Event Log: May, An Inauspicious Arrival

[faileas]

Event Log: May, An Inauspicious Arrival

I. Boaltinn (1st - 3rd) Boaltinn comes around again. A handful of Mirrorbound will remember the holiday from last year, but for others, it will be brand new. In both Residential Districts, bonfires burn in central locations through the night, frequented by the residents celebrating another summer come to Aefenglom. Curiously, while last year the bonfires seemed quite segregated by human or Monster, this year, there is more of a noticeable mix at each, and Mirrorbound are invited to join the games and festivities quite happily. Characters are invited to try and jump through the bonfire's flames to burn away any poor relationship experiences, be it romantic or platonic, past or present; to aid them in this, those at the Eastern Bonfire will give those participating rune-etched accessories to protect them from the fire. The city has quite a bit to offer for this holiday: shared rose baths at public bathhouses and pleasure establishments that increase feelings of friendliness and talkativeness, poles draped in ribbons meant to be danced around, wrapping a ribbon around the pole to bring good luck for the summer, food stalls whose offerings are meant to be shared, and fortune-telling set up by Divination students of the Coven, who can tell your day is going to go. To see last year's Boaltinn prompts, you can take a glance right here! Much of it, including the bonfires, baths, and entertainments will be similar this year, so feel free to use those in your top levels.

II. An Unusual Arrival (3rd on) A full year from the arrival of the first group of Mirrorbound, the 1st passes quietly, with no one showing up in the mirror-lined halls of the Looking-Glass House. Dates and times are important in most kinds of magic, and this is strange enough that some Witches of the Coven get together on the night of the 3rd to try a probing ritual, attempting to gather some kind of clues that could be useful in prying out the cottage's secrets. Boaltinn is the best time for such things, when the boundaries are thinner, and magic is stronger. Those who are awake that night at 3 am might notice a pulse of harmless silvery light that spreads like ripples on water throughout the whole city, originating at the Looking-Glass House, but nothing further happens, and the Coven receives no answers. Well, nothing happens in the Looking-Glass House. Before long, the reports start coming in: people are emerging from mirrors, regular old mundane mirrors, all over the city. Anything with a particularly reflective surface could be an entry point for someone from another world! Inhabited homes, businesses closed and locked for the night, pools of still water in fountains or the river, these unorthodox Mirrorbound pop up anywhere and everywhere, causing chaos for the City Guard (folks aren't happy to find strangers in their bathrooms at 3 in the morning) and the Coven both. Out of nowhere, a glint of light catches your eye; your heart thunders in your ears as your body moves on its own, your mind consumed with inspecting the source. Your reflection stares back at you, just as curious from the surface - a mirror, a pool of water, your most trusted sword, something fleeting that your mind can barely remember - then ripples at your touch. If you are one of these unfortunate arrivals, it's likely a rude awakening for you, to find yourself somewhere inconvenient, somewhere other than where you've been. It only makes sense to be confused. Hopefully someone finds you and explains to you what's happened to you. Resident Mirrorbound will hear a message from Miss Nessie shortly after it begins, a call to arms: "Dears, I'm quite sorry to disturb you, but it seems your fellows are arriving elsewhere than the Looking-Glass House this month! We're trying to track them all down for the usual welcome, but we could use a hand or several! If you could just bring them by the Coven, the usual spot, that would be lovely." She'll give her usual orientation and pass out Watches, but no doubt the Mirrorbound will be more helpful in this regard, with so many arriving.

III. The Goblin Market (All Month) Life goes on in Aefenglom, despite the addition of so many new residents. With the City Guard decidedly busy dealing with the sudden flood of break-ins (or, more accurately, break-outs?), the vendors of the Goblin Market find opportunity to set up their stalls more openly than they have since the crack-downs some months ago. They pop up all over the city, but clustered more often in the Residential Districts and the Harbor District, where there are even fewer law enforcement agents out and about to run them off. These sellers, while not as devoid of morals as those major players of the Black Market, still have very few compunctions when it comes to lying, cheating, fencing stolen goods, and misrepresenting their wares to unsuspecting buyers. It's also the place to find those things that are- not quite legal, shall we say. They won't say a word if you don't. If confronted, they are quick to pack up their things and slip away, however; they know this city and its hiding places a lot better than you do. With a brand new batch of what the natives assume are Mirrorbound, many undergoing rapid transformations into their Monster forms, many of the wares on display are potions: supposed cure-alls for aches and itches, calming draughts for the full moon restlessness, some even claim their brews can halt changes entirely! Some concoctions are meant to increase a Witch's magical ability, or decrease it, or provide them a finer control. They offer potions that they say will eliminate the need for a Bond, or temporary Bonding potions of their own that they claim are more pure, stronger, than the ones offered by the Coven. Claims are only claims, though. A few remedies for the pain of changing or some regular temporary Bonding potions can be found here and there, but for every potion that works, there are twenty more that have less than pleasant side effects. A brew that will cause everything you touch to turn to solid gold for up to an hour; a potion that will invert your sense of direction - trying to turn right will make you turn left, trying to go forward will cause you to walk backward; a potion that will remove all traction from your feet, causing you to slide around as if cobblestone are the slickest ice. Worse, some shadier vendors sell things more sinister, including a potion that gives you the appearance of being moderately to heavily infected by the Cwyld. Even if you don't drink any, the vendors are not at all careful where they're sloshing those bottles around, trying to show them off, and they all activate on skin contact.

IV. A Wilde Hunt (7th - 22nd) All Mirrorbound, temporary or not, are likely to feel it. Monsters are always affected by the full moons, but this month, it is more. Stronger. Instincts rise to the surface as the Sisters emerge full and visible in the night sky, and for many Mirrorbound, they are undergoing rapid transformations into whatever type of Monster they are meant to be. Curiously, the natives get along like they usually do, noticing nothing out of the norm, other than the increased agitation and restlessness from Mirrorbound Monsters. Monsters' aggression fades when the Sisters start to wane, but as the new moons approach on the 22nd, Mirrorbound Witches will notice their magical reserves overfilling, and will find themselves stricken with the overwhelming urge to use it, until casting spells, pushing one's magical limits, is almost a compulsion. Those who are not in proper Witch-Monster Bonds will feel it even stronger, with no stabilizing magic to consume (for Monsters) or avenues to expend magic (for Witches) other than casting spells. (For those who are interested, the Coven does offer temporary Bonding potions which can be used to help alleviate the effects somewhat.) The Coven Witches notice the signs, and they take decisive action on the morning of the 6th, the day before the full moons. So many Mirrorbound, likely to be so heavily affected by the lunar cycle this month, many of them coming into new features and abilities at a breakneck pace, only spells danger for the city. They barricade off a massive chunk of Wilde outside Aefenglom, largely free of Cwyld and totally bereft of farms, homes, and Wilder outposts. They invite anyone who feels the effects of the moons too strongly to control to come out for a Hunt. The hunting grounds will be open nightly to anyone who needs to work off restless energy or overflowing magic; all participants will be warned that their safety cannot be guaranteed from others, but they won't be able to harm bystanders out here. The woods are thick, with the river cutting through them, and full of wildlife. There is room to run and chase prey, or room to play with your developing magic. Play cat and mouse with your friends or Bondmates, or stalk a stranger. If playing games isn't your thing, there is something else to hunt out here as well. With the deep Wilde entering into Winter, this patch of land so close to the city is much warmer, and fearsome Shades have emerged to search for prey. These were once living beings, Monsters, Witches, or animals, who have been overtaken by Cwyld infection long ago, leaving them dead but for the infection, white-eyed and seeking out sources of magic to consume and infect. Anything could become a Shade, but the most common out right now are the ferocious remains of bears, wolves, and nomadic Arachne and Turnskins. If not killed, these Shades threaten the people of the Outer City, when they inevitably escape the barricade. Careful to limit your contact, though; anyone infected upon their return to the gates will be escorted straight to the infirmary.

Welcome to May's Fourth Wall event, An Inauspicious Arrival! The comms are now open to comments from all registered users and will be until June 1st. Current players, if you don't want fourth wall characters tagging your posts, just say so in your text. Fourth wall characters can use this post for their own network top-levels, or this post for log top levels. This event is game canon; threads from this fourth wall can be used as application samples later and current players may use these threads for AC. As always, be courteous to each other! Let the mod team know if there are any problems and we will handle things.

As always, please direct your questions to this thread!

Comments

1

[lostinshadows]

[A rather unmanly shriek slips out of Lavi when she suddenly speaks next to him.

It has him jumping a bit, body tense as his newly found instincts to flee try to kick in. But seeing as how she doesn't seem to pose a threat, it has him relaxing.

Only slightly.]

--Yeah, sure. What is it?

Orchid | Granblue Fantasy | witch

[puppetgirl]

AN UNUSUAL ARRIVAL

[ A girl with silvery blue hair stands motionless, like a statue. In one arm, she grips a stuffed cat. Both are completely drenched. The nearby fountain makes it evident as to what just happened. From afar, she might appear as any ordinary girl, about in her early teens. Perhaps a little old to be hauling around a toy wherever she goes. Closer observation reveals some unusual features on her body. The shoulderless dress exposes the ball joints connecting her arms, as well as the knees where her boots stop short from covering them up. Clearly not an ordinary teenager and quite the literal doll.

Red eyes stare off into the distance. She almost seems expressionless. Finally, she shows a subtle sign of feeling, letting out an unimpressed sigh. Freeing up a hand while the other clutches her toy, Orchid wrings out the edges of her dress. ]

I already took a shower. Drip, drip, drip...

[ Words muttered in a soft monotone, verbally mimicking the water being squeezed out. Once Orchid finishes wringing out as much as she possibly can, she surveys her surroundings. The heels of her boots click along as she approaches the nearest person. ]

Excuse me. [ A voice in a near whisper. You might have to strain your ears to hear her. ] Where is this?

A WILDE HUNT

[ Conjuration magic. The process sounds similar to what she's familiar with in the Sky Realm. Due to her unusual origin, Orchid once possessed the power of the Astrals, which allowed her to summon and command primal beasts, among other things. Since being freed from the Empire, she mostly used her powers to control Akasha. Her powers of the stars no longer apply here, her powers having been stripped away since stepping through the mirror. But she can try to use her magic to make up for her lost strength.

The odd overwhelming urge to put her newfound abilities has gradually grown worse. It's a strange feeling. In response, she has taken the Coven witches' advice and taken to the hunting grounds. At night, she can be found playing with her developing magic in the woods. ]

Please lend me thy power—

[ Is she required to make a summon call here? Nonetheless, she calls out, drawing forth her new Conjuration magic, shaping the creatures into the familiar forms of the Phantagrande skydom's primals: ]

a. leviathan

[ In a glow of shimmering white light, an elongated body forms. Once the light fades, in its place stands a massive blue serpent, large enough to tower high above the trees. It's difficult to go unnoticed by anyone nearby the forest. While threatening at a glance, the copy of Leviathan doesn't appear hostile. As long as no one attacks Orchid, anyway. ]

...Hello.

[ Her greeting is strangely calm and welcoming, despite standing before a creature far larger than her in comparison. Leviathan lets out a small rumble in response. Orchid cranes her head to look up at the result of her magic. ]

You look a lot like the one from the Sky Realm.

b. vortex dragon

[ Leviathan isn't the only powerful beast that Orchid's familiar with. Giving her magic another test run, she summons forth a different creature, much smaller than the water serpent. Vortex Dragon is still massive, but not so much it sticks out above the forest. It looks to its summoner attentively, awaiting a command. ]

Vortex Dragon... perhaps we can help deal with the Shades. I want to help, even if it's just a little bit.

WILDCARD

[ Feel free to throw something else in here or tweak my prompts! Small note that Orchid is a golem girl, so feel free to have your character notice that (or not or they just don't care!) ]

[politicsss]

[Hearing him say it again, even with the added precision doesn't help much.]

But how can that be? It was as though you weren't gone at all...

[Elie trusts him-- but everything about it feels odd.]

And now I've been brought here too. Why are we here? What do these people want with us?

nie huaisang | mdzs | witch | ota!

[headshaking]

i. an unusual arrival.

[ if you're walking past the river being a helpful mirrorblessed, you may hear the sound of someone floundering around in the water. like many of other sudden arrivals, nie huaisang was not blessed with climbing through a pretty house full of mirrors. oh no. one moment, he'd been at home, dressing himself in his chambers and preparing to take on a new day as chief cultivator, carefully setting the nie sect ornament properly in his hair, and the next, he was face first in a river. he gasps for air as he comes to, spurts bubbles, and his head comes above the surface long enough to squawk -- ] Help! [ as the weight of his robes drag him straight back down towards the bottom.

he's never been the most athletic person in the world. this water is also not that deep, but the shock of the wakeup has left him flailing, a mass of dark hair, dark green, and ruffled sleeves as he tries to right himself properly.

very dignified. just what you'd expect of the recently chief cultivator, the headshaker, nie huaisang. ]

ii. markets.

[ having properly dried himself, and looking much more dignified (maybe), nie huaisang will take to this strange and magical place like a fish (not a nie) to water. he has absolutely zero idea where he is or what's going on, which rankles a familiar feeling at the back of his neck--spending ten years playing the long game has left him unlikely to jump headfirst into any sort of situation without knowing what battleground he's stepping into.

such a market is a good place to observe, though. opening opportunities for conversations to listen to, for faces to watch for, and a seamless cover. there's nothing remotely out of the normal for him to be drawn in by the trinkets and baubles and magical concoctions being hawked on either side. nie huaisang fits right in, stepping around one of the sellers to look at a selection of brushes and jars and jars of crystalline containing magical paints. one of the goblins gleefully informs him that they're used to conduct magic.

huaisang taps his fan against his chin, a parchment colored number with dark grey birds painted across the surface, matching his clothes. magical painting... now that's his kind of cultivation. ] What do you think? [ he addresses the person next to him. ] I'm afraid I don't know what a fair price for such a thing might be.... If it truly worked, it must be wonderful!

[ he is in a strange place and can't just flash his jade token to buy things so...maybe someone will buy said nice (probably illegal) thing for him. ]

iii. market, two.

[ eventually, after looking through any number of trinkets, nie huaisang has settled not on a magic cure all, or something pretty for the eyes. he has a book in his hands. it's a slim thing, hawked to him as a book of spells for a new witch. he might as well learn, and the more he can figure out, the better. he's leaned against a wall in the market, back against the surface, and as he settles into place, he opens the book....

....and then barks a laugh. a sudden, loud, bright laugh, delightedly amused as he holds the book to his chest, still open. someone's played a trick on him, it seems!

nie huaisang's giggles continue for a minute or so, and he lifts the book again to look through it for real. you might still hear him snickering to himself as he reads. wonder what kind of spellbook someone sold him?

it's hand-drawn-by-a-goblin porn.

incredible. ]

iv. wildcard

[ know what you want? go for it! i am protags or just send me a dm!! ]

[shinkunochou]

[Her brow furrows in worry, fretting as she turns his arms over to look at the wounds some more.] I can do that, I think.

[Wait.] Sing? [How is singing supposed to help?? Sae frowns, uncertain.] I-I can, but I only know children’s songs...

omg

[supersoldier]

[It’s Sephiroth alright. Though he sports his own changes — dark feathers interwoven in his hair, the pointed ears of a harpy — they are far more subtle than Rude’s, and therefore he remains utterly recognizable to those who know him. He always has, marketed to be that way.

When the man plucks at a different arrangement of notes, he recognizes that melody, too. Not nearly as annoying as the Gold Saucer’s theme played ad nauseam, but obviously this man-of-few-words thinks he’s being cheeky. Sephiroth only gives him a disaffected stare in return, though he does drop his hand to his side.]

Clever.

[Unimpressed. But—]

Are you from Gaia? [This answer is far more pertinent than any musical critique he could sling at him. He knows, through the strange machinations of this world and yet another visited memory, that his planet is not the only one that houses that godawful tune, so it’s best to be sure.

That is, until he really has a chance to look at the stranger. Those sunglasses, the shape of his jawline, the stoic body language. A half-second after he asks his question, the realization dawns.

Green eyes flick up to the horns, brow faintly furrowing. Then back to the man.]

…Rude? [Now a Turk is here?]

Reincarnated into Another World...Again?

[overworker]

[While Towa can say for certain that she's never met this girl before, she can tell that she was certainly hungry. It was hard to blame her-- the food here was really good.

But then-- ah. Money...]

Oh? Did something happen...?

[Whatever the case, she'd already started eating-- it was too late to take it back. Besides, she wouldn't want that anyway. She doesn't know what her circumstances are, but she'd like to help. So Towa smiles and nods.]

It's alright. I'll take care of it.

[spareshades]

[ The relief at hearing that familiar voice drawling those familiar words has Rude jerking and swinging around, regardless of his sudden new width sprouting out the sides of his head. Reno's reflexes better still be fast, otherwise he's about to get a massive horn to the face. ]

Reno??

[ He ignores the pun - just like he can immediately ignore what had drawn him over to the stall for the time being because he's too busy gaping at his partner. His very feathery partner. ]

What the hell happened to you?!

[ ... demands the moose-man. ]

Ao Lengshan | original | Witch

[northernmist]

I. Arrival

[Whoever is unfortunate enough to have their mirror suddenly invaded by the man that comes storming into their room or out in front of them gets one very angry no-longer-dragon attempting to summon up power that he can't use.]

Who do you think you are?!

[Just the first person he happens to meet. That's a haughty hello, but he also doesn't necessarily have anything on him to be dangerous.]

If you don't remove this curse now, I will tear your arms off and eat them.

[That usually works, but he's usually a lot bigger when he says it.]

II. Boaltinn
a. Fortune-telling

[He's technically exploring. There's no way out as far as he can tell, so Lengshan is sulkily observing the city, at least trying to find something useful if he has to be punished by being here. Some people are apparently used to icy scowls, because they completely ignore his attitude and try to encourage this sulky newcomer to enjoy the festivities.]

Sir, you should be happy! The bones say that you are lucky today! Come and sit down. We can divine more details!

[He bristles at that.]

Your divination is broken.

I assure you, I've been practicing my predictions and you are definitely about to stumble on something lucky!

Really? [He stalks toward the witch with a dark look that finally tips the poor person off to the potential trouble.] If you don't show me something lucky right now, I'll have to consider you a fraud. And I don't tolerate liars.

b. Public Baths

[Once he does finally calm down somewhat, Ao Lengshan does give the place a better look. It has some charm which even he has to appreciate--the lights are nice and the people do come with certain benefits. He's currently giving a doubtful look to one person rubbing the public baths, frowning, but with less hostility.]

You'll love it, trust me!

[The young Puca is excited, practically trying to pull him in by the arm.]

I don't need a bath.

But it's great! You get to meet new people and relax--and we have the best after-soak dinner around!

[He has his mouth open to argue, but that one stops him.]

You serve food?

This is also rude

[spareshades]

[ Glowing eyes never mean good things. In fact, glowing eyes usually mean very very bad things. The kind of things that really has him wanting to shoot first and ask questions later.

But he'd just woken this - person? monster? one of Hojo's crazy-ass experiments?? - up from a dead sleep and then had that comeback thrown in his face and just.

He's kinda glad his partner hadn't exploded into wherever this was with him, because he'd be on the floor rolling with laughter at the irony right now.

He keeps his gun aimed at Mr. Creepy Eyes all the same. ]

I hear that a lot. [ Too much, in fact. He'd almost suspect that was on purpose if he hadn't just surprised this stranger in his pajamas. ] Who are you? Where am I?

[shithogs]

[Kainé has never been the type to give a stranger the benefit of the doubt, and here in the dark, disoriented and without anything familiar to serve as some kind of landmark, it's as true as it ever was. She turns sharply towards the entrance at the sound of another voice under the alarm, drawing one of her swords in one fluid motion to force distance to remain between herself and its owner.]

Don't tell me to calm down!

[There's nothing about any of this that tells her she should be calm, even if panicking rarely helps anything. Anger gets the better of her more often than she'd like to admit.]

Unless you have answers or plan on being fucking helpful, I'm not interested!

ii

[chifeng_zun]

[Nie Mingjue does not care for the makeshift shop stalls that have popped up all through the city. He hasn't been around long, but the paranoid elderly woman he has been guarding on occasion informed him with distaste one morning, as he accompanied her shopping, that "Only fools buy from stalls like that. You're liable to be cheated or sold something illegal." She has no reason to lie and he sees no reason to offend his source of work so he's taken the advice to heart.

Now, he's minus one elderly aristocrat, just passing through. Even here, he stands taller than most, perhaps the tiniest bit taller than before even, and seeing over the heads of the crowd isn't hard. But his eyes alight on a sight he never expected - a familiar headpiece, a familiar pattern on a set of robes. A fan held loosely in a hand. His heart jumps into his throat and he nearly pushes someone aside as he changes direction, beelining like a man on a mission.

Can it be? He knows that something happened, that there are more of the so-called Mirrorbound now, unexpectedly. But he never thought...

Close enough to touch now, he reaches out for his shoulder without thinking, his voice rough with poorly-hidden emotion when he says,] Huaisang?

[Maybe he's only seeing things. Maybe it isn't his younger brother. (He needs it to be him.)] Nie Huaisang?

[electrod]

[ Getting a horn in the face would be well-deserved, but he's still fast— faster even. The new strange form even seemingly more nimble, so he ducks under the horn without a problem.

Reno raises his hand up, still shaped like human's but with fingers ending with sharp talons. The rest of his arm though seems to morphed into a wing. Which means what's his wearing is what's left of his original shirt, now with sleeves cut-off.

Oh yeah, he knows there are damn feathers peeking even through his hair as they go down his neck. For a while, he tried plucking them as they grew, but it turned out to be too painful. And pointless, since new ones grew. ]

Fashion change! To better fit in with the times. [ He proclaims but his tone and expression turns a little sour. Definitely not taking it as well as he projects ] What do you think? Got the same deal as you.

[ Well, not exactly the same. Feathers instead of fur, wings instead of horns. He does tax Rude from top of his head down ]

Did you grow taller?

[ How rude... ]

what a Reunion

[spareshades]

[ One eyebrow arches upwards when Sephiroth looks him over and then recognizes him. Damn. A coherent ghost then. That makes him even more uncomfortable.

But he just shifts slightly on the stump he'd been perched on, his long legs spread out in front of him (because where else where they gonna go? These new limbs were immense and he was still figuring out his way around them.) But he's not the only one sporting a new look, having taken in all the dark feathers when Sephiroth had first come to loom over him.

...Could ghosts grow feathers? What a strange place this was. ]

Sephiroth.

[ His voice is deceptively mild and steady, despite his unease. He's used to having an excellent poker face and now he's sorta clinging to that to ward off freaking out a little. Turk training had prepared them for a lot of weird shit but this... this is pushing it. ]

Didn't expect to run into you here.

[ ... or anywhere, for that matter.

Fortunately, he's far more tactful than his partner and the unspoken "Are you still batshit crazy?" remains only worried over in his head. ]

[spareshades]

Maybe you shrunk.

[ Which he knows is just going to gall his partner even more. Probably why he says it. ]

I didn't realize you were here. How did you...?

[bookpunching]

Indeed, what reason would I have to lie about that?

[ For a second, he seems quite relieved. He even bends forward a little like a weight has been lifted off his shoulders. It only lasts for a few short seconds, however, before he is back to jerking himself back up -- and nearly falling backwards due to the movement. ]

Do you take me for some peddler?! I am Grimoire Weiss! My very name should make all who hear it quiver in fear! I am a text of most ancient and powerful magic! And for some reason... I am... now in the body of ... this person... [ Weiss had, for his credit, started out quite strong. He spoke with extreme confidence and conviction; the usual haughty tone that he always uses, before he falters and starts to mutter towards the end. ]

i-a.

[rightfoot]

[ Morning classes - that's all this was going to be for Louis. Get some early training in for healing spells which he was slowly getting better at. And his entire heart stops as he sees someone familiar in a fountain. Louis would know him anywhere. It's been months. There was that brief visit home, that time he spent that was still a little dizzying in trying to piece together everything that happened here and there. But, he'd been here nine months, and this time, it was real. It wasn't some trick in the mirror, it was really his friend. His friend who broke his curse, who held his hand out to him and told him they'd be Beastars together. The friend who knew him better than anyone else.

It's not how he imagined them truly reuniting, but he would never be upset that he's finally here.

So, he reaches out his hand towards the wolf - approaching the fountain. It's nice to see him again. It has felt like forever. Louis missed him. ]

Welcome to Aefenglom. It's about time you got here.

[ Is there a hint of indignance there? Maybe. Just a little, but Legosi will be able to tell that he might even sound a little happy to see him. ]

A-2

[shinkunochou]

[Honestly, Sae doesn’t look like she’s faring much better than Ann here. And truthfully she’s not sure if the guards are after Ann, or herself— after all, Sae is the one in the bloodstained kimono here. (Though the saving grace is that at least it looks like old blood? In a strangely pretty butterfly wing pattern? Hm.)

She flinches as Ann bumps into her, quick to mumble her own apology back, and freezes in place at the sound of the guards.]

Ah—

[Her mind flashes back briefly to the memory of guards chasing her and her sister through the woods and she grabs for Ann’s arm, pulling her towards an alley] This way!

[Her feet are bare, loud against the pavement, but she pulls at Ann insistently]

NO PROB!

[bookpunching]

[ It is almost comical how he stops screaming. He has his hands inches away from his face, his fingers curled in like he is about to claw his own flesh off. His eyes are bugged out and mouth hanging open as he seems to be fixed at staring at his own hands. He is kneeling in the street but he has stopped screaming and so it gives the impression almost that he has been frozen in time.

Very slowly, he twists his torso around to look at the person that has yelled at him. He would recognize that voice anywhere. Indeed, recognition bleeds out the terror and fright that was in his eyes. His mouth opens and closes before he huffs out a single word: ]

Hussy? [ A slight beat passes. ] What are you doing here?

[shithogs]

[Their stances almost mirror one another as the other woman slowly steps out of the shadows, but even finding her to be armed, Kainé finds herself more inclined to relax— if only a little. It's a person, rather than a beast that's been driven to madness or aggression by infection. She's picked up on enough since her arrival to know that people aren't as much of a threat as she would normally assume them to be.

She exhales, her hold on her own sword going lax, though only slightly, and she follows the other woman's gesture to glance at the remains of her prey.]

Pretty sure I did it a favor.

[Whatever it meant to suffer the Cwyld, she'd clearly put it out of its misery.

She nods towards the woman's sword, just once.]

Looks like you haven't done so badly yourself.

ii

[peacewithouttyranny]

I wouldn't trust what they're seeling if I were you.

[The voice, unmistakably mechanical-like in quality, standing a little way behind Lu Li is a mechanical being. At a glance, he's definitely not of this world, a 7ft mecha towering over most humans and goblins, heavy armor made for war, and what appears to be a missile pod latched to his right shoulder. What's more, the mech isn't in any disguise, because there isn't any reason for him to be a robot in disguise.

The merchant, however, isn't all too happy about someone warning them away from their product. Even lacking his empath powers, he can smell a scammer.]

Arrival >.>

[spareshades]

[ She's not the first angry woman Rude has had stomping towards him in that manner.

Okay, she's the first angry woman he's had stomping towards him like that here.

Either way, that never means good things. not at all. And considering he'd just landed here in some strange dragon-man's strange bedroom? This day is already going terribly. She definitely looks like she's inclined to make it worse. So after a swift once-over of her angry expression and the way she carries herself, he...

Turns on his heel and starts stalking in the other direction. Maybe he can pretend he didn't hear her.

He's so not dealing with this right now. ]

[npc_admin]

Ha...

[ Father Kotomine is a little at a loss at the earnest manner in which the young woman replies. He's met a lot of Masters in his days, but most of them had some common sense or at least knew when he was outright mocking them.

This one, however, seems to lack even these things. ]

Really? You did? Someone wants to kill you? I'm shocked. [ He is a little. She has enough sense to know she has enemies??? Eh? ]

market but slightly wildcard also!

[turmoiling]

[When he first catches a glimpse of Huaisang in the markets, when the fellow turns his head and Jin Guangyao is certain of his identity, even though it's been weeks since the confrontation at the temple... the blackest of black hatred and rage surges in his heart. He even takes a quick step forward before stopping himself.

There's absolutely no way he can do anything. Not right now. Even if there weren't the complications of other familiar people in this place, the market was far too busy for anything to happen. And he needs to have some way to spend enough time with Huaisang, to make sure he knows just what should happen to hands that write such letters and throats that have spoken deceitful words that would turn Lan Xichen's sword against him...

But he can't bear to let him out of his sight either. He opens a fan of his own to hide the flickering of a blackened forked tongue, tasting the air. But that doesn't hide the golden-yellow snake eyes, and the golden Jin sect robes are hardly inconspicuous as he comes closer, starting to tail Huaisang from a moderate distance.

Once noticed, he lowers the fan to give a small smile and wave nicely, even as his entire body is tensed to give chase if the young man decides to run.]

TRIED not to picture this scene in my head and FAILED

[coherer]

(itachi warned him people would be faster, born and bred to fight, but did he take his advice or practice anticipating them? no, no he did not. because jonas ward is a slacker.

and now he's pinned by the throat to the wall.)

Mm-hm, (teeth grit behind the grim line of the witch's lips, fingers naturally coming to take deidara's wrists in a tight hold as though it'll lessen the pressure on his windpipe,) y-yeah, sorry about the– the– coming at you with a weapon thing. I was just... bizarrely under the impression that you were someone who might try to hurt me, or that you were one of the other people who live here...

... who– who are coming back any second with the takeout food we ordered. (good one, jonas. he's less likely to murder you if he anticipates company. yeah, right.) Stay calm, maybe let go a little—or a lot—and ask away.