2020-06-09 - Dusting A Spider

Summary:

Spider senses tingle and Gwen gets dusted

Log Info:

Storyteller: None
Date: Tue Jun 9 07:58:19 2020
Location: Westchester

Related Logs

None

Theme Song

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fenriszatanna-zataragwen-stacy

Witching Hour in New York - and the term has never been quite so appropriate. On the outskirts of Westchester, there's a disturbance - one that jangles a Wolf Gods senses and certain spider senses. This time though, it's in one of the neighbourhoods.

Lights have been flickering on and off all up and down a street, car alarms sounding for apparently no reason, and doorbells being rung with no one there.

All … pranks … really. But it's been going on for over an hour.

Right now, three cars have their alarms sounding and the lights above them are flickering on and off. On the air, for those with the senses to hear, there's a tinkling of bells - like laughter - as a dark haired woman can be seen forming arcane symbols in the air.


It is a dark haired man in semi-business wear that appears on the street by the slightly mundane way of 'a car'. He had felt the disturbance but hadn't felt it was quite serious enough to rend reality asunder to get there. When he gets out of the car though the area takes on an entirely different tenor.

Dread. Dread rolls before him like wind before a storm. He looks around at the car alarms, and the laughter and then the dark haired woman.

"What did you do?"


Westchester isn't normally part of the Spider-Woman's territory — she favors places like Brooklyn and Queens — but it's part of New York, so here she is. Well, that and the back of her brain has been all tingly about this area, in that 'Don't go it's dangerous' vibe it does. Which, usually, means that she should go take a look before someone who can't heal up a broken bone in two days goes looking first.

of course, Gwen has a lot on her mind at the moment; like what to do with a magical cloak gifted to her by elves, the fact that her Dad almost found her spider suit, what courses she should take next year, should she do summer school or just focus on heroing…

Oh, and boys. Like the cute guy who replied to her on Tinder.

She almost keeps web-swinging right past the woman with the arvane whatzits going on, but her danger-sinse yells GWEN DOWN THERE in her head, which snaps her out of it. She sticks herself to the nearest wall and peers down at the woman, and the guy in the business suit. Might be best to just observe for a moment.


Gwen will recognise the woman - it's Zatanna Zatara, not dressed in her stage costume but her 'street' one - leather trousers and jacket and heavy biker boots. Gwen also can't help but notice the weight of the aura in the air - the aura that the guy in the business suit generates.

"I didn't *do* anything, Fenris. Except mend the breach in the veil." He can sense it, where there had been a tear. What's left behind are the mischievous creatures who won't go home.

One darts out as he's standing there, 'boops' the God Wolf on the nose and flutters away on gossamer wings.

Spider Woman sees and hears all this just as two of the creatures - with multicolour wings, no bigger that 4 inches tall - flutter in front of her face. "It's not polite to eavesdrop you know." One 'trills' at her before blowing some dust in her face. Suddenly she feels a bit sleepy and may well lose grip on the wall.


The businessman - apparently named Fenris - wrinkles his nose and gives Zatanna a look. "Then why is there a pandemonium of pixies running about." Did he make that up or is that actually the word for a group of pixies? Whatever the case it certainly seems apt right now.

The trail of the departing pixie draws Fenris eyes upward and he while he may not see Spider Woman yet the zipping light show IS going to attract his attention in that direction.


And, speaking of broken bones, here's Pixies. "Hunh? I'm not eavesropping, I'm just—" Gwen recoils from the dust and goes all cross-eyed as it's blown at her; and even through her mask it illicits a bit of a sneeze. She shakes her head, and takes one hand away from the wall to pinch the bridge of her nose. "Hey, what'd… you… what'd you do to me?"

Gwen feels herself slip down the wall, and the slip snaps her awake.

Well, for a moment anyway. Soon enough her eyes are drifting shut again, and she slips; her feet come un-stuck from the wall and then she's gathering speed, making a sound a bit like fingernails on a chalkboard as her fingertips on one hand are trying to hold on, but… not really, as she skidding downwards.

"I'm just gonna lie down for a minute," she mutters, as she finally omes unglued and very swiftly and with a totally peaceful expression on her face begins to plummet. It's a few stories down; totally survivable for a Spider, at least, right? Right.


"Because they won't go home." Zee answers again. "I'm rounding them up slowly and porting them back but … pixies you know? And they won't accept Pizza as a bribe." Clever things.

Following Fenris' glance, Zee sees Gwen start to fall, glances at Fenris … "Catch …" she says before she starts to cast a spell. Spider Woman finds herself caught on a pillow of air - which she hits with a tiny bit of force - and lowered … hopefully to the waiting God Wolfs arms.

"Spider Woman? Did they use their sleeping dust on you?" That might explain why the residents aren't complaining.


Totally survivable for a spider but it's not like Fenris knows that when he sees her drop - which he misses the beginning of so he DOESN'T see that she was clinging to the wall before that. Where there WAS a man there is very quickly a wolf the size of a city bus which makes a jump to TRY to catch her on his back.

Try, of course, because while Fenris' reactions are good, he is not the god of being extremely fast. Sadly. So you know. Might not make it there in time. Maybe there's a decent shot with Zatanna helping. And his back is pretty broad like this. But still. Might miss.


Being slowed down on a cushion of air and bouncing off the back of a giant wolf is definitely a lot better than just plummeting straight down into the pavement. Spider-Woman rolls a couple of times after meeting sidewalk, an impact that fortunately just jolts her awake instead of breaking half her rib cage.

She should totally have survived it, and she would've been fine… after a rough couple of days, at least. This, however, is much better, and she's at least awake as she rolls to a stop at Zatanna's feet.

"Sleeping dust?" She shakes her head, as she rolls back onto her feet in a crouch, and pinches the bridge of her nose. "…Is that what happened? That'd explain a few things." She rises back up to her feet, with a yawn and a stretch. "Well… that was embarassing," she admits. "If you caught me on the way down, then that's fantastic, actually, thank you for that. I hate broken bones, even if they do heal in a day or two."

Somehow, she hasn't actually noticed Fenris yet. Partly for waking up facing the wrong way, and partly because he's not setting off her danger sense. Convenient!


"It wasn't just me …" Zatanna answers, offering a hand to help Spider Woman rise. "Have you met, Fenris? He helped. Well caught, by the way, Fenris."

She's smirking a little and the pixies are starting to gather about them. "Is that one? One of the Spiders?" one of them trills

"It is, it is!" Another answers. The air is filled with a lot of a bell like sounds but through it all two words stand out. "… Wild Hunt …"


"Charmed." Comes a deep voice from above Spider Woman. She might notice the large furry leg the thickness of a small tree truck nearby. Or she might just roll over/look up to note the wolf's head as big as she is. The one with the glowing red eyes. The one with the aura of dread that ISN'T setting off her spider sense.

But the moment the calls of 'Wild Hunt' ring out, oh THAT sets off the old spider alarm bells right quick. And how.


A big furry leg, belong to a really big wolf, is definitely new. Gwen looks over her shoulder, and then whirls around in a hurry, and for a moment it looks like she might be about to blast a glob of webbing straight up Fenris' nostrils. But, hey; the spidey sense isn't going off for him, so he must be cool, right?

"Uhh… Thank you. Also charmed," she answers, akwardly. "Well, thank you both, I appreciate not having to spend the next two days knitting my bones back together. That's definitely awesome."

Gwen starts to say something else, but the chattering of the Pixies draws her attention. "Uhh, yes, I am one of the Spiders," she acknowledges. "Why does that matter?" She stops, listening once more; and then her attention is back on Fenris and Zatanna. "So I heard the Wild Hunt mentioned the other day; what's that all about then? And how does it relate to me?"


Zatanna looks at Fenris and quirks an eyebrow. The Wild Hunt … is nothing good.

"You are a Spider. The Spiders have upset Lord Malekith and his minions with their interference … " The speech gets so fast it's just the chiming of bells again.

Zatanna sighs and gestures for Fenris to explain some of this. "It's a little confusing but there's more one type of elf - there's the elves from Asgard and the nine realms and the elves from Otherworld. Malekith lead the dark elves of the nine realms, and is the leader of the Wild Hunt. He wants to conquer Otherworld but we keep … interfering, as Midgardians are wont to do."

"If the Wild Hunt is being mentioned alongside your name … " Zee gives a Fenris a look to see if he'll finish that explanation.


"Well, one specific spider upset him if I understand things correctly but the Lord of the Dark Elves isn't all that picky and neither are his hatchet men." Hatchet fae. Whatever it is. The large wolf steps away so he can be more in the street with more freedom to move without stepping on anyone. Also, not that he knows it but he very much appreciates not having a webbed nose.

"If the Wild Hunt is being mentioned alongside your name it means you're on their list. They check it twice and they don't really do the naughty or nice thing."


The Spider-Woman seems perfectly okay with the idea of a giant talking wolf; and even if she isn't, she's doing a fantastic job of keeping a lid on it. And hey, what the heck; this is New York. Everyone's got a right to be here as long as they're not messing up someone else's flower garden.

"Ahh, so… powerful evil entity from another dimension, has it out for Spiders for some contrived reason, not to discriminate about who gets hurt in the process. Got it…" she trails off for a moment. "Sounds like Morlun, actually. Who's Morlun?" She shakes her head, "Don't worry about it, he's not hurting anyone anymore. So."

Gwen gets that look, that some might recognize as the way she looks when she's about to get up to something that's a really bad idea. Well, reckognizable when she's not wearing a mask, anyway. She points her palm at one of the Pixies, taps the paddle for her webshooter, and sticks the poor thing to the wall. "Okay, you," she declares. "Feel free to tell Mr. Malekith this: Bring it. Find me and feel free to fight. But leave New York out of it."


"You don't know much about the Wild Hunt, do you?" Zatanna chuckles, casting a spell that creates an arcane symbol and then book that appears in her hand. "Read this." It's an old book. The leather binding cracked and ageing. When Gwen opens it, it's illustrated - with horrific pictures of horses with red eyes snorting smoke, tentacled creatures that are vaguely humaniod, manta ray like creatures wreathed in fire … just to name a few.

"Once the Hunt rides, it doesn't stop until it is satisfied. And is satisfied when it runs down its quarry. And no, Malekith won't care but you have been involved enough to be targetted yourself."

"Fenris, what was the name of the Centaur who resides in New York? The one that assisted the Wild Hunt quarry about a century and a half ago?"


"Pholus. Or, I think he goes by Frank these days." Fenris says. He glances down at Gwen and chuckles. "You're quite brave. I like that. You'll need it to be sure. So you are connected to the other Spiders then? I had wondered."

Fenris has run into one of them but of the others he has only read whatever has managed to get into the papers and heard whatever has managed to get into the rumor mill. He is not, as they say, hip to how the various vigilantes of the city associate themselves.

Though if the spiders ARE working in concert that is good. Safer for them, safer for everyone else.


Gwen nods to Fenris, "Yep! We keep in contact, work together, help each other out… We're a regular Spider… Gang. Or something." She shrugs, before looking back to her captive Pixie. "Don't worry, the webbing will dissolve in a bit. I'm sure you're going back to wherever you came from before then, so you'll just be all goopey for a while once you get there. Don't forget to pass on the message."

Gwen shuts up for a minute, then, as she cracks that old book open and starts leafing through the pages; really at the moment she's just looking at the pictures, but that's horrifying enough. Her eyebrows rise under her bask, and she hunhs quietly.

"Well… that's…" She sighs softly, and snaps the book shut. "Hey, do you mind if I borrow this? My library card is expired but I'm good for it, I swear." She scratches the back of her head lightly, "I uhh… feel like I need to do some research on what's going to be coming after us. I get the feeling that just webbing and a neat cloak isn't quite going to be enough."

She looks bck up at Fenris then, and shrugs. "Brave? I like to think so, but… it's what I signed up for when I agreed to be a hero. Even when it's difficult or dangerous or scary. …Especially then."


The pixie wriggles against the webbing and his friends laugh oh so hard. "We won't be telling Malekith anything." he says. "He'll eat us." That's not true but Malekith won't appreciate the pixies trying to get near him. "But don't worry! He'll find you!"

"You can borrow it, that's why I gave it to you. If you like, you and the others can come and use my library." If they want to research, who's the magic nerd to object? "You should also seek out Pholus, or Frank. He will have some idea on how you might protect yourself. It is said he once one of the Hunt himself."

"Of course, Fenris here might have some suggestions or the like. I believe Spider-Man was looking for an artifact that Malekith was seeking. Perhaps touch base with him about that as well."

"What do you think, Fenris? Care to help a clutch of spiders out?"


"Always did like spiders." The big wolf says in a way that is not entirely comforting but then probably not very much this being does is very comforting. Comes with being an immortal who is the essence of a very messy natural cycle given form and a terrible sense of humor.

"And yes. Spider Man was going to look for a Horn. A Horn that can control sea life and possibly the sea itself? Something that I had heard fell into some rather irresponsible corporate hands." Yeah that's not the kind of thing you want people like that having, really. Even if they don't know what they've got.

Especially if they don't know what they've got.


"Thank you!" Gwen unslings her backpack off her shoulders, so she can, carefully and reverently, put Zatanna's book in it. If nothing else, the girl knows how to treat a book properly. "Alright, so, to do list; read book, understand what's going to probably come and try to eat me and my friends. Help Spider-Man steal a magic horn from some very bad rich people. Find a centaur who variously goes by Pholus or Frank. Figure out a use for a cape that'll make people do as I says, when I says it. Visit a really cool person's awesome library." she gives Zatanna a wink and a thumbs up, as she hoists her backpack back up to her shoulders. "And, finally, find this Malekith guy and kick his butt. …Or wait for him to find us, and then kick his butt."

The young Spider sighs softly, and shrugs her shoulders. "Well, that's summer classes out the window, I guess that makes that choice easy. Dating is probably off the table for a while to. Oh well! At least I'm not going to be bored."


Zatanna chuckles. "If I remember what Dad told me, Pholus can be found in Harlam. He owns a hardware shop."

"I sincerely doubt you'll be able to kick Malekith's butt. The Asgardians haven't done so in all this time, but you might bloody his nose a little. And … I think he'll find you when he's ready." As to the rest, Zatanna doesn't comment. Her life is strange enough as it is.

"I'm going to round these pixies up …" Zee quickly casts another spell, a portal opening near the ones that have gathered about them - the sound of shocked trilling is quickly off as the magician sends them through …

"Be careful of sleeping dust, Spider Woman. And things that go bump in the night. Fenris, if you could provide some aid, I would appreciate it."


"Of course…" The big wolf half laughs half sighs. Pixies are a bit annoying but you can USUALLY distract them with something shiny.

"Good luck Spider Woman. I suspect we will meet again." Spiders. That reminds him of someone he's not seen in a long time. A long time.


The Spider-Woman fires a glob of webbing to catch one errants Pixie that almost managed to evade Zatanna's portal… almost. She nods emphatically, "Yes, sleeping dust is bad, especially when I'm several stories up. …Thank you both for the catch, I'm very grateful."

She stretches, and tilts her head until there's a soft crack of bone against bone. "Right, Gotta go see which hardware stores have Franks in 'em. Thank you for that pointer." She glances at the Pixie still stuck to the walls, and shrugs lightly. "Okay, well, don't tell him." She looks back to Zatanna and Fenris, "Well, maybe kicking his butt isn't likely, but I'm still gonna try. I'll get the book back to you when I've read the whole thing." She nods, "Which I'm going to get started on. Have a great night!"

Gwen waits a moment for any parting words from Zatanna and Fenris, before she fires a webline and takes off upwards.


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