Dakota utters a resigned sigh as she regards the girl, posture slumping faintly. "...we can't leave. You know that." She's standing in Andrea's room facing the kinfolk. In the doorway? An unnaturally gigantic black unicorn charger, his mane and tail and hooves burning like embers, his horn a spiral glowing with firelight and the cold gleam of ice. A new-Changed cub could recognize the being for what he is - a materialized spirit. Praeses has his head lowered, pointing his horn in through the door and warding the exit with it and his bulk. "Now I need backup, because fighting this thing off of you could badly hurt you and someone needs to be ready to heal you if that goes south. I alerted my pack but I don't know how quick they can get here."

"Oh, great. You just /had/ to tell mom, huh? That her fucked up daughter is now a bane magnet. So, go ahead Dakota. Rip my throat out. Go get your fucking /glory/ and boast to the Sept how fucking awesome you are. Don't act like I don't know that about you. You fucking glory hound. You constantly have your nose up in the air, trying to learn something new, be the best little Theurge here in the Sept." Andrea goads her with a smirk. "I'm sure the Sept will throw you a big fucking parade, huh?"

Felix knocks, quite possibly not heard from anywhere, and then wanders in, glancing around. Briefly, because then there's voices, and he recognizes them, heading in that direction. The spirit slows him down a bit, and he eyes it. "...evenin'," he greets it and the voices behind it, a bit warily, "...'m I interruptin'?"

It's clear it itches under Dakota's skin, no Garou is entirely immune. Hell, no person is. Still the Adren looks to keep her cool. "I learn in order to do my job and that's saving those far more gone than you. If the day comes some Garou tries to give me glory for killing my own family then I'll see them burn." As Felix arrives, the black unicorn eyes him before taking a single step back. It's barely enough to pass but it's clear that's all he'll get, lest he leave too much of an opening for the girl to flee. Dakota recognizes the voice and lets out a long sigh. "Felix.. meet Praeses, my pack's totem. Come here. I need help and you're the lucky unwitting volunteer. Andrea here's got herself a case of Bane."

"Yeah? How'd that burning go when they wanted to murder your husband, yet you came back here anyways like a good dog! Guess family doesn't mean that much to you unless you can get some renown outta it." Andrea fires right back at Dakota, the words harsh and angry. Her eyes are wild as she stares at the other, continuing to dig her fingernails into her arm, opening wounds now as blood rushes down her pale flesh.

Felix gives the spirit a respectful nod, slipping in through the opened gap -- handy he's not a lot bigger, sometimes. He blinks at the explanation, and looks the kin over again, up and down. "...oh. Well... that maybe answers that, then. Hi, Dre." He winces at her words, at least as much as the blood, and looks to Dakota, "Whatcha need me to do?"

Dakota grits her teeth with the impression the insides of her cheeks are crammed between them. She doesn't respond to Andrea and looks towards Felix. "The bane needs to be slain on the other side. I can trap it and keep it from fleeing, dispatch it. Depending on how latched on it is, though, it could hurt her in the process. Trying to do this to a fomori almost always kills the host. I.. she's not that far, but I need you to restrain her. I don't know if my pack will be here in time, I doubt it, and I need to do this now before she hurts herself too badly or it hurts her. I don't doubt the bane knows I saw it. I need you to hold her, keep her from hurting herself or fleeing. If you need, knock her out. Got it?"

Frowning visibly, Andrea continues to stare at the pair of them with glaring eyes. For now, it seems she is deciding to be quiet.

Felix can't help looking disappointed that he doesn't get to be on the bane-killing side of the equation, but nods. "Got it. I dunno how to do any kinda healin' or nothin', though," he warns, and then shifts up to Glabro. The movement toward Andrea is sudden and fast, though not a a blur, with the aim of grabbing her arms, knocking her down, and straddling her.

"I know." Dakota says. "...trusting you to protect her. This can get ugly. Thank you. I owe you." She murmurs as he goes for the grab. "...sorry, Andrea." She murmurs, almost inaudible, before she looks to Praeses and then the two are crossing over to handle the bane by pocket mirror and dematerializing.

Frowning, Andrea takes a few steps back as Felix shifts into the glabro form. "Hey! Don't you put your hands on -- Eeee!" As he grabs her and forces her to the ground, she kicks out at him, trying to shove him off of her body with a wild squirm.

Felix makes a face as the kick gets his calf, growling at her, but it's not the first time he's had a reason to aim at pinning someone, and even if his Glabro is smaller than many, it's still a lot bigger than her. He hooks his ankles over her legs to help keep them down, weight mostly on his knees to either side of her, partly on her wrists and thighs.

"Let me go asshole!" Andrea shouts up at him, then rockets her head forward to crack it against his with a heavy 'thud'. "Ow!" Of course, that was not the brightest of ideas. With her limbs pinned, she can't fight back much.

That is, of course, the general idea, so it working is a definite plus. The headbutt, bright or not, is a definite minus, and the Galliard's eyes narrow darkly, the snarl the move elicits more threatening in both appearance and sound in his current form than the more accustomed one. Bright or not, there's a slight movement as if his first inclination might have been to retaliate in the same manner, but at least that's all there is of it -- he keeps his head out of range of hers, adjusting the arrangement of weight a bit. He closes his eyes, taking a faint breath, and looks surprisingly calm when he opens them again. "Nope."

On the other side of the Gauntlet, a battle begins with a rush right out the gate. No sooner is Dakota across then she's in her Crinos form and working to Snare the bane. Praeses is present, though he does not rush forward and instead holds back, though the very presence of the massive black charger is fearful enough to many minions of the Wyrm.

Smirking up at him, Andrea gives a lick of her lips. "Let me go and I'll suck your dick." She says smoothly to him as she gives a wiggle of her hips, jutting them up against his. On the other side, the Kalus lets out a shriek of fear and leaps off the shadowy visage of Andrea, running for its life as its leathery wings flap.

Felix smirks back, shaking his head, and stays right where he is, wiggle or not. "When this's handled I'll let you go, an' if you feel like offerin' again =then=, hey, we can talk. But I'm damn sure I ain't never been desperate enough I'd help give someone to a bane." His grip on her wrists tightens a bit further.

The Spirit Snare weakens resolve but not speed. While Heartsinger rushes in, Praeses leaps ahead with literally blistering speed to cut off the bane's retreat and drive it into the Theurge's claws with a sweep of glowing horn.

The Kalus is no match for the Theurge as he is turned about and torn asunder by the Gaian's claws. It lets out a shrill, cowardly shriek before dissolving into the deeper umbra. There is a visible jolt from Andrea, followed by a loud scream as her body gives a quick jerk.

Felix winces at the scream, keeping her as still as he can manage; his focus stays on her face after it, watching for other signs of... well, anything happening to her. Not that there's much he can do that he isn't already, but just in case...

Heartsinger makes sure that the Kalus is good and dead in the permanent fashion, snapping her teeth down on the fading essence and consuming it. No coming back for it, save some funky heartburn later. Then with a mirror's aid she's punching back through the Gauntlet while her pack totem stays behind.

The kinfolk is trembling beneath the Gnawer, her muscles tense, teeth grinding as she lets out another warble of pain before slumping back with a roll of her eyes upwards.

Felix looks rather closer to worried than anyone in town is likely to have seen him, although it doesn't register that well on the Glabro version of his face, and it disappears entirely when he sees someone coming back through the Gauntlet and recognizes it as Dakota. "Everythin' go okay over there?" he asks, before glancing back to the kin. He hasn't let her go yet, despite the apparent unconsciousness.

~Quick and clean. They're small fry for banes.~ Heartsinger says distractedly to the Galliard as she looks to Andrea. Crinos brows and muzzle wrinkle as she sees her still. ~Give me some room.~ She tells Felix and wastes no time in dropping back to her native form so she can lay a far-less-sharp-ended hand on the girl's chest to impact her healing gift. "...come on, kid..." She murmurs with a worried frown. "Hard part's over, open those eyes back up."

As the healing properties flows through her body, Andrea gives another stir, then opens her eyes to stare up at the pair of them. Tears break free and spill down her cheeks as she pushes herself upwards to her elbows and backside, scooting back a few inches.

Felix moves off of the girl, shifting down to his native form as well, and sitting back on his knees to watch. "Anythin' else I can do?" he asks quietly while the Theurge works, as if speaking loudly might interfere with the healing. There's a soft but noticeable exhalation when she opens her eyes. "...hey, Dre," he greets her, not much louder, and reaches over to try to touch her arm. "You doin' okay?" Which some might consider answered by the tears and scooting, admittedly, but at least it's sincere concern.

Relief floods Dakota's face, though concern remains in the crinkles at the edges of her eyes and mouth. She takes a few steps back to give Andrea some breathing room and she nods to Felix that it's okay. "Now's just.. recovery. I owe you though. Anything in my power to do, just ask." She lets out a breath and looks back to Andrea, though she remains quiet and waits for her response.

Squinting her eyes back at Dakota, Andrea pushes herself up to her feet and wipes the tears from her face. Her arm is jerked away from Felix as he reaches in, and she starts off from the two as she snags her jacket off the ground.

"'s not necessary," Felix answers Dakota distractedly, and he doesn't force the touch on Andrea, though he watches her as he stands up as well. "Where you goin' this time?" he asks the girl.

"I know you probably want space just... stay safe, okay?" Dakota says to Andrea with worry still heavy on her face and no small amount of dread and hurt, probably figuring the girl will never want to talk to her again. "I love you and I'm... I'm so sorry. I wish there'd been an easier way."

"It's fine." Andrea says as she pulls her jacket on over her bare top and zips it up. "Thank you for whatever." She says with a frustrated tone of voice. To Felix, she gives a twitch of her cheek before she heads out towards the bathroom.

Felix's eyes narrow just slightly as Andrea starts heading away. "D'you know what 'whatever' was?" he asks her back; it sounds like a serious question. He hasn't dealt with a lot of freshly-debaned people before, after all. He follows just enough to see her head into the bathroom before he takes a step back toward the Adren and asks quietly, "We don't gotta do a Cleansing or anythin' like that?"

Dakota gives her head a shake to Felix as he returns from where she stands, arms hugged around her chest, "Not in these cases, most times. She wasn't so badly influenced. Like most living things, once the Bane is gone or dead so is the corruption itself. I'll keep an eye on her but its rarely needed. This could have been a lot uglier. It's how fomori start." She looks towards Andrea as she goes, murmuring. "Now she's just got to heal but she's going to have a lot of pretty ugly wounds in her heart and spirit. She's not likely to want to speak to any of us Garou. Can you blame her? We're monsters to a lot of our kin, and even those who love us have to face how alien we are at some point or another. Some other kin would be good for her to be around.. I don't know if she has any friends here. This part.. this will take a lot of time."

Felix runs a hand through his hair. "Ain't like we did it," he says, glancing toward the bathroom again, and sighs. "She an' Lilah hang out sometimes. I'll see if I can... I dunno. Suggest sayin' hi, I guess." His brow furrows, and he glances to where Andrea disappeared again, then back to Dakota. "What DID do it? D'you know? I mean, it could happen to other kin or somethin'..."

Dakota steps out of the kingirl's room, angling to close the door once the room's empty. "I don't know. Banes are attracted to a lot of things, emotions in particular. I know she has reasons to be upset but those reactions were deep." She scratches at the back of her neck as she frowns in consideration. "She did mention drugs... which isn't unusual among teens that have tough family situations /or/ our tribe. I hadn't known her to be one of those sorts but then I'm not the one who's raising her."

Felix glances around the room, but does take the hint to step out, letting Dakota close the door behind them. He looks about to say something when she mentions drugs, but there's a sudden flash of anger at the last comment, gone almost immediately except for a bit more tension than usual in his voice when he agrees, "No, you ain't. She is." A glance toward the bathroom. "So are you sayin' it could be 'cause of drugs, then? An' what'd she say about 'em?"

"She who?" Dakota says with a raise of her brow back towards Felix, her frown pulling harder at the corner of her mouth. "Are you implying-- ..nevermind, not the time for that. This all came to my attention just now, so it's a theory sure but I could be missing a lot of information yet. She needs some space but as soon as I can I'm going to ask her about them. If I'd try it now I could scare her off and I have no desire to do that. Your tribe tends to be closer to the darker parts of the street than mine. Do any of the Bone Gnawers have any connections in the drug scene to know if there's reports of anyone acting oddly?"

"She Andrea," Felix replies, "Ain't anyone else around all that much, far's I can tell." He sighs, and leans against the wall. "It's kinda hard to define actin' oddly; I mean that's half the point of somea 'em. But the newest thing lately's called Poppers, an' I reckon some people find 'em pretty... freein'. Kinda like X, some ways. I know someone who's sellin' 'em, though I dunno if there's many others. Couple other people might know that, or I might be able to find out."

"...guess you don't have kids." Dakota says with a quiet sigh. "It's not so easy to raise a child when you're a Garou as it seems. Listen to a baby scream for hours, or a teenager slam a door in your face yelling how they hate you, and if you eventually don't frenzy then... well, there's a reason very few Garou manage a day to day family life. If any. Not even the Lupus." She waves a hand in the air with a loud huff, "In any event, it sounds like a place to start. Banes like lack of inhibitions and drugs, as you said, are good for that."

"Well, not as far's I know," Felix says, just the faintest bit sardonic, "but I never said it was fuckin' easy. I said she's raisin' her. Ain't the worst thing ever, I raised me." To the whole, what, two or three years older than Andrea he might be? "She don't like it, though. An' if I had a penny for everyone who told me reasons ain't excuses when I was a kid, I'd buy a boat or some shit." The tone is relatively calm, although he does stretch his fingers afterward, from where they seem to have curled up loosely at some point. "Anyway. Yeah, if lackin' inhibitions is somethin' they're big on, reckon this's a decent place to start. 's kinda like bein' real drunk that way, 'cept without, y'know, staggerin' an' all. Which I guess makes it kinda easier to actually do shit." He drops his head back against the wall behind him; it thunks slightly. "So, how do we poke at it more? I could find other people usin' it an' go over to see if they got banes, I guess?"

Dakota makes no more commentary on the rights and wrongs of Garou parenting, only gives a faint nod of her head to talk of the drugs. "Basically that. See if others taking these drugs show signs. If so, we work at fixing those needing it and target the source and end it. In all theory, should be pretty cut and dry if the drugs are causing it. The main concern of course, if this is the cause, is finding out if the dealers or manufacturers know what they're dealing with."

"You said you figured the bane prolly saw you," Felix notes, "an' it sounded like that made things kinda urgent. So they gotta be dealt with pretty much as soon as you see 'em, right? So if other folks DO have 'em, what's gonna happen if they ain't got anyone holdin' 'em down? An' I guess we gotta ask 'em questions..."

"That Kalus saw me, yeah." Dakota says. "I have no idea if it passed word but those are low on the totem pole. I doubt it had the power. Just take them out versus letting them escape. While these are weak banes they are still banes. If they manage to corrupt who they're whispering to... well, that's one way you get fomori."

Felix nods. "Well, yeah, I mean, can't be lettin' banes just go or anythin'. ...how long's it take, you reckon? For a bane to corrupt someone that far?"

"There's no set timeframe." Dakota says to Felix with a shrug of her shoulders. "The soul's a complex thing. Some folks are apt to accept corruption willingly or be more open to the influence of the Wyrm. Others are stronger or more stubborn. Rumor even holds some rare few are immune but I don't know how true that is. In any event, err on the side of little time for most average folks. I should go fill in my pack, Alicia will be a wreck. I meant what I said about owing you. Just keep me in the loop and if I can help at all let me know."

Felix nods, glancing toward the bathroom again. "I should prolly go fill in mine, too, if I can find 'em at the moment. Or shortly, anyhow." He taps his fingers absently against the wall beside him. "Thanks for... seein' an' killin' it, I guess." More of a guess on exactly what he means to be thanking about, rather than whether he is, it seems like. "We were gettin' a feelin' like somethin' wasn't right, that's parta why I was lookin' for her, but we didn't work out the what yet, so. Woulda taken longer."

"Mm. Well, now there's some idea what to look for." Dakota says as she moves to head for the station's main entrance. "I wouldn't have realized something was wrong if my totem hadn't alerted me, which means we all need to be more vigilant. I'll spread word among the elders to they can pass down news to their tribes to watch those close to them. Let's just hope this is an isolated and controllable thing. We have enough enemies on our door."