Hunters' Moon in August

Recording; still trying to work out what to do... (and why it happened the way it did, too... Trying to work out why you did something can sometimes be the stupidest thing in the world, though sometimes it can teach you more about yourself.

The answer's always that it seemed like a good idea at the time, though - and you can often add that it seems like sheer stupidity now, but that's because hindsight always sees more.

Working out why it went wrong can stop you from making the same mistake again. This time the answer was obvious - by hindsight. Problems hadn't been predictable - but then, they never are. I'd been both working things out and making contact in this on-line Journal - then some kind of gremlin made it look as though it'd been deleted for several days... that really messed things up.)

Erynne's family are in trouble. The original leaders are dead; her brother Stephen is in no state to lead now (if he ever was. He's no war-leader, whatever he was like in peacetime.)

I've been through at least four dimensions with Erynne - and their enemy, the Lamia, had reached into at least one to taint Erynne's dreams. It'd backed off fast enough when it sensed me through the mindlink - if Lamia fears me then Erynne is safest when she's close to me.

Erynne also told me a story about how Lamia can thrall changers into turning on those they love. It's already caused deaths, but Stephen hadn't even sent his pregnant human wife away from the clan! After we explained what he should do they sent away every human that they cared about.

I don't lead them and I didn't go into all the implications, the way I might with a gig... well.... Last moon Erynne went with her kin. This time they didn't seem to have that organised. (Not enough guards? Anyway, they made their own arrangements.) Didn't think it mattered, we've already gone through one one moon in a glamoured-up barn, and now we're in a luxury mansion. We picked a store-room at the top. It has ventilation grids, not windows - OK to smoke through, but no way out for a wolf.

We sat and waited for Erynne to change - but she didn't change - she bled!

I tried desperately to contact healers - and, of course, the humans have been evacuated and the lycanthropes are being wolves - no healers. I don't know where Demetrias is - left a message. An ordinary A and E is out, of course. I don't know how many differences there are between E and a human, but the blood would increase the contagion risk and I'd never get Erynne in there while she was conscious.

All the time, I could hear the Lamia through the link with Erynne, but she was out of my effective attacking range. None of my mojos reach that far. There's only one thing I can think of to do. We already had two packs of anti-venom ready to go to Sunnydale and I'm driving it there with Erynne in the car.

If distance isn't a limiting factor for the Lamia then Erynne will be safest with me, where-ever we are - and once I'm within my attack-range of the creature we may see how well a snake can dance...