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

[thinhammer]

[ Naruto's other hand is half way to taking the cork off the bottle when it's swiped from between his fingers. For a second he looks at his open hand with a non-plussed expression. And then he hears that voice, but it doesn't quite register as quickly as it had to Sasuke, so his bright blue eyes shift to take in the face of the asshole who pilfered his bottle.

That's when the pin drops. Naruto's face scrunches up like he's about to recoil in surprise, and his body half pulls through with it but seemingly gets caught dead before it can shift the whole way backward. If he were more poetic he'd blame his head and his heart, each struggling over what the accurate reaction should be to seeing Sasuke, standing here, looking pretty nonchalant if he's honest??? But he's not, and nor is he anything close to graceful so he just kind of.. wiggles in place for a second.

Is it genjutsu? Is he dreaming? Is this somehow, impossibly, not a flying potion?? And now he's drank it and is tripping balls??? These are all questions a smart, professional ninja would be asking themselves in Naruto's situation. Unfortunately Naruto is not that kind of ninja, and the only thing his brain seems to be able to parse from all this is a running mantra of Sasuke's name.

Aaaaand then something seems to snap. In a flurry of motion the speed of which surprises even Naruto himself, his fist comes up - apparently to seize the bottle?? that's what his brain is telling him, anyway - and thumps Sasuke hard right under the chin. Screaming the entire time, obviously. ]

1/3

[eyeforaneye]

[ For the second that their eyes meet, Sasuke's mind quiets itself.

No concerns over expectations, no trying to guess at how Naruto might react because they understand one another in an innate way he's never shared with another human being. It brings with it a strange peace, one he hasn't known since he last heard from him back home.

And then he gets punched in the face. ]

2/3

[eyeforaneye]

[ ....... ]

3/3

[eyeforaneye]

[ Slowly his chin lowers, head snapped back by the hit but otherwise he hasn't moved a muscle. Not yet. ]

... what a weak punch. [ Having no chakra is a bitch, isn't it. ]

[thinhammer]

[ There's a bit of a ringing silence following the motion; the feeling of walking through deep water as the people surrounding them quiet at the outburst. To anyone looking on it seems like Naruto just smacked him out of reflex, and funnily enough it's not far from the truth.

In the aftermath, though, with Sasuke having barely moved and definitely not punching him back, Naruto experiences the distinct feeling of the air vacuuming around him. Only in that moment does he realise how tall Sasuke is - he probably would have got him right in the nose if he'd been as tall as Naruto recalls him being - how different he looks, the eyes, the face, the hair... how much his fucking hand hurts? ]

Oww.. [ Cradling his offending digits, Naruto looks at Sasuke's face - really looks, this time, not just blindly half-seeing it and assuming he's some kind of figment. You can't punch a figment, he knows that much. Sasuke's eyes (eye?? eye) are dark as ever, but even someone as attention-challenged as Naruto can see something is missing. Every time Sasuke has looked at him in the past it's been like he's trying to bore holes into him with a glare, while at the same time somehow managing to keep his expression cold, vacant, devoid. Sasuke's looks feel like fire and ice that each burn and scar, but when Naruto looks into the gaze of this Sasuke.. he hardly sees anything of the guy who not too long ago told him that their next meeting would end in them both killing the other. ] Shit. I..

[ His mouth stays open for a bit, then he kind of puffs out his cheeks; a silent way of describing exactly how lost for words he is. He's been thinking, for months at this point, what he'd say to Sasuke if he could just talk to him, without fists or jounin or angry kage putting a price on Sasuke's back... And now he kind of feels like the asshole for flying off the handle, but.. can you blame him?? Really?? ]

... What happened to you? Ya don't look.. right.

[ Trust this kid to punch his pal in the face and then ask if he's okay. ]

[eyeforaneye]

[ There's a new ache settling into a rattled jaw that feels strangely, comfortingly familiar. It'll fade fast; his new vampirism guarantees accelerated healing for everything that isn't related to the slow shutdown of organs as he continues his transformation, but he almost wishes it wouldn't.

It's less conflicting than actually looking at Naruto properly is; his stupidity and rash behavior is something that will never change but those younger features mean a hell of a lot more than just that he hasn't aged. It means their shared experiences are owned by him and him alone. Of course he asks what happened to him. How would he know if he hadn't faced him again in the Valley of the End? This Naruto is physically whole, not sharing in a loss that had marked them, scarred with yet another reaffirmation of their bond. ]

That's your question? Nothing you say should take me by surprise any longer...

The boundary between this world and ours may be thin but it doesn't mean that it will pull us from the same points. It's clear to me that you come from an earlier time than I do. [ Knowing Naruto as he does, he takes a moment to fully realize that even that probably isn't clear enough. ]

I'm nineteen-years-old. [ Better. ] A lot has happened that you may not be aware of. It'll be easiest if you tell me what you remember last.

[thinhammer]

[ Of course that's my question! Naruto wants to say because-- well, look at him. He looks like he's been asleep for a week, like he's slower somehow. Different. Naruto can't quite figure out why, or how, but he knows that even though in the last few years he and Sasuke have probably spent around an hour total together, there's something changed here. Which is why he refrains from shouting. Which is why he's more willing to actually listen to what Sasuke is saying.

The words don't make sense - world boundaries, earlier times? - but the point that at least makes sense in a literal sense is Sasuke being older. Nineteen. He's years older. No matter how you look at it the two of them have always been in a race; fighting to overcome the other, to be better, stronger, more powerful, to level the playing field, or a literal chase in Naruto's case. Now, though? Sasuke has years on him, and no amount of running can help Naruto catch up to that.

Sasuke's words aren't even that biting, and yet Naruto feels a crawling and tightening sensation at the back of his neck, a instantly familiar feeling harking back to every time something Sasuke said got under his skin.. whether that was the intention or not. ]

They wanted to kill you for kidnappin' the Raikage's brother. Ya nearly killed Sakura.. Kakashi-sensei tried to stop you, then we fought. I was on my way back from Iron when I got dragged here.

[ He puffs out a breath, studying Sasuke's face like he's expecting to find something unfamiliar, something to tell him this is a dream. He finds nothing, so he folds his arms. ]

So what happened?

1/2

[eyeforaneye]

[ Almost instantly it becomes clear to him that this isn't a conversation he wants to have here, right out in the open in the middle of a crowded marketplace full of potentially listening ears. Sure, the words chosen can only be contextualized by a life lived in their world but a paranoid gaze makes quick work of sweeping over their surroundings all the same. Besides... it's a decent distraction from how those memories make him feel. ]

... come with me. [ In a second he's turned on his heel, abruptly moving away from the shinobi he knows will follow him closely as he navigates a nearby alleyway instead. He passes through the confined space to the broader street beyond, clearly well aware of where he's going as he wordlessly leads them half a block away to a small building sitting back from the foot traffic. A cafe, albeit one not especially busy or crowded at this hour, which only suits him better. He heads inside, quickly seeking out the table furthest towards the back of the restaurant while refusing to engage with Naruto should he attempt to speak up again. It's only once they're seated that he exhales, meeting his eyes again. ]

2/2

[eyeforaneye]

[ ... ]

I'm not sure I should tell you.

[ AFTER ALL THAT FUCKING BUILD-UP ]