city_limits Of Temples And Their Teachings
It had not been easy, telling Shane of what he had done, but Cian stood in the middle of the room, as the young man stalked back and forth, ranting and yelling at Cian and only quieting a little each time Cian reminded him that the walls were not that sound proof.

"It's what I need to do," he repeated quietly, arms folded across his chest. Shane stopped, staring at Cian as he tried to get his head around what he had been told.

"You need this? You need to go into a ring with the lady probably doesn't even know what and fight? Cian! You..."

The look in Cian's eye was enough to stop him from finishing that sentence. Instead, he had stalked across and picked up his laptop and opened it, silently wasting no time in looking up the temple Cian had told him this demon had suggested.

"There!" He said sharply, stabbing a finger at the screen angrily, as he spun it around for Cian to see. "There it is."

"Thank you," Cian said stiffly, making quick mental notes of the main streets and the direction he had to go.

A short while later, he was on the street and after negotiating public transport with little difficulty, that being something he had become familiar with, in the last few weeks, he found himself walking West along West Chicago and turning right into North Hermitage. He had no idea what the building would look like, being a Tibetan temple and all, so, he looked for street numbers. He was looking for 830. "First floor?" He muttered as he made his way along the street front.

Finally, he stopped, looking around, seeing the numbers and looking again at the building. It certainly was not what he was expecting, not for a temple. It was a regular building, steps leading up to a front door, the same style and size as the places either side of it. He walked past, eyeing the other buildings and made his way back, still trying to figure out if Darian had been joking. Something told him the man did not joke a great deal and definitely not in a discussion like they had.

So, he stared at the front of the building, almost trying to read the story in the bricks, but they were not very revealing. He sniffed, a mixture of scents invading his senses, but something there was not so commonly found. A mixture of what he knew was incense, something Annie used regularly when she felt it might be a it of a rough night in the bar. He sniffed, again, chin lifted a little, hands shoved in his shorts pockets.

The woman he would eventually see emerging, had more nostalgic than religious reasons for being there. Not that all would necessarily agree as to it even being a religion, of course, with its instilled teaching of giving no worship to any one specific entity. In that sense, it was perhaps more of a philosophy, but even this one would pale in relation to her own esoteric knowledge. Nevertheless, it could be refreshing to surround herself with a semblance of decorative good able to remind her of times from so long ago. In some cases, times not so long ago, too, but man had encroached on much of what once had been natural.

Erato would not necessarily render judge upon that, of course. It was simply the way of the world and children must learn to better themselves. A sense of equilibrium could often be difficult for mortals to find, but find it, they must.

Even so, it was superficial. These were only remnants and even the opportunity to learn from the interaction between teacher and students, had its limitations. Time to leave, the brunette slipped away, heading towards exit and out into the street. The human male, she could have taken for any other, but as she closed the distance, intending to move past him, the scent of something very inhuman caught her attention and her two-legged pace slowed, gaze kept level upon him. In this new age of supernatural revelation, such beings were not uncommon to find in the open, even if she preferred to remain in hidden guise. Finding another apparently heading to a place of spiritual learning, however, might be considered slightly more rare.

Especially considering that there was also a hint of actual human about him. Something... Partial.

"Feline..." Observed she, in murmur.

Cian had stepped clear of the small gate when the woman had started down the stairs, leaving a clear path and waiting for her to pass before he made his way up to the door. Both his ears and nose gave him reason to stare, his sense alerted to her being of non-human origins, despite her appearance. His nose twitched, the only description that he could find for the scent being water, rather than the usual indication of demonic descent.

"'M sorry?" He said, staring at her in confusion, wondering if he had misheard what had been said. His hearing was acute, but it sometimes seemed as if he might imagine what was said, especially in this instance.

She came close, halted, then veered slowly, if casually, to one side. "You," the stranger reasserted, her path taking on a somewhat circular pace around him, if only once, until arriving back in front from the other side. A motion not unlike that expected from a shark's inspection of something foreign to its environment, upon the ocean's surface. "You have been... Coloured with something. But was it born or did it infect...?"

The question was rhetorical, although the man was free to respond with covering supposition or honesty, should he so wish to. Erato's demeanour was that of curiosity, even if mixed with just a hint of the predatory. Head tilted and, silently, nosed inhaled a further whiff of scent.

"And what, I wonder, do you seek..."

"I weren't born like this," he quietly answered, his head starting to follow, until he realised what she was doing. Instead, reversing it to follow her, as she returned to standing in front of him. His eyes narrowed a little as he studied her, something not quite right, still. His eyes saw a human figure, but he sensed something different and it was making him more than a little curious. He was not sure if she was being literal or something more with her wonderment. He decided to go with literal.

"'M lookin' fo' the temple," he added, eyes darting up to the façade of the building she had just exited from. "Just not sure I've been given the right address."

"You have," she reassured, standing in place, calm with relaxation and yet still registering something more. Perhaps even something exact, although there was nothing expressed to prove it, one way or the other. "But this geography is not what one comes for."

Her wording was in English, but the accent would be placed by few. The closest it might resemble, was something Greek or South American. Indeed, it was more like an amalgam of several, than a sense of phrasing captured from any one place. One might say, indeed, that while Erato's heart was perpetually young, her soul was old. Not decrepit, but certainly wise with the passage of time.

"One arrives to either teach or learn," she stated, one hand raising to chin in contemplation. "To act as mentor or student..." Erato having known the value of both perspectives, herself, even if not here. "To ascend or float... Which do you come to do?"

"Float?" Cian looked at her, a little askance. "Not come t'do any floatin', just need some information," he told her, eyes darting from her to the building and back again. Now that he had it confirmed this was the right place, he needed to find out if what he wanted to do, to achieve, was really possible for him. For five years, life had been out of his control. He knew that every four weeks, without fail, he needed to be ready, needed to be contained to prevent his other side from potentially wreaking havoc. And for that five years, he had depended on others to not only keep his secret, but be tied to the same need. To the point where it had almost cost one of them their life. If he was unable to find the woman who had caused that, then the least he could do was learn how to achieve what Oonagh had tried to find a way for him to achieve.

A sudden thought struck him and he looked at the dark-haired woman.

"Are you a teacher here?"

"Of sorts."

Ambiguity had its place in her personal armoury, but the context was a truer one than for many times. Whilst not official or blessed with certificates of an Earthly schooled education, Erato did teach. One of her more recent students, Leah, had done rather well in what had been sought and Erato might have found it amusing to learn that this was almost another half-breed, so to speak, in need of mystical advice. The declarations, however, now effectively placed this one in the category of 'inquisitive learner'. Quite whether she would be willing or able to bequeath him with anything of value, was very much up in the air, but he had, indeed, located someone in a position of knowledge better prepared than most humans would be, for his particular problem.

"Perhaps you should describe of what you wish to be taught?"

His lips pursed as he studied her, head slightly angled, as he considered what to tell her. The sense he had, that she was different to most demons he had started to become familiar with in everyday life, was slowly growing. He drew one hand from his pocket and ran fingers through his hair as he looked first up, then down the street. There was no-one nearby, although he had learnt that even someone standing next to you could blithely ignore anything said to them, as if actually talking to a stranger would cause them a physical injury or worse.

"'Ve been told there are things I can learn, which can help me take control of..." He paused, used to talking to Shane, Annie and Oonagh about it, but not to strangers. "'M' cat," he ended up saying, seeing she had already indicated awareness of something along those lines.

"Yes," came the reply, free of judgement. It was, however, spoken with a soft inclination of head, as if acknowledging a blank slate, of sorts, now having been drawn up between them. "You are."

If the figure had not already fully guessed the situation, then suspicions were at least now confirmed. Conversely, from his perspective, she must have seemed either to be of a mind jaded with the extraordinary or perhaps even a part of it, herself. With the latter being what held most truth, Erato was processing things accordingly. This was hardly the first theriomorph she had dealt with and the fact he was asking for 'control' of such a thing, heavily implied that a physical transformation was being inferred. Possibly a mental one, but that would probably be best sought from a psychologist. Besides which, she had already detected something very much a part of his being.

Extending one hand in greeting, the figure greeted him with a perfunctory introduction of, "Erato... And my status is not of concern," she suggested with friendly smile. "Know only that it is valued among those who know of it and that I can assist."

He automatically extended his hand and took hers. "Cian O'Neill," he offered in return. He had been about to ask if she was a part of the temple, but decided against it, the answer irrelevant. He did wonder about what she was, but that had been the case with Darian, as well. As with him, he was not in any position to turn down any offers of help which he did not feel were against his best interests. Cian just fervently hoped that he was able to rely on his senses enough to be able to tell if that was the situation.

His weight shifted slightly, from one foot to the other, his questions starting to well up, but being held in check. "Don't think there's really any sorta' qualifications around for this sorta' thing," he added, giving her a small grin. "Least wise, no' that I've heard about, anyway."

"Only knowledge," said the woman, allowing the contact of grip and sensation of shake, before retracting that same limb. "And there are few treasures so able to change the world."

Not fine platitude nor airs and graces, but actual knowledge, for a grasp of the world in one's mind, could sometimes be as powerful as containing it within one's palm. A difference between style and substance, as contemporary human verse might phrase it, but this was a moral which had flowed down the ages in blood and wine. There were constants in life and this was one of them, purposeful and true.

"And so, you seek to refine this thing," she presupposed allowed. "What could be a gift, you perceive as curse... What could be strength, you feel as weak... What could grant inclusion, you regard as cause to be caged... This," Erato spoke, extending finger with a slight, teasing wag, "simply will not do. Not if you seek purpose. Not if, from the horrors, you wish to refrain. This is not some beast to be contained on collar and leash, my friend... It is you and a lesson only in yourself. Something to be understood, only by reaching within."

Cian listened, the woman's voice winding the words into his mind and reaching out to unlock the doors he had closed firmly on the part of him he had had no control over and therefore, silently feared. There was little he could do, only finding the locks firmly in place, but each was starting to be identified. Again he shifted his weight, eyes glancing from side to side, again, before returning to her face as she spoke.

"But wha' do I do?" He asked, voice low and tight. His frustration level was increasing as he knew he was getting closer to his greatest goal. He knew it was almost within his grasp and there was an urgency now, like there never had been before. He was not looking for flowery definitions or talk. He wanted proof, facts and instruction on how to do all this 'reaching within', how to finally take back his life and turn around the hold which had existed on it, since the night on the moors, five years earlier.


"'M sorry, I don't mean t'be soundin' impatient, but it's somethin' I've been tellin' m'self I'd never find out, so's now I'm learnin' it c'n actually happen?"He shook his head, eyes darting down to the ground, as he inhaled deeply then slowly released it and looked back up at her. "M'not lookin' fo' any more disappointments 'n I really want t'do this."

Erato responded with a contemplatively agreeable hum. "And you must have dreams," she spoke, knowing fully well that such an influence would exert itself upon mind, if prevented from doing so in body. "But still you struggle against it... You are lacking harmony, Cian and in its absence, only the strong will dominate. It is not that it wishes control, this thing... It is simply that it must grow and can no more be discarded, than your own head."

Nevertheless, she understood the thirst for action from the desperate. Such circumstances could end badly for the uninitiated and many required an added means of exerting calm in times when violence might seek to take hold. Reaching down, Erato removed something from belt. A small, leather pouch, with nothing of much monetary value to be found within it, save for a mixture of herbs and small, engraved stones of particular materials.

"This..." It was handed over with a light, graceful touch. No immediately obvious effect, perhaps, but then, he was not in need of what it could do, at that moment in time. "It will return to you some of this harmony, should you keep it close. These sides to your nature... You each are constructing a wall, yes? Between yourselves. This emphasises your split... But be prepared to receive more thoughts of the cat in your waking hours, just as it shall be given of more thoughts from the man, hmm? you must bond with one another... Embrace. This shall not stop things, entirely, but they should not be so bad. Meditation, too, shall assist greatly... You must find focus within, before displaying it without."

He looked down at the small pouch she placed in the palm of his hand, not even really aware of having consciously held his hand out. He looked in at the contents, studying the engravings which were vaguely reminding him of some of the engravings seen on cairns or other ancient markers, back home, dating back nearly a thousand years in one instance. His eyes darted up to her face again as she continued. Her suggestions, the concept of there being two of him in conflict made sense, but were still challenging to accept, straight up.

"Meditation?" He said, the doubt in his voice obvious. He did not doubt the suggestion, but did doubt his own ability to grasp this enough to keep control when the ancient and irresistible power of the moon was brought to full strength. "That's it? Talk t'my other self and meditate?" He asked, looking down at the pouch in his hand to include it.

"No... But it shall be enough, for now. You do not wish to play with ovens, if you have yet to understand fire, yes?"

In any case, Erato knew that even the slightest help in making things easier would be of considerable help, if he was heading to a place like this. Clearly, the human was not versed properly in the more esoteric side of life, much less who to contact. With this in mind, a small business card was fished out. Not one of her own, but something picked up from a place of business.

"This place caters to those of all kinds," she explained. "Somewhere of beverages, food and entertainments. It welcomes both the tainted and not. You may find answers there... And if not, then you might find me."

He took the proffered card. Tainted? While Cian knew it was probably an apt description of him, he was unsure he liked being called that by a stranger, even one who seemed to know enough about him to be able to give him some guidance, the guidance he had been seeking. He read the card, noting the address and name of the bar and shoved the card in his pocket. He weighed the pouch still in his palm, glancing down at it for a moment before lowering his hand to his side, still holding it. He did not want to put it in his pocket, preferring to keep it intact, rather than risking it being disturbed or potentially stolen. This was all too important to him to risk the possibility.

"Thanks," he told her, a little unsure if this was meaning he should follow up this later, at this place. He immediately thought of Shane and figured if anyone would understand what this woman had said and be able to help him start to understand it, he would. It was right up his alley, that sort of thing. It had been the one area Annie had struggled to try and get him to understand, his only grasp on it being the element of control she had taught him.

"I'll uh, come and see y'there, then," he added, eyes rising to meet hers again. "If that's alright?" He decided it probably was not appropriate for her to see him here, at this temple. In a way, that was a relief. It was hard enough to face the prospect of people knowing what he was who he was dealing with, but coping with the stares of others who might figure it out without him knowing was not something he was ready to deal with, at this point.

"There are some creatures who would perhaps feel just as dubious of you, as you might of them," Erato replied, one eyebrow lifting in amusement. She could empathically feel the waves of both relieved stress and concern coming off of him, at that. Erato, however, was tickled by that reaction. "In some cases, far, far more so...!"

With this taken care of, the brunette slid one set of fingers through hair and smiled with a gracious bow of the head. "May your path grant you calm in times of thunder," Erato allowed, demonstrating that hostess-like side of her nature, once again, before departing. Should he take the offer up, this might well be more of an adventure than he might have otherwise planned for. Still, one did not go into the jungle without expecting to find rivers. It was but a matter of how fast and furious they might flow.

Her farewell imparted, Erato walked by with a gentle sway of that exotic figure. A phantom of shadows and whisper in the dark.

Cian stared after the woman, suddenly aware of the strange sense of calm which had crept lightly over him, the pouch still in hand. His eyes fell to where his fingers were curled around it. By the time he looked up, the woman was gone.