_ This adventure log is written from the point of view of Stone Axe. Also, each of you have a secret entry. _

Broad Back left me to handle things here while he went to grab Collin. It was a wise choice. Kara was in the middle of something with her girlfriend when I called. I could tell she was reticent to join me. She never questioned me though. She is a good soldier. Connor was a little too eager when I called him. The anxiety he expressed was concerning. He is still struggling to connect with people. I think he trying though.

We arrived at the scene to find a smeared tail of blood that led into the Laundry room. I waited outside while Kara checked upstairs and Connor went to work on Karris. It might have been better for Collin if Karris died. It would have been easy for him to do. He could have flicked her off like a light switch, and only Death Eater would have been the wiser. He thought about it I’m sure, but in the end Karris lived.

Kara did her best to clean the apartment of evidence of the first change, but there was little she could do in such a short time. Even Connor’s expert abilities weren’t up to snuff. We were lucky that his coworker Richard was able to help us clean up after the fact. He is also the one who would later give us [[Karris’s Diary/Sketchbook | Karris’s Diary]]. The one who would help Collin unlock the secrets of her past.

[:kara-strauss | Kara]] and Connor left the apartment on foot. Tracking their friend a good distance until Broad Back called them off. Kara went with me to question Karris. I spoke with the doctors. Karris had almost died, and she wasn’t out of the woods yet. I also listened to Kara in the other room. The doctors thought it was an animal attack, but she had initially told them she was assaulted by an intruder. Now she is telling Kara that she knows it was Collin.

Kara thought she saw the angel statue in the hospital, but Connor was sure he saw it in the apartment. Collin thinks it was starting to urge or control her. That is some pretty serious power, so it has to have grown into a spirit of something more than the statue. Broadback is pretty adamant they need to learn on their own though, so I keep my mouth shut. It is so hard for Death Eater. She just wants to tell them everything. Soon, she’ll get her chance.

The neighbors called it in as a domestic violence situation. This was going to get referred to I.A. I wouldn’t get the case, but this all adds up to so much bull shit that it sits on a desk.. Until then Collin needs to lay low. As I expected, he was placed on administrative leave the next morning. He spent the next few days moping around Heimulf and trying to figure out the story behind the spirit.

The boy does a good job on his own though. After a trip from the public library, he put together the truth of Karris’s life. He identified a possible Bane, and he figures out what kind of spirit it is. Honestly, for a raw recruit that is an intimidating feat. Inside of three days he figures out its ban, bane, name, preferred essence type and he has plan. We execute on the 30th.

That night. We speak our Deed names. We Tell our Story. Then a Lune of the crescent Moon. One with a jagged crack like smile, descended and marked him. We perform the right of Siskur-Dah. Then Collin tells us what we will do.

The pack waits in the shadow with Collin leading the way. Kara brings Karris the crucifix that was her mother’s to her, and she tells her it’s a gift from Collin. The moment she puts it on, the spirit jumps out from her body. It flees in twilight to enduring peace. Connor quickly runs up to the door. His cousin Jamie is there. She refuses to let him in, but agrees to have the woman living there put the crucifixes on once he volunteers to see his mother. Then he switches place with Talon, and he faces off against Enduring Faith.

Enduring Faith quickly made its power known. It pushed into his mind, flooding it with images of his childhood, and it made him obsessed with reconciling with his mother. The pack arrived just as Connor began to break down.

Collin stepped up, and roared in his wolf form at the spirit. He demanded he stop. It was one of those moments that made me shiver. The spirit stopped what it was doing, and the negotiation began. The pack was at his back. We were playing second fiddle, but I would be lying if I said that I wasn’t dissecting the disconcerting Angel in front of me. It looked like a creature made of living porcelain, straight out of one of those precious moments catalogs my mom had. The thing was powerful. In a one on one fight, Broadback was probably the only one of us to stand a chance. As a pack we would win, but I couldn’t rule out casualties without Maw present. The spirit was strong enough to throw a car, and I could tell it knew how to use it’s wings. In talking to Death Eater, it appears it didn’t have overtly offensive numina. However it could have done a lot of damage by dropping one of us from up high.

It was a tough negotiation, but Collin was able to get the spirit to promise not to directly influence Karris. It also agreed to stay out of twilight. In exchange the pack would protect Enduring Peace, Protect and Provide the Holding cell at the station as an additional territory. The boy did well. Without a doubt his research tipped the scales of negotiations. I could have sworn I saw that moon with a jagged smile watching from not far off.