Maddie at the Forge( open to one)

[Madeline Cauthon]

After leaving Gawain standing at the front desk, she walked out the door, once she was a good bit away, she started running. She had to get control of herself again, the dark was rising way too quickly these days.

As soon as she reached the forge, she slung the door open using her key and slammed it shut forgetting to lock it back. She walked over to the desk and slammed her fist down on the counter. After shoving the papers and everything that was on the counter, she slammed her hands again and let out a scream. Walking behind the counter, she found her old radio she had left there for her and kyra to listen to music to when Dre wasn't around. She turned it to her favorite rock channel and cranked the volume up. The song playing was "Never Too Late" by Three Days Grace. All she wanted to do was unwind a little, but that would not be the case.

The music was soothing, but it also was something else, a trigger. Madeline had started sweeping up the papers and things knocked down, when the Sight started taking hold. Unlike most of her visions this one would have more of a physical tole on her.

Madeline found herself in a big empty room with her hands tied to the back of a chair. She was desperately trying to untie her hands, but the ropes were to strong. She tried using magic, no use. She tried channeling, that didn't work either. A figure walked towards her and laughed at her. "Silly girl, do you think I'm a fool. Do you honestly think I would tie you up and let you keep your powers."

Madeline smirked at the unknown figure. "Well if I'm so defenseless, why keep me tied up. Surely a defenseless little girl like me is no threat."

The figured slapped her hard across the face. Madeline could feel the blood trickling down the side of her mouth. "No, you're his and I know that even with out you're magic and your fancy tricks that you would make a pitiful attempt to beat me. You silly stupid bitch.

"However if you're that ready to die. The unknown figure walked behind her and untied her hands. As she was standing up the figure pulled the chair away. As soon as Madeline spun around to punch him, he gave her a hard back hand that sent her flying across the room.

If anyone were to come into the forge now, they would see Madeline laying against the wall slightly buried under shelves, and supplies, her body bruised, and bleeding.

[Madeline Cauthon]

The unkown figure walked over to where he had tossed Madeline across the room. He picked her up by the hair with no effort. "Do you still wish to die bitch!"

Holding her up by her hair he rammed his fist into her stomach causing her to gasp and start coughing up blood. The figure threw her to the floor. Madeline didn't know how much more she could take. For the first time in her life she muttered three words she never wanted to say [color=indigo]"I give up."

He walked over to her and bent down to her. "Now that you want to be a good puppy. I want you to deliver a message for me." He whispered something in her ear. Madeline nodded it hurt too much to speak.

Satisfied that she was obeying the figure did her the kindness of easing her pain. He grabbed her by the back of her head and in one hard push, he slammed her head, face first into the ground. When she came to she was laying on the floor of the forge gasping under all the debris. her bruised and bloody, she tried to crawl out from under the rubble, but her legs were pinned. Taking a few minutes to catch her breath she tried channeling. But as soon as she did her head started hurting. She let out a scream at the pain. "How in the hell am I'm going to get out of this."

[Gawain]

Gawain had left the inn seeing red, yet he had left so that others would not literally see the same. He had to maintain control of who and what he was, now more than ever, if anyone was to be saved from what was coming. He knew which direction Madeline had taken off in, so he followed. He had to talk to someone, and since there was practically no counsel to be found inside the inn, he headed away.

He found himself drawn to the forge, and memories flooded him of what seemed to have been another life. He shoved them aside, angry at himself for pausing. He had no time...but when did he ever have time? He had amused himself, and allowed himself a snort of laughter. Good job, me, by the way, it's me again. Ha!

That snort brought something to him.

Blood...his stomach growled. He hadn't had anything fresh in awhile now, since he had been back, it seemed. Why did he have a problem? Was it that others forced things on him? No. NO. He was no man or woman's tool. He forced these things on himself, and he well knew it. He wanted...what? To be liked? Jesus. You're a werewolf, man. What business do you have being liked, much less calling THAT name?

He shoved that aside. Too often now did that disparaging voice appear, like a cancer of thought that ate at the ends of his sanity. He had guarded that sanity well, and seen it through both changing into what he blamed for all his problems in his mortal life, and through the Taint that had been placed on the male half of the Source. Dammit, he maintained his sanity even after he channeled the True Power, which sprang from Shai'tan himself! Little else matters. Little else, he told himself?

Blood, you idiot! the rational sliver of his mind seemed to scream at him, casting a reddish pall on everything in his view. That small measure of rationality is what connected the scent of fresh blood and the trail of Madeline in his mind. With a snarl, he went through the well. Yes, the wall. When you're Gawain, you don't need a door, just to get riled and need to get in.

What he saw when he entered through the new door almost shocked him. If he hadn't already smelled the blood, he would have actually gasped. As it stood, he simply made a fist and snarled. Power flooded into him, but in his haste, he had drawn on the otherSource. He had no time to react to this, but for some reason, it felt good. Like that first tryst, after your parents tell you how awful premarital promiscuity was, he savored the forbidden fruit. There had been something he was supposed to be doing...what was that? Oh, yes. Madeline.

With a casual flick of his hand, the rubble seemed to flicker. He glared at it, and it ceased to be. That was better. Laws of Conservation of Mass and Energy be damned, things would start doing what he told them to around here, and really, he was sick of laws and rules. Those were for humans. Cattle. Whatever.

After the rubble had cleared, he stepped over to the girl...his daughter, he reminded himself, must be as gentle as I can....and bent. His hands were on her without hesitation, pushing a rough Healing on her without a second thought. The Power he wielded, combined with learning Healing from one of the Chosen, made for a bumpy ride where healing was concerned. Still, she should thank him. He made the pain go away again. He began laughing then, realizing that he dragged the pain from others, while seeking out pain for himself, hoarding it like a masochistic bastard.

After a few moments of this, he shook his head, and, realizing what had taken place, he did not so much release the Power as cast it away. He felt dirty, as if he needed a shower, but inside. Something still bothered him, though, and that was just how good it had felt to not give a damn for awhile. That wasn't him...was it? Stooping to lift Madeline, he cradled her like a child, stepping outside the forge with her and walking for the inn. He would not channel again, not until he was sure he could trust himself. "I'll get you home, kid. Don't worry." He hoped she had been out for the previous, because he did not feel like explaining what had happened.

[Madeline Cauthon]

Madeline was in and out of it for the most of it. The only thing she thought she knew was Gawain was carrying her. She nestled her head against who she hoped was Gawain. In her mind, caught between present and however far she was in the future when the vision started. So when she did speak it was weak ramblings. "Daddy when did you? My powers....I can't....channel....anything." She tried to lift her head and looked around. She thought he had said inn. "Take me to the house please Daddy...The one past the forge in the woods." After that she put her head back down and closed her eyes.

[Gawain]

Gawain was being silent up until then, but when she spoke, he stopped. "What happened in there, Madeline? And do be specific, if you can." He was still feeling the aftereffects of the channeling, and when she spoke of her loss of power, he shook his head.

"It's that damned woman again." Not a question. "I warned Viviane to leave well enough alone, but she apparently didn't heed that warning. I'll have to pay a visit to those so-called Holy Shores when I get a chance." He was sick of outside influences causing his family strife. Completely and utterly sick and tired of it. He would teach those outsiders the meaning of respect, but first, he had to see to his daughter.

"Shh....conserve your strength. I Healed you, but as I warned you a long time ago, the Healing I learned is not something one is thankful for at first. Rest. I know the place, and we're already on our way." He could have opened a Gateway to the place, but he didn't trust himself to channel even a trickle of the Source. The last time had taught him a valuable lesson.

[Madeline Cauthon]

The closer they got to the house, the more lucid she felt. She was also was feeling embarrassed. She felt this way because her father was caryring her like a child. Granted she was his child, still she didn't like the fact he was carrying her like a weak little puppy.

Feeling like she could walk on her own two feet, she hopped down. "Thanks Dad, I'm feeling better."

She smiled softly at him. "You know it's kind of like you told me when I was little and I was in trouble. The hardest lessons lessons are always painful. I would rather have you heal me than spank me any day."

After that she grew silent for a bit. She knew she had to tell him about the vision. Telling him wasn't the problem. The problem was she felt like a freak for having them. Yes she knew the Sight was a gift, but the priests and Schala had treated her like a disease or something for having them.

As she walked, she began to hold her head down, and quietly talk. "I..I had a vision Dad, apparently one that caused some physical damage, and it's not the first one I've had lately either."

[Gawain]

"And you tell me this now...why, exactly? Madeline, have I ever given you a reason to not trust me? Well, since I found out you were my daughter, anyway." He shook his head, looking slightly tired around the eyes. This day's work had taken a toll on him.

After they had gone a few hundred paces, his mind began to wander. What had happened back there? It was as if something altered the way he used the Source so much that he grabbed the wrong Power. His mind elsewhere, he found his feet tangled, and hit the ground with a thud. "Damned misbegotten son of a....tree root?" He was slipping. Why, though?

As he picked himself up and dusted his jeans off, he looked to Madeline, fixing her with a steely gaze. "Not a word to anyone. I've not been feeling like myself lately. Something's wrong, and it wouldn't surprise me a bit to find out that it has something to do with your something." He stopped walking and talking. "Heh. Try saying that three times fast, kid. Anyway, explainy?" He could wait for her explanation, as he was just hard-headed enough to stand there all day.

[Madeline Cauthon]

Madeline sighed, she knew she could tell him anything it's just well...they haven't really had time to talk. " Dad, I've always trusted you, even before I knew we were blood kin. I never stopped thinking of you as my dad, even when Schala hid me from you.Never forget that please. Look I was planning on telling you, it's just when have we had the time? I'm not exactly use to telling people what I see without getting scolded or sent to some damn English convent. I know thats not your fault, so please don't take it as such. "

It was about that time Gawain tripped. "Dad!! Light!! Becareful."

Glad to see he was okay, she listened to what he had said, and nodded. Her way of promising to keep her mouth shut. Besides it's not like she had many choices of people to tell. Granted she could tell Air or De'Ryanna, but that would mean talking to them. She could tell Xavier, but she didn't want to worry him for now. So yes she would keep quiet. "Come on Dad, I'll explain as we walk, and when we get to the house I'll fix us some drinks."

She had hoped the flask was still there. It would make telling her father some of this a little easier. So she decided she would star with todays since it was fresh on her brain and she felt she needed to explain why she left. Maybe there was a connection to darker feelings and the vision, that he could explain.

"See before I left I was...feeling something, not really sure how to explain it..dark maybe. Been having bouts like that for months now. Anyway I went to the forge to blow off some steam. the vision started as soon as I turned on the radio. I was in a big empty room, tied to a chair. I couldn't untie myself but I couldn't it. I tried a spell and nothing. So I tried channeling. Light!! I tried it twice, and nothing, so I knew I had no power. Then this thing approached me, not sure if it was human or what, just dark. Well we exchanged words, and he said something about me being his, which I'm assuming is you? He had said he had basically removed me of any sort of power. So me and my big mouth told him to untie me that I wasn't a threat. Then what ever this thing was beat the shit out of me. I'm guessing the fight in my vision crossed over into reality some how, thats the only way I know of explaining what happened. Anyway the last thing I remember is this figure thing telling me to tell you, that it's time for him to collect on an old debt of yours?"

She took a minute to collect her breath. "What debt Dad, what was it that near about killed me? Again."

Maddie could see they have arrived at the house while she had been explaining. She took out her key and unlocked the door.. "Come in Dad, and I'll fix you a drink."

[Gawain]

Gawain stood motionless at the door. A haunted and haggard expression quite suddenly marred his features as he ran a hand through his hair. "Damn." Shaking his head, he looked around. "Good thing we're here, then. We should sit down and talk. I have more explaining to do than you, it would seem." Gritting his teeth, he strode inside, beckoning her to follow. "Yes, I remember my way around here quite well. Should be this way."

He turned a corner, and was pleased to note that the place was not only clean for one that had seen little to no use for a long while, but that his weave had maintained over these long months. He gave a sigh, and sat down. "Right, first, I apologize. He would have never come for you if not for me. I should have never returned. It was for the best that I was gone, and I knew it. A fool's hope is what made me return, made me claw my way out of Hell." Noticing her expression, he nodded. "Oh, it's quite real, Madeline. Now, the problem with it is it seems to be tailor-made for each soul. Myself, I was entertained with moving pictures...almost like a vision...of each of you being killed, tortured, basically anything that they thought would break me."

After he had spoken, he shook his head once more.....bloody hair in his face again....and continued. "They sought to break me, but they didn't remember who I was. What I am. They don't take into account that a man is most dangerous when he has nothing left to lose. I'd already lost my life, so what more could they take from me? I fought for months without end, clawing my way upward through everything they threw at me. In the end, I was knocked senseless, something I had no idea was possible for one who has died, and dragged before him." He stopped there, wondering how to proceed. Did she need to know everything? He hadn't even told Airtia the whole story. Of course, when had they had time to sit down and talk?

"Alright, look. I will finish this story, but if something should happen due to my telling it, you are to go straight to Airtia and tell her everything. Make sure De'Ryanna and Xavier know as well. Tell them...." Tell them what? That he had screwed up again? That he had, by returning over something so narcissistic as feeling they needed him, endangered them? He sighed. "Tell them their father loves them very much, and that I am truly sorry."

A moment or two passed, Gawain tapping a finger against his chin, by all appearances lost in thought. When he finally spoke, his voice was low and somber, betraying a hint of disgust. He was, on the whole, disgusted with himself, though, and no one else. "I was taken before one who named himself Ahriman, though I have reason to believe it was to confuse me, offered me a bargain. I would be allowed to breach the gates, and return physically to this world, but the price was to be named as I departed. He sent his minion with me to tell the wage, but since it was stated that I would be expected to pay the price after I had heard it. I used this as a loophole, and killed the beast he sent with me as soon as I had one foot planted firmly in this plane." A soft, mirthless laugh escaped him. "More the fool than ever I dreamed of being. Even daemons frown upon oathbreakers."

He stopped there, pausing for a moment to look around for something to drink. Seeing Madeline's eyes on him, he settled down and continued. "Sorry, my throat is dry. Anyway, I heard a scream from within the gates as I pulled myself out, and the scream echoed in my mind. He said 'The price was your soul, werewolf. Was. Now I will take pleasure in manifesting torment on all those you hold dear. Only then will I allow you to die, and then only after you have begged for death.' I've never been afraid of anything, but that frightened me. I returned as soon as I could feel the Source again, but something was wrong. Me. I came back wrong. The fight I had with, literally, myself, was a manifestation of my wolf side trying to achieve dominance over me. Here again I was sadly mistaken in believing I should win. If I had allowed the beast to kill me, I would undoubtedly been returned to Ahriman's tender mercies." He suppressed a shudder...there were no mercies in that place...and continued.

"I assumed that, upon awakening whole, with my wolf side now firmly in my control, that the problem was solved. That that had been his grand scheme to punish me. Now...well, now I know better." Without another thought, he removed a necklace from beneath his shirt, with a large pendant made of crystal and wire dangling from it. "Madeline, listen carefully to what I am about to tell you. I will not make it through this unscathed. Maybe I can talk Ahriman into taking only me, but he....well, let's just say that he won't go easy on me this time. This is a mindtrap. A Cour'souvra. It was intended for me originally because I was a male Channeler and I had the misfortune of only grazing one of the Forsaken with fire. No, not Balefire. Anyway, she thought that since I ruined a pretty dress, I should replace it with myself. As in, becoming her slave. However, before she could drag me to Shayol Ghul, I was fortunate enough to learn that, much to my surprise, someone had killed her. It was him....he destroyed an entire keep to kill her." The inflection on the word 'him' would tell her which 'him' he referred to. "After this, since I had stolen this from her, I took it to Shayol Ghul myself, seeking to separate my soul from my body. It worked a little too well, Madeline. It can only be activated there, and that's where He got his hooks in me."

As he looked down, eyes full of pain, he finished his explanation. "The power that Healed you, that dug you out of the rubble....that was the True Power. You see, unless I can find a way to undo what has been done to me, I am, in a very real sense, doomed."

[Madeline Cauthon]

Madeline listened to her father explain in rather harsh detail what exactly he had been through. The whole time clenching and unclenching her fist. When Gawain mentioned wanting a drink, she stood up and went into the kitchen and looked around. The only thing that was in the fridge was water. She shuffled through the cabinet and there was no alcohol either. She wanted alcohol, she needed alcohol, and she bet if she did he did too. "I'm listening Dad, I'll have you something in a minute."

Madeline poofed two bottles of whiskey. She thought about getting them glasses, but she figured they were past the use of glasses at this point. She returned and sat across from him, She handed him a bottle with one hand and took a big gulp out of the other bottle in the other hand.

She hated to see him in so much pain, and it killed her to know that he now regretted coming back. But she held her tongue till he was finished. When he mentioned what happened at Shayol Ghul, she hung her head down. She now understood why he had been so upset with her for going. "Dad I'm sorry. I....I...never knew. If I had, I would of never went."

When he had finished, Maddie walked over and sat beside her father. She wrapped her arms around him and squeezed."You're not going anywhere, do you here me. We just got you back, and I'll be damn if you're leaving me..I mean us, ever again."

As she said this tears started to form in her eyes. She didn't want to appear weak in front him so she took her bottle and walked to the window and looked out. Taking another swig of her bottle, her thoughts turned to Jono's warning. "Damn him. Damn him for not telling."

Madeline feeling increasingly more angry for the hell her father had went through, literally, and at Jono for being so vague, turned around and threw the bottle against the oppisite wall. "Damn Jono!! If he' were here right now I'd...."

Realizing what she had done , and the concerned look on her dad's face she apologized. "Sorry Dad, my stuff. here let me clean it up."

She went to the supply closet and grabbed the broom and dust pan and cleaned up the glass. as she was sweeping she talked. "Well we have some time. I'm not sure how far ahead this is. Wouldn't it be a good idea to plan. I mean can we plan for this. And don't you even tell me I'm not getting involved, because I'm already am. I can be just as stubborn as you old man."

She had hoped that would at least get a half of smile out of him.

[Gawain]

He patted her back, then took her wrist and pulled as she turned and threw the bottle. "First, a Cauthon does not waste alcohol when there is an insane need to be drunk and stupid. Second, he couldn't. One of the more heinous rules of the afterlife is that any warning you give must give them room to make their own conclusions. In other words, you have to be vague. Maddeningly vague." He winked then, not feeling like smiling but needing to. For her, anyway. It was about time he put his kids first. Light knows he had been a monumental cluster-fornication of a father.

When she spoke the words about his leaving, he pulled her close, breath catching. It was the closest thing he had done in a long while to actually shedding a tear. It was happiness, though. At least she didn't think he'd be better in Hell or as fish-bait.

"I dunno if we can plan, and kiddo, the day you get as stubborn as I am...well, let's hope it never happens." He chuckled then, feeling a bit less disturbed, but the doubts were still there, nagging him. He had to put on a front, as always, to make sure someone else didn't get dragged into this. "Just....that thing I gave you? Guard it. Put it in a safe place, something. C'mere." He moved closer, whispering, barely moving his lips. He was not a fool, and he knew that spies could dig in anywhere to gain the information they needed.

[Madeline Cauthon]

Madeline lowered her head when he gave her the look, and started talking about Jono. Of course she knew he was right, but honestly, she was too angry at the situation to admit it. At least she didn't have to explain that vision to him again.

At his whispered words in her ear she snatched her hand away and slapped him. "You jerk! Do you know what you are asking of me? How can I protect you...and this. I'm not Air, or De'Ryanna. My abilities are limited with the Source. If I fail, and that thing gets a hold of this or worse, I could never live with myself. I couldn't live the fact I was responsible for not only Uncle Garreth's death, and yours."

She turned away from him and walked to the other side of the room. Yes she knew that she did not kill Garreth, she did feel partly responsible because of her vision of it, and not being allowed to say anything. Looking at the small object in her hand. She wondered how such a small thing could hold so much power. Madeline wanted to help her father, but she thought his faith in her was wrongly placed.

[Gawain]

Gawain just stood silently, waiting for her to regain her composure. He was, indeed, asking a lot of her, but he knew that his choice was based on pure logic. Her slap burned his face, but not because it had damaged him physically. If he could explain, she would understand. However, they did not have the time, and he really did not have the heart to tell her just how much he had thought this very thing out.

You see, Gawain had been troubled by this ever since his return, and he had sought to hurry things along with his family by talking them half to death. Some would see this as a cry for attention, but Gawain was no fool. He had to hurry. When one knows their number is coming up soon, they usually get frantic. He did not. He had just grown, with every day since his return, increasingly troubled. His latest failures had been attributable, in large quantity, to this very need for haste. So, when she slapped him, it came as no shock. In fact, he felt that he deserved it. But it was for the best.

After a long moment, he raised his head, looking into her eyes. "You know, deep down, why I chose you for this. All I ask is that you keep it and yourself safe. If you have to, run away. Light, I'd even prefer you went back to Avalon until this whole thing blows over, but for the fact that I know Viviane would take that and use it." He indicated the necklace, and nodded once. "I trust you because you know what is at stake better than anyone save myself. If you would rather see the burden on another's shoulders, just say so. However, I would very much like it if you accepted it. As I said, you know why I'm asking this of you."

He had spoken his piece, and simply moved to a chair and seated himself. He took a long pull from the bottle she had given him and grimaced. "Light, this is awful. Tell me, daughter, where is the good stuff?" Yes, he could smell it. He knew she had a flask of Krow's brew, or had had one at some point recently. He was smiling, though, so no worry that she was in trouble. If one looked closely, though, they would be able to tell that this smile did not reach his eyes. Window dressing, nothing more. He didn't think he would ever smile again and mean it.

[Madeline Cauthon]

Madeline couldn't believe she just slapped her father, more importantly, she and got away with it. She threw her arms around him, giving him a hug."I'm sorry Daddy I didn't mean to do that. I'm just scared of losing you again. You're my daddy, I need you."

"Dad, I'm not running from this. I love a good fight as much as you do. Remember all those times I snuck into the battle arena at the Society? It wasn't because I liked the food. Hell, Avalon is the last place I want to be right now. I just want to be sure you know what you're doing."

She held the object up. "I promise to guard this with my life. Outside the fact I love you, I want to prove myself worthy of being your daughter and a member of this family. Oh, and for the record, as far as I'm concerned you are the best dad in the world. Even if ya act like a wool-headed idiot."


She gave him a smart-assed grin. "I'm sorry if what I gave you isn't on par with that other stuff, I think Kyra took it with her, where ever she went. However, I can make you something else if you'd like."

[Gawain]

Gawain's eyes slid shut slowly as he listened to Madeline speak. He drifted back a bit, hoping to gain insight into what was to come by taking a retrospective account of what had happened. He sighed thoughtfully as a thought occurred to him, something that had previously escaped him. "The arena at the old Society keep...that just might work. Madeline, you are a genius."

He almost smiled, then realized what she had just said. "Madeline, this is not a fight you should be looking forward to. In fact, it isn't a fight either of us should be wanting to take part in. Just guard what you know and what you have. I'm counting on you. Now, as for proving yourself, your willingness to help has done that. I'm proud to call you my daughter. As for being wool-headed and idiot, that may be so." He chuckled at that. She still had quite a mouth on her. "However, you have just given me a grand idea."

He rose, striding quickly to her, then bent to whisper in her ear. After he had given her time to digest his words, he nodded. "Do this, and we might stand a fighting chance. Oh, and one more thing. I gave Airtia a....gift....when we were in Tear. That, along with what we brought back from the city, will be needed. I'm not sure how I know, I just do. It was in the Dream, so I dare not ignore it." He had told her somewhere around six months ago about his ability to enter the World of Dreams at an almost physical level due to his gift. It was yet another gift that the wolves had shared with him for his aid in stopping the one that had been hunting them.

After a few moments, he began to prepare to seize Saidin. He was much more careful now since he had mistakenly grabbed the True Power, which flowed from the Dark One himself, and he had a nagging sensation that he would pay for that mistake before this was all over and done. He would be careful. Light preserve him, he would see this thing resolved if it cost him his life. If that was the price for keeping his family safe, then so be it.

[Madeline Cauthon]

"Yeah I know...What. wait...huh? I'm a genius?" His words had startled her, but as she listened to him the more it made since. One would almost say she was grinning at the idea. Not the fact her family was in danger of course but the idea they might just might beat this thing.

Madeline rose. She gave her father a big hug, and kissed him on the cheek. She made a portal and walked over to it. She placed the trinket around her neck"I love you Daddy. Be careful, and I'll see you soon. I'm going to take care of this right now. "

With that, Maddie stepped through the portal. She prayed to the gods and goddesses her father would be okay.

(Thread Finished)

[Sponsored content]