, but the figure in bed doesn't wake, and instead just rolls over and pulls the blankets in closer around herself with a sigh. It hits her that this might be some kind of Freaky Friday thing, and maybe if her human form wakes up, it will be the wolf's consciousness in her body. Maybe that's not such a smart idea after all.
She runs to the door and jumps up to turn the handle, except - oh. Right. No thumbs with which to grip the knob. Well, that's just great. She sits back on her haunches with a sigh of exasperation. All she can do is call for help and hope someone wakes up. She tries for her words, but instead gets a frantic yodeling howl.
Hey! Someone? Anyone? I need some help in here!
2. Around Gaze (School of Mutter and Archives) - Open
Willow had been trying to find her way to the Archives in Gaze anyway, so when one of Never Mind's ravens seem to be offering to show her the way to the School of Mutter, she accepts gratefully. Finding answers is a priority - both regarding the things she's seen and experienced since arriving, this new form of magic that feels so unlike her own, and she's also taken an interest in the history of Trench itself. It seems like as good a place as any to start, at least.
She spends most of her day checking out the lectures and classes offered by the school, chatting with the Scholars when they can spare a moment, and exploring options for attending regularly. She still intends to go find the Archives as well and launch into her own research, but it seems like a good idea to get information from others as well. An offhanded mention that she has a couple people looking to learn magic from her once she's more comfortable herself results in the suggestion that she look at running her own class as well when the time comes, and the idea does spark her interest.
At the school, she can be mostly found exploring the halls, or waiting for a lecture to start, or hanging back to try to catch up with one of the Scholars afterwards.
Later in the day, she does make her way to the Archane Archives. It's a both fascinating and horrifying place all at the same time, museum and library all rolled into one and more than once she startles at a monster specimen she comes across unexpectedly while perusing the shelves of books.
It doesn't take her long to settle in and become distracted, losing herself in the stacks. It's difficult to find what she's looking for, though, and frustratingly, the organizational system seems to be - well. Non-existent. Some of the books, too, seem distorted in ways that remind her far too much of the time spent trying to look into the history of Deerington, only to realize there was nothing she could possibly do to force the books to become readable. She quickly reshelves those ones after thumbing through a couple pages, and puts her focus instead into finding ones on blood magic, blood types, and the history of the area. She's happy to be interrupted by someone willing to help in her search, or looking for help with their own, or even someone just looking for the chance to talk to for a bit.
3. Wolfwalking (Archives and around Gaze) - Open
It quickly becomes clear that what triggers the change in Willow, and she hates it. Much of her time is spent in the Archives looking for a solution to either stop or at least control it, but even information on werewolves that change when sleeping seems to be rather lacking, let alone a way to stop it from happening.
It's hard to fall asleep knowing what sleep will bring, but she won't complain about the insomnia that keeps her in her proper body, in spite of the exhaustion she feels.
She's sitting cross legged among the stacks with a book in her lap when it happens. She only gives in and closes her eyes for a moment, but it's enough. She's back to a body that doesn't feel anything at all like her own, and once again unable to see colours properly, but at least she can hear and smell everything around her, and her eyesight overall is sharper. She's already figured out she can't wake herself up immediately - she needs at least some sleep to return, so instead she lets out a huff and flops down on the ground. She stays for awhile, in case anyone comes by - she's not sure what would happen if someone disturbed her sleeping form, so it seems important to stick close.
She gets antsy after awhile, though, and decides to roam the maze of shelves, eventually moving further and further afield the more comfortable she gets that she will remain undisturbed until she leaves the Archives altogether to explore Gaze. The world feels far different lower to the ground, and with keener senses in spite of her perception of colour being weaker. She's cautious and a little nervous as she makes her way through the district - she's not confident in how she moves in this shape, and it feels a little harder to recognize people she's already met sometimes, but if someone's in trouble, she will still stop to try to help, and she will not immediately bolt if someone stops to try to make a new friend.
4 - Wildcard!
[Want something different? Feel free!]
What: Acclimating and exploring Gaze
When: Early September
Where: Around Gaze
1. First Night - For Clockhouse Residents
To say it's been a long day is something of an understatement. Has it really all just happened in one day? From turning back into a human, and nearly drowning, to necromancers and pirate ships, and crabs, and reunions with old friends, and scattered memories. It's hardly a surprise that by the time Willow finds her way home, she's exhausted, and quickly retires to her room for some much needed sleep.
The dream is strange; she would have expected nightmares about being back in the ocean, or about tentacled pirates, or reanimated dead. Instead, it's a strange, disjointed dream of a dark forest, a full, pale red moon, and distant howling.
She wakes with a start, and jumps out of bed. The first thing that hits her when she opens her eyes is that she's lower to the ground than she's used to, and the world around her has a strange quality to it - it's dark, but everything is sharp and clear, bathed in a mix of blues, greys and yellows. It's not until she looks down and sees paws where her hands ought to be that outright panic hits.
No, no, no. This can't be happening - she's already been a squid today, and a human, and now, what's this? She dashes to the bathroom, sliding when she hits the tile floor, and puts her hands - no, paws - on the sink to look in the mirror. A wolf! She's a wolf. Not like the werewolves from home, but an actual regular wolf. She looks grey to her own eyes, but her coat is a soft red interspersed with dark guard hairs.
She pushes off the sink and paces in circles. It's a full moon, sure, but she hasn't been bitten by anything, she doesn't think. A spell, maybe? She's sure she didn't cast anything, although she's been vaguely aware that her magic feels different here than it did in Deerington, or Sunnydale. Suddenly, she remembers Amy, trapped as a rat for three years - does she ever not want to be stuck like this long term.
Ozpin - Ozpin is experienced with magic, he'll know what to do. She just has to go find him, and surely he'll be able to help her find a way to turn back into herself again. It's not until she leaves the bathroom to go sound the alarm that she notices the figure still asleep in her bed.
What.
It's a strange sensation to watch yourself sleeping in bed from another form, and Willow isn't quite sure how to parse it. It has to be some kind of spell, or curse. Something to do with Trench, maybe, she's not sure. She thinks back to the nights in December, she shared her dream guide's form, but this doesn't feel the same somehow. This isn't sharing another form, this is becoming something else entirely while her regular physical self appears to be comfortably asleep.
Hey! Hey! Wake up!
It comes out as three short yips, but the figure in bed doesn't wake, and instead just rolls over and pulls the blankets in closer around herself with a sigh. It hits her that this might be some kind of Freaky Friday thing, and maybe if her human form wakes up, it will be the wolf's consciousness in her body. Maybe that's not such a smart idea after all.
She runs to the door and jumps up to turn the handle, except - oh. Right. No thumbs with which to grip the knob. Well, that's just great. She sits back on her haunches with a sigh of exasperation. All she can do is call for help and hope someone wakes up. She tries for her words, but instead gets a frantic yodeling howl.
Hey! Someone? Anyone? I need some help in here!
2. Around Gaze (School of Mutter and Archives) - Open
Willow had been trying to find her way to the Archives in Gaze anyway, so when one of Never Mind's ravens seem to be offering to show her the way to the School of Mutter, she accepts gratefully. Finding answers is a priority - both regarding the things she's seen and experienced since arriving, this new form of magic that feels so unlike her own, and she's also taken an interest in the history of Trench itself. It seems like as good a place as any to start, at least.
She spends most of her day checking out the lectures and classes offered by the school, chatting with the Scholars when they can spare a moment, and exploring options for attending regularly. She still intends to go find the Archives as well and launch into her own research, but it seems like a good idea to get information from others as well. An offhanded mention that she has a couple people looking to learn magic from her once she's more comfortable herself results in the suggestion that she look at running her own class as well when the time comes, and the idea does spark her interest.
At the school, she can be mostly found exploring the halls, or waiting for a lecture to start, or hanging back to try to catch up with one of the Scholars afterwards.
Later in the day, she does make her way to the Archane Archives. It's a both fascinating and horrifying place all at the same time, museum and library all rolled into one and more than once she startles at a monster specimen she comes across unexpectedly while perusing the shelves of books.
It doesn't take her long to settle in and become distracted, losing herself in the stacks. It's difficult to find what she's looking for, though, and frustratingly, the organizational system seems to be - well. Non-existent. Some of the books, too, seem distorted in ways that remind her far too much of the time spent trying to look into the history of Deerington, only to realize there was nothing she could possibly do to force the books to become readable. She quickly reshelves those ones after thumbing through a couple pages, and puts her focus instead into finding ones on blood magic, blood types, and the history of the area. She's happy to be interrupted by someone willing to help in her search, or looking for help with their own, or even someone just looking for the chance to talk to for a bit.
3. Wolfwalking (Archives and around Gaze) - Open
It quickly becomes clear that what triggers the change in Willow, and she hates it. Much of her time is spent in the Archives looking for a solution to either stop or at least control it, but even information on werewolves that change when sleeping seems to be rather lacking, let alone a way to stop it from happening.
It's hard to fall asleep knowing what sleep will bring, but she won't complain about the insomnia that keeps her in her proper body, in spite of the exhaustion she feels.
She's sitting cross legged among the stacks with a book in her lap when it happens. She only gives in and closes her eyes for a moment, but it's enough. She's back to a body that doesn't feel anything at all like her own, and once again unable to see colours properly, but at least she can hear and smell everything around her, and her eyesight overall is sharper. She's already figured out she can't wake herself up immediately - she needs at least some sleep to return, so instead she lets out a huff and flops down on the ground. She stays for awhile, in case anyone comes by - she's not sure what would happen if someone disturbed her sleeping form, so it seems important to stick close.
She gets antsy after awhile, though, and decides to roam the maze of shelves, eventually moving further and further afield the more comfortable she gets that she will remain undisturbed until she leaves the Archives altogether to explore Gaze. The world feels far different lower to the ground, and with keener senses in spite of her perception of colour being weaker. She's cautious and a little nervous as she makes her way through the district - she's not confident in how she moves in this shape, and it feels a little harder to recognize people she's already met sometimes, but if someone's in trouble, she will still stop to try to help, and she will not immediately bolt if someone stops to try to make a new friend.
4 - Wildcard!
[Want something different? Feel free!]
1
Since when did Zwei make noise like that.
Fumbling, Oscar made his way toward the sound and flung open the door-- only to stare dumbfounded at the scene inside.]
...A wolf?
[He asked, not expecting an answer.]
What kinda fairy tale are we living in?
no subject
Come on, Oscar. I don't know how this happened, and I don't know how to fix it, but it's me, I swear.
What actually comes out is a distressed sounding whine, and she flops to the ground in frustration.
Great.]
no subject
A wolf? Oh, no. I don't--
[Only then did he notice the shock of auburn hair on the pillow and realized the truth: Willow was still in the room. He had been about to rush toward her when the distressed whine-- and a ping of something more-- caught his attention.]
Wait, [He called as the wolf flopped onto the ground. Still uncertain, he crouched down to the same level.] I-I'm sorry. I'm not used to dogs that aren't Zwei.
...You're trying to tell me something, aren't you?
no subject
Yes! Come on, Oscar, it's me. I know you can figure this out.
An idea strikes, and she springs to her feet, and darts over to jump on the bed. She looks back and forth between him and her sleeping form several times, and paws at the blankets.
Come on, come on, come on... I know you know something's not right... You know I should be awake with everything going on.]
no subject
Whoa-- whoa~
[He coaxed softly, hands up in a pacifying gesture, while he approached. The details were telling-- then, a voice that wasn't his entered his mind. Oscar made a soft, surprised noise and blinked, staring more pointedly at the wolf in the instant that the details clicked.]
Wait-- you're Willow? What happened!?
no subject
'Yes! Oscar, it's me! I don't know what happened! I just - I woke up like this.'
[Willow pauses suddenly and looks at him, with her head tilted curiously to one side.]
'Wait a minute. Can you - can you hear me?'
no subject
I-I--
[He gulped, suddenly at a loss for words.]
'I guess I can!'
no subject
As soon as he topples over, she bounds over to him and peers anxiously into his eyes. It's such a relief that he can hear her, although she's not sure if it's something on her end or his facilitating the communication.]
'God, and I thought being a squid was weird. Are you okay?'
no subject
[He blurted out aloud, scrambling. The kind of transformation Willow was experiencing was wholly unlike anything he had seen or learned about. For one-- normally the human shape didn't get left behind.]
'Just surprised, that's all. I'm okay-- are you okay?'
no subject
'I - I - I don't know. How do I fix this? I don't even know how it happened! Is this some weird blood magic thing? Did I do a spell in my sleep somehow?'
no subject
[Oscar blurted out loud, panicking himself as he watched Willow the Wolf start to show tell tale signs of panic in dogs. He searched between the Wolf and the Girl, as if trying to find answers-- and came up short.]
The only thing that leaves bodies behind is stuff like... like astral projection in comic books, right? But you're right here-- and there.
This makes no sense.
[A beat.]
Should we find Ozpin?
no subject
'Astral projection, or - or, there are spells that can transfer your consciousness into someone else's, but that's not what this is either - this isn't someone else, and I swear, there was no wolf in here when I went to bed.'
[She pauses when he asks if they should find Ozpin.]
'I don't know - maybe, I mean, my magic is kind of different from his, but maybe he still would have some ideas what this is and how to fix it.'
[She whines, low and distressed and resumes her pacing.]
'There was a girl from my world who got stuck as a rat for three years. Oscar, what if we can't find a way to undo this?'
no subject
Don't panic, [He said, gentle yet firm-- and, perhaps, even a touch like Ozpin.]
If there's one thing we know for sure about this place, it's that we're still held to cycles like we are anywhere else. This won't be permanent, Willow. Not while your body's still here, anyway.
[A sigh passed through his lips, and once more he studied the sleeping form of Willow's human body on the bed.]
We'll figure this out. What kind of transformation even involves separating someone from their body and changing their shape, anyway?
no subject
'Yeah. Yeah, maybe you're right. We have way more resources than I had at home too.'
[She follows Oscar's gaze back to her body.]
'I've never seen anything like this before - my only experience with animal transformations is Amy. Since she got stuck, it was never something I wanted to venture into. Do you think - maybe we should try to wake me up? I mean, this happened when I fell asleep.'
no subject
Uncle Qrow and I have some experience with animal transformation, but that's different from this.
[They were able to switch out their bodies for the body of the animal that suited them best-- and it felt more akin to swapping out equipment between dimensions than a true bodily transformation.]
We can try waking up your body... but Willow.
I'm nervous about you getting hurt if something goes wrong.
no subject
'I don't know what else to try. I mean, I don't this is like - a Freaky Friday situation where I've actually swapped bodies with a real wolf or anything. I would've known if there was a wolf in my room when I went to bed. I'm open to ideas, though?'
no subject
[Finding a seat, Oscar settled in-- glad to take the weight off of his knee and his hastily outfitted prosthesis. That would need some appropriate care later, but for the moment he just needed to settle his thoughts and--]
Have you tried sitting and breathing for a minute?
[He asked suddenly, struck by an idea.]
Ren, one of my friends from Remnant, meditated every day. I think it's because of how he was raised and how his Semblance works, but it really seemed to help him whenever he got too frustrated about something that bothered him.
Maybe... this is an emotional thing? Everything's weird and we're all upset, so maybe your magic did something when you went to bed because of it.
no subject
[She settles in on the floor beside near him, closes her eyes and tries to force herself to calm down, and think the situation through. This is at least a little better than being a squid, and being able to communicate with Oscar is a plus.
She focuses for a moment, trying to think of something that might have triggered this when the memory hits.]
'Oh. Oh no. Oscar. Um. So, out in the Edge? When I thought I was going to go home? I ran into this wolf fighting a monster - I stopped to try to help, and there was, uh, an accident - the wolf bit me. Are we in a full moon? What if this is some weird werewolf thing?'
Oops. I thought I tagged this!
That of a tall, lanky teen with long limbs and hair as straight as rain sitting cross-legged with his back against a solid object, like a wall or a tree. The steady cadence of his breath, that seemed to slow as the clock ticked on... and, although that time was spent seemingly doing nothing, Oscar recalled how Ren often seemed rejuvenated afterward.
Or, at least, more prepared to face the fresh wave of nonsense that their lives brought
Oscar quietly listened to Willow's explanation and tried to envision what had happened. Not for the first time, he found his own frame of knowledge to refer to was... lacking.]
'All I know about werewolves are from the books I read in Deerington,' he explained telepathically, finding it easier for the moment to simply communicate that way. 'I don't think we're in a full moon. Maybe it's something else? What other creatures from Earth turn into wolves?'
It's all good!
'This isn't really what it's like for werewolves in Sunnydale. They pretty much turn into demons three nights a month - the full moon, and the two nights surrounding it. They only look a little wolfy, but they're extremely aggressive, and the only one I really knew well didn't know what happened to him after he changed. He said it was like he was gone, and the wolf just took over. So this definitely isn't like home.'
[The possibility of losing her sense of self while she's like this does worry her. The last thing she wants to do is hurt Oscar, or Ozpin, or any of their other housemates.
She considers the question carefully for a moment before answering, trying to concentrate on what beings could change their shape.]
'Um, witches, warlocks... There was this avenging spirit guy whose tribe had been wiped out that could change shape into animals, so wolf wouldn't be off the table there. Um... I saw Dracula turn into a bat, so I guess he might be able to turn into other things too. It's not really a big list, but I mean, things could be different here.'
no subject
'You said you got bit though, right? From what I read in Deerington's library, that's a clear set up for a werewolf situation. Maybe, since there's so many worlds and so many different ideas of what a werewolf is, it just looks different here? Especially now, since we're no longer in Julia's dream.'
no subject
[She grimaces. It's an uncomfortable thought - that's an infinite amount of possibilities, and without actually talking to someone who is in the know, it would make research far, far more difficult.]
'So maybe it's just a waiting thing - like, if I hang out here and wait until dawn, maybe I'll just go back to being me again?'
no subject
[Oscar spoke aloud this time, growing tired of the mental back and forth. Telepathy was still a new power for him, and it would take time to build up his stamina for it.]
I'll stay with you until then, [He said suddenly, with the firmness of resolve in his decision.]
If something else unexpected happens, you shouldn't have to be alone.
no subject
[She settles down on the floor next to the chair, and lays her head on her paws to wait for dawn. She has to wake up eventually, right? And at least in the meantime, Oscar is here for moral support.]