xp_logs | Julio and Amanda - Tuesday Afternoon

Julio gets himself checked out to make sure there's no more mystical weirdness.

"...and that's about it," Julio finished, leaning back in his chair. He and Amanda were in one of the conference rooms at Snow Valley. He'd told the story as best he understood it, considering there were giant chunks of it that he couldn't even remember. "Oh, and she gave me this thing," he pulled the bracelet off his wrist and handed it to Amanda.

Amanda turned the small figure on the bracelet over in her fingers. Closing her eyes, she concentrated, feeling the faint tingle of some kind of magic. Opening her eyes again, she met Julio's gaze. "Old women with magic. Something about them makes them think it's okay to use other people for the greater good," she said, grimacing a little. "And you don't remember any of it?"

"Bits and pieces," Julio said, frowning. "I remember dreams of being chased. Being held down. A voice saying 'Mine' and then..." he fingered the bandage on his thumb where his thumbnail was still growing back in. "I remember pain. Lots of pain. Claws coming out of my hands. My shoulders popping loose. Then ...nothing. Just a big blank," he sighed and rubbed the back of his neck.

"Sounds like your standard sort of possession by an elemental force - the general theory is the thought processes of the spirit are too different for the human brain t' process, so you wind up just not processing them." Still turning the bracelet over in her hands, she went on: "And I figure you want to be sure you're clean, right? Make sure there's nothing left?"

"Yeah, I'd rather not flip out and kill people on a regular basis. Monet's been pretty cool about the trying to rip her throat out while possessed thing, all things considered. Just wants her outfit replaced." Julio made a face and shifted uncomfortably in his seat. He was already responsible for a whole lot of damage and destruction, and he wasn't eager to add to that tally. "Does this sort of thing happen a lot?"

"You'd be surprised. Remy got himself possessed by a loa last year in New Orleans and nearly died. At least it wasn't like the Warwolves - they do the literal possession thing, destroying your body and stealing your skin." Amanda spoke matter-of-factly. "'S not my sort of thing, but if I can't work it out, I know some people who can. Since yeah, not having a were-jaguar running around a school with kids and all is a good idea."

"Fantastic," Julio said. "Because. Yes. I like not being a monster," he added. He would rest easier if he knew there was no chance of it happening again. Then he could go finish his cope failure in peace.

"Just give me a sec..." Amanda reached for one of the large, heavy books sitting next to her, flipping it open to a page marked by a purple post-it. Reading aloud under her breath, only the occasional word intelligible, she eventually tapped a section and looked up again at Julio. "Right, I think I've got the right spell - 'm not sure if it's compatible with what I do, but I might be able to adjust it a bit. Give me your hands." She stretched out both of hers, palms up, the bracelet wrapped around the fingers of her left hand. There was an thick, white scar about an inch long across her palm.

Julio hesitated a bit, but then laid his own over hers. He wasn't about to ask any stupid questions. Hopefully it wouldn't hurt. Badly.

Closing her fingers around Julio's hands, Amanda closed her eyes again, lips moving silently as she recited the words of the spell. In her mind, she was picturing a bouncer, asking for ID, police taking fingerprints, passcodes being typed into keypads... all means of verifying an identity, ensuring that what was presented was what you were getting. There was no outward sign of anything happening, barring Amanda's hands getting very warm, but when she opened her eyes to look at Julio again, they were very dark, the pupils almost the size of the irises. She stared hard at Julio, almost as if she was trying to see through him.

His hands felt warm in Amanda's grip, and the staring made him a little self-conscious. Then his skin began to tingle, like static electricity or an over-zealous kiss from Nori. And then heat in the middle of his chest. He cleared his throat and flinched, feeling uncomfortably warm all of the sudden, as the heat turned into what felt like a bad case of heartburn.

Amanda's hands tightened on his as she pushed a bit deeper. There was something lingering there, but not a curse precisely. More like the warding spells she had used at one point to protect Manuel from Selene. Someone had left their marks on Julio, a warning - the image she was getting in her mind were graffiti gang tags. At last she let go, unconsciously scratching at the scar on her palm as she blinked several time to clear her vision. "Well," she said at last, shaking out her hands. "You're not going to turn into anything nasty any time soon. Looks like someone's left a warning label on you." She handed over the bracelet. "Which would explain this as well - 's probably a protection charm."

Julio bent over coughing as she released him. The burning sensation abated from his chest, and he nodded that he understood at Amanda, red-faced. Finally regaining his composure, he looked concerned. "What kind of warning label?" he asked, clearing his throat.

"Probably something your crazy old woman left. Possession... it leaves its marks on you, makes you vulnerable to similar things, unless there's something put in place warning off other spirits. Which is what your friend did, when she released you, I'm guessing. Basically it's a 'No Trespassing' sign to the spirit world. Reasonably powerful one too." Amanda was making a mental note to add Dona Theresa to the 'known magical old biddies' list for future reference.

"How thoughtful," Julio said, coughing again and thumping himself on the chest. There was the fact that the woman had arguably saved his life... you know, after getting him attacked by a pissed off were-jaguar she'd summoned. "But no killing people at the full moon?" that was pretty much the part Julio cared about.

"Nope, you're good. Fully responsible for all your own actions, I'm afraid." She gave him a look. "Sounds like you need a drink of something. Come on, the staff kitchen's not far." She gave him an almost sly look. "We might even run into some of those strange people you complained about talking in your journal a few months ago."

Julio looked blankly at Amanda. "What? Like the one with the fake breasts?"

Amanda shook her head. "Wow, talk about the memory of a hummingbird on speed..." she said. "This'd be when the one with the fake breasts wasn't actually dead and you were kind of a pillock about the whole thing and wanted the lot of us banned from your journal."

"Oh," Julio looked down and scratched his head, trying to remember the incident in question. Then he shrugged, looking back up at Amanda. "I got over it?"

"Nice for you." It came out more wry than annoyed. "Still, wouldn't do you any harm, meeting some of the others. Since we're on the journal system and all."

Julio shrugged. It didn't matter to him one way or the other, he'd gotten the information he'd come for. "Okay," he said rising from his seat and following Amanda out the door.