2018.08.14 - The Storm Gathers

*Those experiencing the strange memory loss gather at Jacob Black's house to try to learn more. An unexpected guest shakes things up and raises new questions.*

September 2015

La Push, Black Residence

Early evening in La Push finds Jacob just outside his workshop, half-hidden under a truck as he tinkers with something or other beneath it. Vague pop-rock music plays from an old radio nearby, and Jake's foot twitches vaguely with the beat. Dinner's over, his dad's settled in for a quiet night, and Jacob's... doing what he does. The truck needed some work, anyway. It's just a quiet, average night--which is weird, because lately nothing has seemed quiet or average. There's been so much going on, so many weird things... but the truck needed to be fixed, so Jacob's working on it. Sometimes, the little things win out.

Scott McCall stares at the modest little red and white home, the Black residence, through the window of Stiles' jeep. He takes a breath as if steadying himself. Inside Scott's reason and his instinct were at odds. His reason was telling him that this was stupid. That the real world was back there in Forks and that he was chasing a ultimately very childish dream that he was somehow much more special and that had been taken away. But his instinct was telling him that it was just like the forest they drove through to get here. Sure you couldn't see into it past all those trees. But there was so, so much more waiting on the other side of it. That was why he was here. Jacob seemed to be, well closer to the trees than he was anyway. Scott wanted to see what was out there in the forest now too.

Stepping out of the Jeep Scott looked around and decided what would be best, just go up to the door? I mean this had really turned into quite a group and Jake's house wasn't exactly large looking. But first things first, and that was to see if Jacob was even here. Following the sound of the music though, well Scott's question gets answered as he sees a foot sticking out from under the truck. So much for Jacob's quiet night. "Hey, uhh Jake? Hey it's Scott. Scott McCall. We talked not long ago on the field trip." Ok not the smoothest opening but can we talk about your dreams might be a bit to direct without at least a simple hello first.

Seth Clearwater is just wandering up too, coming from behind the house carrying a small shopping bag with chips. He waves to Scott cheerfully as he steps around into the garage, as comfortable in his friend's garage as if he actually lived there. "Hey."

Selena completely ruins her rope-flipping awesomeness by nearly flat falling on her face as she stumbles to get out of Stiles' death trap of a jeep. First her foot gets tangled in one of the front seatbelt straps and she squeaks as she hops around on one foot. And then she finally frees herself from that to put both feet under herself with a little huff and she smooths out her wet hair under the hood of her raincoat, which she reluctantly wears... not that it does much good with well over half of her hair sticking out either side of her face and flowing down her shoulders in wet little tangles.

Mason hops out Gracefully. And has his umbrella on him. Unlike the others his hair takes a lot of time to look just right and it takes alot of product to keep it from frizzing in this climate. So he always has an umbrella on him. He sighs as he helps Selena up then looks over and sees the hot guy ... who had totally ruined all those shots of his last time he was on the beach by running through them shirtless. He looks back down and says to Selena in a soft voice, "Take a breath and don't drool or die of embarrassment when you look up."

Dash lurks behind a nearby hedge. Surveying a house across the way. He couldn't explain way, but it felt like he had somehow been drawn there. His eyes widen when he sees Stile's car show up and Selena and Mason get out.. It seemed he wasn't the only one going to a strange meeting tonight. He decides he's waited long enough, and comes out of hiding, advancing toward the new arrivals. "Hi guys, what brings you here?" He asks them.

Stiles emerges last from the Jeep, slamming the door shut after him, and glances around the Black family property with a curious sort of expression. Following Scott, he remains fairly quiet for now and just keeps an eye out, watching and waiting. As Seth approaches, Stiles greets him with a little reverse nod, an upward bump of his chin, and he reaches up to rub the back of his head and squints a little, just taking it all in.

Maybe they missed her in all the lush Jacobness of it all, or getting out of the jeep, but suddenly there's an Alice where there wasn't before. She doesn't look exactly like her usual cheerful self, but she's still clearly trying to keep up at least a hint of a smile. Dash's sudden entrance doesn't appear to surprise her at all, even if she doesn't know him. Or at least, they haven't been formally introduced.

Since Scott seems to be engaged in talking to Jacob and Seth, Alice approaches Stiles. She knows him better than the rest here, though she does wiggle her fingers in greeting at Mason. Then she's by Stiles and the jeep. "Hey Stiles." He's possibly the weirdest person in school, but there's something comforting about his purity of oddness. "Something's going to happen and someone's going to be here. We need to be on our toes."

So recently, Alice's "dreams" had disturbed and unsettled her; her lack of appreciable sleep didn't do much to help that. But now it sounds more like she's started to accept them. They're not going away, so...she might as well, right? There are more important things to worry about.

Jake slides out from under the truck, glancing around at the others, and a lopsided little grin, half a smirk, settles onto his features. "Well, hey," he says, apparently some mixture of amused and bemused at the gathering before him. Jerking a thumb at Seth, he says, "Okay, so I know why *one* of you is here. Seth can hang out any time." He widens his grin, just for a moment, while looking over at his younger friend, and then turns to regard the others. "Are all the rest of you seriously here about my dreams?" He nods around at them, sparing another wider smile for Alice, before pulling a rag out of his pocket and starting to wipe his hands clean.

Scott McCall is far from a genius, that is reserved for other people he knows. Or at least should know, in some cases. But as he looks around the area, well. This sudden gathering all at the same time is far from a coincidence. You hardly need Alice's dream like precognition to see that. Scott casts a glance at Stiles and shrugs some. Offering tenetively with a confused Scott look. "I think, we are having another one of those weird moments again." There are people here Scott has only recently met, like Selena, Seth, and for that matter Jacob. People he knows, if only barely, like Alice and Mason. People he has never laid eyes on before, Dash. And his BFF of course Stiles. Yet every single one of these virtually strangers all show up on Jacob Black's doorstep all at once, all right now? Yeah, the weird was thick in the air over La Push tonight. Any thicker and you could cut it, slap it between bread, and have one really weird sandwhich. Like balogna and cheese with peanut butter and jelly weird. But, maybe not that disgusting.

Taking a step forward as the orchestrator of this little quest to see a young man who had a dream. Scott sighs and nods. "Look, Jake, some really strange stuff has been happening. I, well." He pauses a moment and then just says it. "Have you had any more of your dreams? Becuase maybe there was something to them."

A distant peal of thunder sounds. A storm may be brewing.

Seth grins back to Jacob, and puts the bag of bags of chips down, looking back to Scott and the others. Curious, he asks, "What kind of strange stuff? I mean, other than the dreams." So many people coming to see Jacob? That apparently doesn't seem all that strange to him.

Selena takes the help from Mason with a sighed whisper of thanks. Though his warning hits her as odd and she jerks her head up to look around. Only to spot Jacob and gasp again... well sort of a squeak slash gasp. Her eyes widen and she stumbles again and grabs Mason's arm. "Ohhhhhh myyyy goooood. It's him. It's ... its... that's.... hah. haha.... hahahaha!" Okay maybe she's losing it a little bit. She ducks behind Mason and shakes her head. "Nope. No. No." She shakes her head. "I am not ready to see *that* just yet." She keeps her voice quiet, mostly talking to Mason and herself as she tries to remain hidden. She catches Alice's words and looks over at the other girl with a curious expression. "She's pretty." She whispers to Mason. "I could never rock short hair like that though." She goes quiet again and frowns. "Dreams? What kind of dreams. Do you know?" She peeks over Mason's shoulder to stare at Jacob and Seth ... but mostly Jacob... from what she hopes is safety hidden behind Mason.

Mason is floored that he knows Every one here except Jacob and Seth. He waves to Alice and smiles welcomingly at Dash. And even Seth and Jacob, were in the pictures he took at the beach last time he was there. So even if he didn't KNOW them. He sort of did. He holds Selena's hand and whispers, "The weird stuff i was telling you about. Apparently Jacob had weird dreams about Scott. Mason looks around some how feeling sort of out of place like he somehow doesn't fit in even though most of the people here are his friends, if only recently.

Dash returns the wave to Mason and walks in with his new friends, taking in the sight of mostly strangers. He recognizes Seth of course, and he's seen Jacob a few times. He arches an eyebrow at the sight of Stiles. That kid sure gets around! He nods in his direction. "Hey there Stiles, ruin anyone else's evening lately?" He asks jokingly. He acts as though he's not bothered, but one thing is leaving him puzzled. He turns to Mason "What's all this about a dream?"

Alice gives Dash a withering look, which is pretty remarkable since she still manages to look pleasant doing it. It's like there's something terrible behind her eyes, full of deadly purpose and a focus that should not be possible for someone who has slept as little as she has in the past couple of weeks.

She takes in a breath and slowly sighs it out, turning back to focus on Stiles again, though she does return Jacob's smile with a soft, slight smile of her own before she gets through the arc of movement. It's very graceful and almost shockingly subtle.

Stiles frowns thoughtfully. *He* hasn't been having weird dreams, but on the other hand... he's been meeting unsettlingly sexy masked vigilantes and encountering eco-terrorists. Definitely, something's not normal. He's deep in thought right up until Alice speaks to him, and then Stiles turns to blink at her a little and shake his head some. "You seriously know that, don't you? Is everyone having super-dreams but me?" Then Dash speaks up, and Stiles gives the gray-haired kid a mild glare, just for good measure. Then he relaxes. "Look, kid, as far as I'm concerned we did you a favor. You've got this whole Catwomany 'gray side' thing going on right now--well, except for the sexy leather catsuit, thank *god*--but siding with the good guys is the right choice. Plus, it builds character, something I'm sure we can all use more of." Smirking, he turns back to watch as Scott and Jacob speak.

Jacob reaches over to idly squeeze Seth's shoulder, grinning at him, and then turns to nod to Scott. "Okay, so you believe me, now. Cool." He looks over to Alice, brow creasing with thought, and then he gestures to her, his smile softening. "I get the feeling you know some things I don't. At least, in my dreams, you're... supposed to." He frowns some and shakes his head. "I don't know how much I can tell you guys. Most of my dreams lately are about... Jason. There's this voice... telling me I have to... take care of him. He needs me. But I don't know how I can help him." He tilts his head at Scott, looking puzzled, and says, as if only half-understanding, "Don't you have someone who normally explains this stuff to you? Like, a mentor or something? It seems like you're supposed to have one. Maybe more than one." He smiles at Mason and Selena, offering one or both of them a friendly wink.

Scott McCall shrugs to Seth and tries to explain it. "Some of it is just strange things. Like, I have been asthmatic all my life. But it just stopped not long after Jake told us about his dreams. The other stuff he said about me being an athlete in his dreams, lately I am really good at sports, and I never was before. It's more than just that though. Crazy stuff. I accidently shot a cue ball so hard it imbedded into a wall the other day. I keep seeing and hearing, and even smelling things I shouldn't be able to. I'm faster, and stronger than I--" He stops with a sigh and runs a hand through his hair, collecting himself. "It all sounds crazy, I get that. I think I sound nuts. But it all sounds a lot like your dream you told us about too." Scott listens to Jacob and sighs some. "I don't know any mentors, well aside from my mom. Seriously man, this has to be bigger than you dreaming about that guy. If you know anything that can help, please tell us." he looks back at Alice and smiles in a pained way at her. "Same thing Alice. Please."

The sky briefly flashes with lightning, and thunder rumbles in an angry way yet again, but this time not as distantly.

The wind grows slightly stronger, blowing curiously, or perhaps weirdly, from the east.

There is something on it, a primordial scent of the deep woods. But also a thick, coppery scent.

The scent of spilt blood.

Looking thoughtful, Seth listens to Scott's description of the weird events. He nods a bit, and says, "Yeah, I've been noticing stuff like that too. Faster, stronger, and I hear really good. I just thought it was, you know, growing up." He sniffs a bit, frowning as he looks around, "Does anybody else smell that?"

Jacob winked at her... or Mason... but probably her... or probably maybe Mason. Yeah. Probably Mason. Selena makes a choked sound and staggers, blushing all the way down to her toes. "Oh. Weird." She says about the dreams, though it's more of a dreamy whisper. "He winked at us." She tells Mason and gives his arm a little shake. "He..." Her nose catches something and she sniffs. Sniff. Sniff. SNIFF. She even lifts her head and sticks her nose in the air and turns to the west. "Blood?" She asks softly and frowns as the wind whips her hair wildly around her, possibly threatening to slap anyone within three or so feet of her in the face. Flashes of metal twisted, bodies mangled, her mother's eyes.... she frowns and growls softly at the memory, hating it.

Mason gives winning smile back at Jacob... Who apparently bats for his team but is totally in love with some dream dude. Bummer. Still nice eye candy and potential friend. He shakes his head, "I ... Don't seem to be and stronger or faster.... Though my sense of fashion is *amazing*. But I have noticed... that something keep distracting me any time I try to focus on anything that seems odd. Like something doesn't want me to notice that Scott and Stiles aren't in any of the yearbooks. Not event heir names." Even talking about it is giving him a migrane.

Dash walks up closer to Stiles, whispering softly to him: "I like you. You're good people, but if you get in my way again, I won't be nearly as friendly as you're used to." As he backed away, he had no idea why he felt so on-edge, and was that copper he smelled? What was up with that. He shrugged it off and addressed the group at large, speaking in his normal tone of voice. "Okay, so we're sure that most of us have been having weird dreams- well, except me. I just had this odd feeling that I had to be in this place at this time. The question is, what does it all mean?" He left out the part that he, too had become stronger and faster, much stronger and faster, and that it had happened way earlier for him than anyone else--almost as soon as he arrived in La Push.

"I *just* said--" Alice begins, but then she gets a whiff of what the wind carried in. It makes her head swim. It shouldn't feel like this, nothing should feel like this! She swoons, despite herself, and ends up half-draped across Stiles for support. The breeze smells... better than it should. Stiles, for that matter, smells *amazing*. She smiles a little bit, feeling almost drunken... and then there's Dash... threatening him?

She takes in a deep breath and pushes up to standing again, with some tremendous self-discipline. More than she knows, at the moment, and Alice extends a finger to poke at Dash. "Free advice: don't threaten Stiles, because even if these boots are made for walking..." But then she pauses and turns back to the others, to Jacob specifically, keeping one hand on Stiles and half-leaning, which probably only Stiles will be aware of. It's not so obvious. "Something's coming. It's coming *now*."

Stiles gives Dash an almost blank look, as if totally baffled by what he'd said, but then Alice puts a grin on his face. Shaking his head some, he says, "Look, kid, you'll get a lot further if you fight smarter instead of harder. You wanna figure stuff out? Well, that's my whole *thing*. So maybe instead of worrying about who's in your way, you should think about who can be your frien--huh?" He cuts off at the mention of blood, looking around wildly, and gripes, "Am I seriously the only one here without super-senses?"

Jacob catches the scent at the same time as most of the others. As he does, his whole body language changes. He tosses aside the rag and looks around until he notes the source of the scent. Then, he moves right toward it, very pointedly putting himself between it and everyone else. "It's probably just a wounded animal," he says calmly, evenly, but his instincts--and to a greater degree, Alice's warning--tell him that it's probably more. "But stay back, just in case. Nobody do anything crazy, all right? Everything's going to be *fine*." It may not be obvious, but to those paying close attention, he's put himself in a position to protect Seth most of all. Then, he starts toward the woods and the source of the smell...

Scott McCall looks back at Mason and quirks a brow. "Wait, we aren't?" Confused puppy look. "Wait, didn't we talk about that before?" He sighs and looks at the ground, shaking his head some. "See, this is what I mean. Something is happening. This can't all just be coincidence. It's happening to all of us, probably more than just us, too." He stops a moment and looks around as well. "It smells like, like something bleeding? But, like, all woodsy, too." Forests didn't bleed though. But with all the insanity going on, could they? Scott McCall looked to the east. He felt something, like a challenge? A errant ray of sunlight makes his eyes shimmer an oddly golden color for a moment. Sure, it was the sun. But Scott is looking east, and the sun sets in the west.

Jason Christopher arrives from Central La Push.

Thunder rumbles through the sky once more, and everyone present must know it is far too close to be natural. It is almost as if he wasn't there a moment ago. Like he walked out of a shadow under a tree to the east. But then he is there, stalking forward like a man possessed. Black designer shirt open and wipping in the wind. Black designer jeans wripped and torn as if from the forest. Jason Christopher stalks past the assembled group, without so much as a passing glance. Seth Clearwater gets a slightly curious look, but his goal is clearly Jacob Black. He stares at him, shirt still whipping in the wind, hands clenching and unclenching at his sides. His eyes, intense to the point of mania. "What. Did. You. DO. TO. ME!?" His voice still smooth, cultured, and yet so very dangerous, quiet and yet forceful. Still the poisoned assassin's blade, wrapped in delicate silk. "Why are you in my dreams? How are you *haunting* my thoughts? Tell me what you have done. What you have wrought on me. And tell me. *How* to make it *stop*!"

The skies open, and a deluge of rain falls.

One second Selena is behind Mason, hiding from all the gorgeousness that is Jacob Black, and the next she's in front of him with her arms at her sides, fingers curling slightly. She's not even sure just how she got in front... only that she's there and somehow she has to protect Mason from whatever is coming. The rain doesn't phase her a bit. In fact, that was how it was the night she met Mason. How fitting. She's not sure either why it's her job to protect him, but again instinct leads everything. She watches through the rain. Oh man is this some kind of lover's spat? Does that mean? Go figure. Disappointment tugs at her heartstrings, but still something is OFF here. Her eyes trail up and down the newcomer from top to bottom and bottom to top. She sniffs again... a bone pops and she flexes her shoulder uncomfortably as if working out a cramp.

Seth Clearwater nods a bit, accepting Jacob's instruction without objection, but he doesn't look afraid. Concerned, but not afraid. He steps forward to follow after Jacob, though stays back as he was told. Still unafraid, he says to Jason, calmly and reasonably, "He didn't do anything to you, I don't think, we're all just talking about the strange dreams and the weird stuff going on. If anybody did anything, it was done to all of us."

"I don't have and super senses either?" He says to Stiles but then there a guy around and they're dreaming about each other, and wow that guy is hot too. He looks around the group and shakes his head, "Okay, seriously, I don't know whats going on here. But something has to be up. Seriously, like The amount of hot guys here is up at least 20% above Beacon Hills. And that's up like 80% over the national average." What? Its the only think Mason can think of to maybe break the tension a little.

Dash was about to respond to both Stiles and Alice--probably something less than pleasant, when he's shocked into silence by the arrival of Jason. At first he stands there, silently obeying Jacob's instructions, but once he gets a good look at the newcomer, he takes a few cautious steps forward-- "Jason... I don't think anyone is responsible for brinigng us all here, and if they are, I doubt they'd be dumb enough to show up..." He says in a cool, even tone. Trying not to set Jason off.

"Can we tone down the drama to like, somewhere around a six or seven? Because just now, it totally blew past eleven." Alice seems to regain most of her strength in a matter of seconds. Maybe she's getting used to that scent on the wind and all the other things that come with it. Though she's not even sure if this outfit can even be *donated* now, because it's *designer* and rain isn't kind to such high-grade garments. Oh well. Maybe she can do a craft project with it or something.

Or repurpose it in some cute patchwork as a coat for Stiles. That would be a nice gesture. All he ever seems to wear is drab t-shirts and plaid flannel. Tsk.

"I'm gonna keep this real, whoever you are:" Alice holds up a finger, walking with quickness and purpose towards Jason...even if Selena is there first. She has such a serious expression, and her rain-dampened hair sparkles with the bouncing rivulets from her movement, which is perfect. Each step is graceful, there's not even the slight slip in freshly-formed mud and shallow puddles on the grass. She looks ready for anything--she looks ready to throw down with this stranger, and the way she sets her jaw and breathes in sharply through her nose, lifting that hand to point *right* at Jason. "*Nobody* meets Jacob--especially if he takes his shirt off--and doesn't have him haunt *a thought or two*."

"Oh my *god*," Stiles sputters, throwing his hands in the air at Jason's sudden entrance. "It's just some bitchy diva of an executive who probably crashed his SUV into a tree while driving dru--" But then Dash says the guy's name, and Stiles recognizes him. "Wait, that *is* Jason Christopher!" Damn lack of super-senses in the fading light. "What the hell is that guy's angle? What the hell is *any of this*!?" Then Alice has her *moment*, and he's left just blinking at her, impressed. He knew she was feisty, but damn. That girl can just tell it all like it is, can't she?

Most of what's going on around him doesn't seem to trouble Jacob. It's almost like time has stood still for him. He almost casually--yet still with a decisive and predatory grace--interposes himself between Jason and any of the others, sliding directly between them if needed--and holds up a hand toward the others. "*Guys*. Calm down, everyone, okay?" Turning to face Jason again, he says, "Seth's right. I'm not the one doing anything, but *someone* did something to *all of us*. Definitely to you. Look at yourself, Jason. This isn't you!" Then, it's as if the words are just tumbling out of his mouth, and even he doesn't know where they're coming from. He steps even closer to Jason, reaching out to rest a hand on his chest, and says with absolute, earnest sincerity, "Jason, you're *not* your father. You're a loving person. You don't have to live with all this *anger* anymore. Just... let me help. Please." His mind swims with half-formed, conflicting images. He doesn't understand half of what he's saying, but it seems at least coherent. Under his breath, he adds, "You're not some *monster*. Don't act like one."

Jason Christopher spares another glance at Seth Clearwater, and that mania seems to fade so slightly. A brief look of confusion clouding his eyes. As angry as he is, as ready as he is to murder something or someone. The thought of harming him, any of them really. It causes some reaction inside of him. Anger, yes. But once again only at himself. Until even that bleeds from him like a dying animal, as he stands there in front of Jacob Black. "What did you do?" But this time it is more haunted, less angry. But also somehow more personal as he looks at Jacob. "What has been done." The rain thins slightly, though doesn't stop entirely. The ruined designer shirt and jeans sticking to his athletic frame.

Jason looks at Alice Cullen and his mind's eye flashes to another small petite woman, whom also spoke to him that way. Directly. Pointedly. She had had blond hair, though not so short. But she was gone now, wasn't she? Shaking his head he tried to find his anger, but it had utterly dissolved away like vapor. Leaving him looking every bit the confused nineteen year old he, essentially, was right then. His eyes finally moving to each of them, glimmers of recognition playing across his mind. He...knew...most of these people. Their postures, their movements, their speech patterns. All things he watched and paid attention to all the time. But he had no memory of knowing how! For a second the rage burns inside of him again.

Then Jacob's hand is against his chest and he says something about his father? Jason's eyes go wide and he stares down at his hand, which he raises slightly as if he were golding something in his palm. Something that he sees all to clearly in his mind. "Patracide..." Ba-Bump. ba-Bump. ba-bum...He swallows hard and looks at Jacob as if he just slapped him. Eyes wide in shock, he stumbles back a step. That same hand going to his chest where Jacob's had just been. "No..I am, I've always been a monster. Maybe I can be more." For a moment he locks eyes with Jacob, as if he is ready to say more. But then he looks at the ground and turns, slowly stumbling back torwards the woods to the east. "Maybe I can be more..."

Curiously, in unrelated news, the eco-terrorism that has been going on will slowly dwindle in the region.

Scott McCall stares at the arrival of Jason as if he literally personified his point. His point made breath and skin and stalking out of the damn woods. The rain pounding down on him so hard that he raises his voice to be heard. "This, is NOT normal!" Ok so he was heard, it didn't mean what he had to say was particularly astute or visionary. He feels a sense of threat from the man. But Jacob said everything would be fine, and so far Jacob seems to have the most insight into both what was going on, and this man that nobody really knew. Scott moved to a closer position behind Jacob though, as if to place himself between them and the others. Glancing back over his shoulder he nodded at Stiles and for some reason expected to see him with...a baseball bat? Come on, McCall, get your head in the game! Then Alice strides by him and he moves to at least stay in step with her. Looking like he was ready to agree until she gets to that last part. He seemed to be calming down though, so Scott adds. "Something is happening to all of us. We are all a part of it, and I think we all are going to be part of any solution." For once he doesn't cast around looking for any support to that statement. New Scott was damned sure what he just said was 100% accurate.

Now, for the first time, Seth looks to Jacob in confusion. He knows Jason's father? He looks back to Jason, then, but comments, "You don't seem like a monster to me." Just a comment, but honest to his feelings. The boy gives a bit of a smile, but beyond that, and lets Jacob and Scott do the talking for the moment.

Selena gives a slight side nod of her head. Indeed Jacob has been the star of a few of her steamier dreams since she saw those pictures and seeing the real thing... now getting drenched with rain is certainly going to rank up there with some of the best and likely steamiest. So she can't really deny Alice's comment about Jacob and dreams because... dreamy. Stiles' words... well part of them draws a wince to Lena's face. Pain. She sucks in a quick, shaky breath and frowns. Though she too is quite impressed with Alice' smooth fiestiness--and the way she doesn't even slip one single time in the mud. Lena's luck, she'd fall flat on her face in the mud in front of all the cute boys. Still there's blood in the air and weird stuff going on and people having premonitions and weird dreams and she growls softly. "Okay will somebody just tell me what the hell is going on here?!" She points to herself. "New girl, and I'm starting to get a migrane!" Then gives a pointed shake of her head and splays her hands in front of herself questioningly. She looks back at Mason and then over at the retreating Jason and frowns even more.

"I dunno, I gave up trying to figure this out 38 a minutes ago. I'm just videoing all of this so in case we forget later. Or if we get killed maybe the sheriff will find it. Or I'll edit it and get a really good award for 'best acid trip' at an indie film festival." And yes, if there are any shots of shirtless Jacob she will be sharing them with Selena... and possibly Alice. Cause whether he's taken or not he's still hot.

Well, that's a surprise. Kind of confusing, even for Alice and her profound insight through those dreams. Or whatever they actually are, she's not sure and isn't questioning them anymore. She stands down when Jacob asks her, but she's still at the ready. Just in case.

Then the dickish guy from the mill--Jason?--is just...running off into the forest again. Alice isn't about to pursue. And it seems like Mason doesn't know what's happening, although his response draws forth a worried frown from Alice.

"Okay, Jacob's had some weird dreams, *I've* had some weird...dreams," Alice hesitates to finish, then moves quickly on, "and there's something going on. Nobody knows what. Jacob sees us as other people in his dreams. I just see us...most of us," she corrects herself, "where we're going to be. Like...I knew this was going to happen. Most of it."

Then she smiles a little more, Alice's eyes twinkling as she holds out her hand. "I'm Alice! Nice to meet you. Welcome to Forks. You know," she leans slightly closer, "I totally know some great migraine treatments! My dad's a doctor." She adds, to lend some credibility to her offer, as if it needed an extra incentive. "Rosalie--that's my sister--*never* seems to get headaches. I'm *so* jealous. Have you met her yet? She's like...Little Miss Sunshine. Cheerleader and everything. I'm sure she's in the running for Prom Queen."

When Alice laughs, it's like a little, pleasant song. Her enthusiasm doesn't sound so much like rambling as it does a warm welcome, a friendly gesture of kindness. "I'm the *weird* one." But not quite as weird as, say, Stiles.

Or Mason apparently, sometimes.

Stiles shrugs past most of this--though he files away all that crazy crap that Jacob said, as well as Jason's reaction--to get to Scott. Putting a hand on his friend's shoulder, he says, "Dude! This is getting way out of hand. We need to... regroup or something. This is all starting to feel like some kind of--hell, I don't know--mass psychosis or something. Maybe we're all starting to snap out of it, but this could be dangerous. It might even be related to all that... eco-terrorism and crap." Frowning, he realizes--he's got to find the Night Angel. He may know something about all this!

Turning back to face everyone, Jacob is suddenly all smiles again. "Okay, guys, I get it. Things are weird. But it's gonna be okay! Everyone's all wet, so c'mon inside my workshop. We'll get you dry, maybe have some snacks or something, and we can all talk about whatever's going on." He pauses to glance to Alice, grinning, and says, "But I think you basically just covered it. Anyway, c'mon, guys. No reason to stand around in the rain." He reaches to sling an arm around Seth's shoulders, waving to the others with his free arm, and generally tries to get them to follow him. "You can all head home once you're dried out, but I don't want to send anyone home with a cold or anything." Nevermind that Jacob's wearing nothing but a pair of shorts and some worn-out old sneakers, and the shorts, thanks to the rain, are plastered to him like a second skin. Yet he doesn't seem even the slightest bit cold, even in a Washington September rain. Funny, that.

But there will be time to argue, debate, and discuss soon enough. Now is the time for warming up, sharing junk food, and fending off the eeriness of the whole experience. Weird will wait at least another day.

Jason Christopher stops at the edge of the forest and looks back at the assembled group. Lingering a moment on Jacob Black. His eyes accepting what he was unable to speak out loud. He would accept his help. Turning he then slipped into the woods like a ghost. Would they all have a part to play? He suspected Scott McCall was right in that. The concept that this was something that was happening to them all. That was something new to consider. That meant someone had done it. That implied a common thread between them, or at least some of them. That sense that he knew at least a few of these people, while not verified. It was leaning that way now. So someone did this to all of them, and that spoke to a potentially common enemy. Jason's lip curled up over his slightly unnaturally long teeth. Were he the type to feel it, he would feel a vast swell of pity for whomever HAD done this to them, to HIM. But he wasn't the sort to feel pity, and so he resolved to just kill them. Horribly. Before sighing inwardly as he repeated it like a mantra.

*Maybe I can be more....*

*Maybe I can be more....*

*Maybe I can be more....*