Paging Dr. Freud

Participants:

shou_icon.jpg kaylee_icon.jpg cedric_icon.jpg

Scene Title Paging Dr. Freud
Synopsis Cedric meets Kaylee and Shou. And his sword won't go down.

There was a small meeting of a group of New York's Wiccan community in the flat of one of the older priestesses, a Greenwich Village artist. Much blessed be was had, the group quite well knit in a family style.

Kaylee had not been around her fellow Wiccans much lately. The realization that one is the daughter of a god, with resounding proof, can put the concept of faith to shame, leaving a person stable rationally and unstable spiritually. But she made the effort this time, smiling and being nice. There was one little change: one of the men in the group looked oddly familiar, in ways she couldn't quite understand. The meeting ended, and she made her way to him.

For his part, he'd been mostly quiet. Cedric was polite, but oddly… very, very quiet. Almost shy and a bit unsure. The man's eyes often closed as he listened in thought at times, not to mention he stayed near the edge of the group. He didn't even have any rank at all, although his mother was supposedly a priestess. But she hasn't been seen in almost ten years.

While he was listening in mostly, his attention didn't seem to be on just one topic of conversation. More like it was everywhere at once as he would sometimes comment off hand to a neighbor on something. He smiles as he finishes his conversation with one of the priestesses. "Ah, I will pass the message on to my mother, thank you. She is still searching for her husband in Ireland. I do not know what drives her, but I support it as much as I can because I would like to see him again as well."

Shou is stomping down the street with a sword in his hand. This is not rare for him. Now, be vewy vewy quite, he's huntin' /wats/.

Kaylee lightly taps Cedric on the shoulder. "Excuse me, please? I hate to interrupt, but do I know you?" She glances away, blushing. "That didn't come out right. What I mean to say is…" She pauses, shakes her head. "Let's go outside, I think it's the heating in here drying my brains out."

Turning, Cedric looks at Kaylee. He tilts his head one way, then the other. "I can't say you do. You might know my mother or father. Diana Lazarus or my father Kevin lazarus. Everyone says I favor dear ol' dad."

He seems to consider a moment, then gives a shrug, "Sure." His hand goes to his pocket for some reason. The left one. "Ladies first? The heating shouldn't be that bad, really… unless someone messed with the thermostat again."

Shou sniffs; sniff sniff. He makes a face. What *is* that *smell*?

Kaylee wrinkles her nose as she walks out with Cedric. "I hope not. It's hard to find an apartment in this city without paying a lot of money." Once they are outside the building, she softly says, "What I meant earlier was…I think you are special."

Cedric was about to turn away to look at something, but his head snaps back to Kaylee. "… do what?" The man's got an eyebrow quirked, obviously confused as he looks Kaylee over. "What do you mean by special? I'm just a cop. I do sometimes play the drums at the circles and such, but other than that… I'm not exactly anything special at all."

Shou peeks into an alley; and then giant paws stretch out from the darkness, wrap around his shoulders, and pull him in. Yikes!

Kaylee was about to explain her words, but she notices Shou on his hunt. Her expression shifts from joy, as she raises a hand to hail him, to horror as he is grabbed. "SHOU!" She screams, then runs to the alley at top speed. As she moves, she places a hand on the torc around her neck and yells out words in Gaelic. With a flash of green light, a bow appears in her hands and a quiver of arrows on her shoulder. Curiouser and curiouser…

Cedric hesitates a moment, realizing he doesn't have anything but a stupid pocket knife, he shakes his head and runs after Kaylee surprisingly fast. "What the—!? Was that Gaelic?" His eyes are a bit wide as he seems to have seen the giant paws. Pulling his left hand out, all it has is a pocket knife as he follows Kaylee for the moment.

THUD. THUD. THWIP. SCHWING. FLOP. THUD. SNIKT! By the time Cedric and Kaylee make their way over, Shou is pulling his sword out of a giant, ten-foot-long rat. "Things are /everywhere/, I swear." He pulls out a very lady-like hankerchief and wipes his sword clean, then tosses the hankey away, glancing over. He grins at Kaylee. "HI!"

Kaylee stands there in shock, one arrow already nocked and ready to fire. She lowers the bow, still breathing heavily. "Shou, you're going to give me a heart attack." Glancing around to see if there are anymore of the rats in the area, she sees that Cedric has followed her. "Oh. Thanks, but…" She peers at the pocketknife.

"Umm… why's he got a sword? And what's with the giant rat?" The pocket knife was open, and… seemingly before Cedric can stop it (if he even knows how), it changes into a sword obviously from Europe. A three foot long sword at that.

Looking down at his hand, Cedric frowns, then looks back at Kaylee. "What? It was a gift from my father. I always carry it and thought it could help in this case… I could've at least stabbed an eye or ripped something apart with it. It's only a switchblade." It was a switchblade, anyway.

"Err," Shou says with a blink, "Sorry?" He sticks the sword into its sheath and heads over, pulling his hair back and tying it off before he leans in to kiss Kaylee's cheek. "Didn't know you were here. Who's your friend?" He glances at Cedric, then at his sword. "… why do *I* have a sword? Why do *you* have a sword?"

Kaylee accepts the kiss with a grateful smile. "I'm so glad you're okay. I was just coming back from a Wiccan gathering and - " She startles as Cedric's blade grows (take that, Freud!), and levels her bow at him instinctively. "Eep! I was right!"

For his part, Cedric blinks. Looks at the sword, then at Shou and Kaylee, then at the sword, then back at the two. "Hold up… YOU MEAN THIS THING IS REAL!?" Cue sword waving and a sudden loud *THUNK* from a trash can out of reach of the sword by at least a couple of feet. "Umm… I… err…"

For his part, poor Cedric just looks confused as all get out, "I… umm… err… uhh… does… Nuadaringabellforeitherofyou?" The words come out quick at the end as he has an obvious 'deer in the headlights' look as well.

Shou startles a little at the thunk in the garbage can. "…heeeeey, that's handy!" He blinks at it, and then glances back at Cedric. "… you take medication for those spasms?"

Kaylee lowers her bow again, realizing that Cedric is clueless, and dismisses it with more Gaelic and a flash of green light. Arrows are gone, too. "Take it easy…Nuada, you said? Nuada of the Silver Hand? I know the story very well." A long pause. "My father made that hand," she says solemnly, watching Cedric carefully.

A few blinks follow. "Umm… wait… Irish legends… oh… /now/ it makes some sense… so what were you saying earlier and how do I make this sword go back to a pocket knife? I never could get it to go back when I thought it was imaginary before."

"Imagina—" Shou puts his hand to his forehead and just walks over to the garbage can, setting it upright and sitting on the lid. He sighs. Newbs.

Kaylee gives Shou a pointed glance, then looks back to Cedric. She's a little nervous herself. "I've never talked anyone through this before," she admits. "I guess you need to be calm, first. And this isn't imaginary, no more than my bow and arrows, or that rat. You must be Nuada's son." She smiles softly. "I'm Kaylee, and my father is Dian Cecht. I guess that makes us cousins of a sort. I'll let my boyfriend over there introduce himself, because I'm sure he'll do a better job of it." And this allows Shou to share what he wants and omit what he wants.

That earns a few blinks. "Umm… so, you mean that dream I had after I hit my head wasn't a dream?" He's starting to calm down at least a bit. Long as nothing excites him worse. Crazy shapeshifting swords that don't go down in three hours are a bad thing, after all. Usually. "I mean, if that's true, I'd better contact my mom soon… I guess… Dian Cecht…" He pauses, thinking it seems as he wracks his brain. "… the healer, right? But… umm… cousins? Do what? Dad always said his family was in Ireland…"

"If they're Irish gods, then they're in /Ireland/," Shou tells Cedric. He smacks his forehead. "I'm Shou." He waves a little. "Uh, my dad's a Japanese god."

Kaylee giggles a little at Shou's words. "Yeah, I don't know the exact family tree rundown, so 'cousin' is the best word. We're related on the divine side. It must've been a real shock when your father told you, since you still think of it as a dream." She points at the sword. "He gave that you you as a gift."

"That, and this ring… I thought I just found it because someone slipped it in my pocket." He reaches to his neck and pulls out a little silver ring with a stylized celtic knot on it. All on a silver chain that hangs around his neck. "… so… basically, my father is really Nuada the Silver Hand… but… what's that make me? Shoot, what's that make you two for that matter?"

Shou says, "Awesome, that's what. Well. It makes us awesome. It makes /you/ kind of dense for having to ask." He slides off the trash can and heads over to Kaylee again, kissing her cheek once more. "I gotta go. I promised some friends I'd play rugby with them." /Suckers/.

Kaylee smiles sweetly at Shou. "Don't hurt them too badly, Shou. I don't want to set any broken bones." She turns back to Cedric, the ties between her and Shou rather obvious. "It makes us the children of gods. And yeah, awesome, though it also makes us responsible. There is actual evil out there, called Titanspawn. And it's our job to kill it."

That brings a somber look to Cedric's face. "Nuada… err… dad mentioned them. I haven't met one yet and it's been two years. What are they?" He pauses as he looks at the sword. "Come on, change back already." He shakes the sword in his hand. Eyeing the object in question, he growls a bit. "… I really have to learn how this works better. Dad just said it turns into a sword called 'Headsplitter' and to use it as I needed. Never said how it worked, either."

"… what kind of parent doesn't even explain Titanspawns? Seriously. About the sword… a clue: you swing it at things." Shou shakes his head a little and walks away, /into/ the alleyway. After a few steps, he tips to the side, and jumps, ricochetting off the walls a few times until he reaches the roof, and vanishes over the edge.

Kaylee shakes her head at Shou's words. "Hmph. Not every god tells his children everything. Some of them like to see how the child reacts. Some give tests. My father had me fight a little Titanspawn that had invaded my high school prom."

"… at your prom? Yeesh, hope there's none in the precinct, then." Cedric mentions. Then he looks at the sword. "Well… let's see… be calm… so… hrm…" Finally, the sword just shrinks back to the pocket knife. Cedric flips it closed before it can switch back or anything else. "Blasted thing…"

Kaylee smiles. "There you go. You'll just need to practice with it a little. So…do you have any more questions? I can answer some, but not all of them, I'm sort of new at this myself, too."

Cedric rubs the back of his head, "A lot, actually… I'm a cop, and I guess my job is protecting people from Titanspawn… but… well… how do I know what one is? Let alone, why me? And how many others like us are around?"

Kaylee looks thoughtful. "That rat was a titanspawn, or at the very least one of their monsters. That's the first clue, I guess. When you see something that looks like it crawled out of a horror movie, or if they start doing bizarre special effect things, you're probably looking at a titanspawn." She nods a little. "But the big thing is…if they are /attacking people/, they are most definitely titanspawn." She thinks a little more. "We have to do this because, well, for one, if we don't, the titanspawn will hurt humanity badly. People you care for could be injured or killed. And we have the power to do this." She peers at Cedric. "Why are you a cop? It's the same idea, the same reason."

Cedric shakes his head, "No choice, then… I can't exactly turn away from it and keep being a cop, can I?" He sighs. "So… any ideas what I can do exactly? Can I do things like your boyfriend, or do I need to figure all this out myself?"

Kaylee shrugs. "I don't know. All I can do is guess. Based on who your father is, and the fact that he gave you a sword, you'll probably end up a great fighter. Maybe even a great leader. Nuada /was/ King of the Tuatha for a while." She walks around Cedric, peering at him carefully. "Some of it'll come with instinct. My father's a healer, so I'm getting into learning medicine, mostly folk medicine though. But I also have a thing for plants that he doesn't, so who knows what I'll be doing with that?"

Cedric considers as he looks at the folded up pocket knife. "Huh… anything he was known for? My learning on him is rusty." He pauses, "I think I know at least one or two things, though… since then I've… I don't know, been paying attention to more things at the same time. Like back in the meeting, I was following at least five different conversations at once."

"This is what I remember," says Kaylee. "Nuada was the king of the Tuatha De Danann. He was strong, powerful, good looking, all that good stuff. But he lost his hand in battle. The Tuatha had a rule that an imperfect man could not lead, and being short a hand, he stepped down. My father made him a hand of silver, which was good, but not enough for the rules. His son, Miach, my half-brother I guess, made him a new hand of flesh and blood." She gets a little nervous. "And then my father killed my brother out of jealousy, so the story goes."

Cedric whistles on that, then considers. "Strong, huh?" He looks around the alley, then shrugs. Dead rat titanspawn. He walks over to it. "Hmm…" Then he sighs. "I guess I might as well find out…" Reaching down, the 'young' Scion strains a bit, but slowly starts to move and then lift the dead titanspawn.

Kaylee blinks, then smiles as Cedric does the feat of strength. "See. Some things are in the blood." She sobers slightly. "And some things are of your own free will."

Cedric grunts and drops the dead rat carcass in a dumpster. "… yeah… phew… umm… anyways, that's one more thing to get used to I guess. If I'm supposed to be some sort of fighter, I guess I'd better find someone to teach me." He makes a bit of a face at that, then turns to her. He does notice her mood just a bit. "Something wrong?" He shrugs a little, "I may not exactly be a wiccan priest, Kaylee, but something I did pick up from my mom is listening to others and keeping it to myself if you need to talk."

Kaylee looks around, then says, "I'd already told Shou, but I think you'd understand better, since you're a listener and my boyfriend's more of a doer. It's about my father. I think that he's…good. But what if I do something amazing and he gets angry?" Her voice lowers. "Like he did with Miach…"

Cedric nods, leaning against a wall of the alley. "I understand… you're worried he will try something… and you're also worried that Shou might try something." He seems to consider. "Hmm… what worries you more? Making your father angry, or the fact he might do something that will put him and Shou at odds and start a war between the very Gods?"

Kaylee sighs, shoulders slumping. "I'm worried that my father will try something and that Shou will try to stop him. Dian Cecht is a /god/, and has been one for a long, long time. He'd destroy Shou in a second, even for a god who isn't known for fighting."

Cedric shrugs, "That's part of what we are, Kaylee… I don't know Shou well enough, but from the looks… I'd associate him with a soldier as far as mentality. He's more used to doing things and acts much like you would as a priestess. To you, Shou is an active guardian that you may or may not need." He rubs his chin, obviously thinking about it all.

Kaylee tilts her head. "Me, a priestess? Nobody in the coven back home thought of me having any spiritual potential like that." A pause, and she thinks some more. "Shou is sort of my white knight, but he's also a little bit of a glory hog."

Cedric nods. "I'll be honest, Kaylee, the priestess title isn't exactly for everyone. Some want it for power, social ladders or spiritual. Take your pick. That's probably what the opinion was formed based on in some cases. I don't know your coven, but as far as I can tell, you probably have all the qualities of being a priestess if not in name." He shrugs a bit. "As far as Shou and as far as his mannerisms, that's up to you to handle in some way. He has feelings for you of some sort. It might seem crude and it may seem more than a little against any healer's ethics or what you are, but that's probably the only way to keep Shou from getting himself killed as a glory hog."

Kaylee tucks a stray lock of hair behind her head and glances away. "I don't want to hurt him. But if I have to push him away to save him, I will." She sighs. "And I guess I'll end up as more than a priestess if I get this right, yeah? A goddess?" She shudders, frowning.

Cedric shakes his head, "That is not the answer, Kaylee. Pushing someone away for love or to save someone never works out. You only end up hurting yourself and them."

Kaylee glances back at Cedric. "You're the cop they call when somebody needs to get talked off a bridge, aren't you?" She smiles, a little.

Cedric smiles, "More or less. I flunked the course because I'd rather sneak up on the guy and pull him off, though."

Kaylee laughs. "Funny, I just met you, and I like you already." Then she glances at her watch. "Oh boy, I need to go. Maybe I'll see you next week!" And away she goes.

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