Cowley

"Given time, of course you could," Francis assures Rae. "Parker will bring you the money by. Two cases?"

Rae nods.  "That would be great. Thank you, Francis. I'll be in touch later tonight as we begin to mobilize."

"Good luck." The dark silhouette unravels like wisps of smoke caught in an unseen breeze. Shadows bleed into the reflective surface, pooling briefly in the corners of the mirror before being absorbed completely. The glowing eyes of the figure linger a moment longer, flickering like dying embers before vanishing with a faint ripple across the glass, as if the mirror were made of water. Once the image is gone, the mirror dims unnaturally, before returning to its normal reflective state.

Rae watches with fascination as the umbral form in the mirror dissipate into the natural shadows of the object.  She tentatively reaches for the reflective surface, as though contact would impart some secret of the skill she'd witnessed. Such wonders, such possibility . She cannot stop herself from dropping into a seated, meditative position before the mirror, closing her eyes and stepping into a manner of primal dance with her tenebrous Beast. In this, she attempts to match its muted movements, coaxing it into resonance with her body and draw from it a new application of its strength. Look another way, and the Mekhet is merely breathing, low and slow, as her eyes move about rapidly beneath their lids.  Once she feels that her Beast is aligned with her intent, she pulls an older, slower partner into their rhythm. That which has lied with humanity since their first frightened steps into the world. That which has sheltered Kindred since time immemorial, allowing us to live in the nightmares of Kine and move unseen through the supernatural world. The force that revealed its true face in Merric's blood. It interred her, it wed her, it birthed her.   Beloved. Master. Monster. Slave. Salvation.   The shadows of the space writhe and pulse in Rae's direction, and rather than plunge into them as she had done before, she instead projects herself into the mirror in front of her. 

The room seems to darken subtly as Rae focuses inward. Her thoughts sink into the depths of the shadows around her and the flickering edges of the shadows in the room respond, pooling faintly on the mirror’s surface. As her will presses against the barrier between the tangible and the ephemeral, she feels a strange tugging, as though her very essence is being drawn forward. The mirror’s surface begins to shimmer, distort, and ripple, faint dark tendrils unfurling within the reflection, twisting like smoke in a vacuum. For a moment, she sees flashes of her own face in the mirror — stretched and distorted by the inky tendrils. The attempt feels incomplete, like a half-formed thought. The shadows writhe, yet refuse to coalesce into anything stable. Instead, Rae hears faint, half-whispered voices echoing within her mind — not fully her own, but ancient and distant. A momentary glimpse of glowing eyes pierces the reflection before the shadows recoil violently and the mirror snaps back to its normal, polished surface. Rae is left with an aching void in her chest, as though part of her was stretched too far and failed to break free.

With a sudden twisting of some unseen tide, the communion had turned back on her and left her momentarily terrified. Mind invaded and soul distended, she had attempted too much too quickly and the dark's reproach was unmistakable. But this were merely a warning, for something had seen her just as she had seen it.  For a short time she remains seated, slowly coming back to herself as the aching in her chest dissipates. When she is finally comfortable again, she stands and shivers, looking to Lotus on her bed.  "Almost had it. But that was definitely a polite 'fuck off'. Something for later down the road, then."  She lays down, gently petting the black cat as its eyes bore into her.  "Hopefully Merric and Khalid's ritual is a lot more successful than that little stunt."