It’s night. A fitting time to arrive at a new place: it had been night when she’d woken up on the way out of... The last place that she’d almost settled into.
The car sways gently as the train winds its way towards Denver, a pair of powerful diesel engines towing a long line of trailers. Some are loaded with containers, cargo on their way to the city, others destined to continue elsewhere. Other cars are empty, on their way to be loaded up and shuffled on elsewhere in their long, slow life of moving between cities and states, never really properly settling.
A figure sits on stop of one of the cars, legs dangling over the side. She’s watching as the distant lights of a city grow and multiply as they get closer. Her clothes are dark, well worn and dirty. She could have fixed that but there isn’t any point yet. And it’s better that she looks like a homeless, moneyless wretch. The railroad workers who find her would be more likely to leave her in peace. It’s all part of the great act. And if they didn’t? Well, they’d still have to find her.
There might have been make up on her face at one point, but that’s long streaked and wiped and washed off by rain leaking through the roof another car, another train. A blanket, picked up from who knows where along the way, is wrapped around her shoulders and gives some degree of warmth. The shivering isn’t completely to do with the cold, though. The remains of her fragmented, broken sleep stick in her mind, waiting to be banished by the rise of the sun. Until the following night, at least.
She takes a drag from a nearly-dead cigarette, the end glowing dimly red as she inhales. The butt is flicked away, falling to be lost somewhere in the plains. Her hand moves down and rubs the crook of her right arm absent-mindedly. There’s still the feeling of a bruise there, somewhere over a vein. It’s a reminder, but not enough. Not enough. Not yet. Maybe not ever.
But the past is done. The future will take care of itself. And, for now, she needs to hide. She had already found that the world had begun to warp around her, making her harder to spot. But that wasn’t enough. Not for the moment. Not until she begins to feel safe again.
By that time she might have disappeared altogether.
For now, she faces up to reality again and fights for her way. It’s not an easy fight – it rarely is when there’s a lot to fight for – but she wins. Her resonance fades and she becomes even less noticeable than before.
-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-
Mind 2: Masking resonance, 8 successes. 3 successes to duration (1 month), 3 to subtlety, 2 to effect.
If I've done the sums right: With her Arcane 3, it'll take 6 successes on Awareness to pick up her Resonance. 4 successes to pick up the effect. So her cover will be completely blown the first time she meets Sera Tongue Howl: I think I've worked this right, yell if I haven't and I'll tweak the post.
Rolls:
the devil
HDub witnessing!
Steel
[So, we're going for a whole subtle resonance masking thing. Target is 8 successes. Mind 2 and coincidental, so base diff 5. -1 for taking time. -1 for applicable resonance, as we're hiding things.]
Dice: 2 d10 TN3 (8, 8) ( success x 2 )
Steel
[Extending]
Dice: 2 d10 TN4 (5, 6) ( success x 2 )
Steel
[Extending]
Dice: 2 d10 TN4 (2, 3) ( fail )
Steel
[Grr, extending again]
Dice: 2 d10 TN5 (3, 4) ( success x 1 ) [WP]
Steel
[And again]
Dice: 2 d10 TN5 (2, 5) ( success x 2 ) [WP]
Steel
[Last time[
Dice: 2 d10 TN5 (5, 6) ( success x 3 ) [WP]
Steel
[ -.- Ah well, that's 8.]
the devil
Heck yeah, effect!
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