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

[fairyherder]

[ but he'd like to. probably. maybe not now, but going on a night hunt is bonding, right? the longer they sit there, the more he feels himself relax, though he's still a whirlpool of emotions and it's... difficult to maintain.

and then his father is just watching him and he blinks and looks up, finally facing him, and is kind of at loss for words, because it's silent and he's not sure if he's supposed to say more? it's overwhelming to say the least, but he's almost getting used to it, and there's a ball of something growing inside him that he doesn't know how to define yet, but it's not. not bad, really.

but he's also afraid this is just a one time thing and he doesn't want to lose it. he doesn't want to think about things going back to before. especially not when his father says that and his mouth twists in a frown and he swallows on a lump again, because it almost sounds like a goodbye and that's not fair. ]

I'm... I... I don't want you to leave again.

[ leave. because saying "die" would probably choke him up again, as if he isn't already doing so, and he takes a breath. would his father still be dead once he somehow makes it back home? the details of coming here are still muddled and confusing and it doesn't help. ]

[jichengren]

[ They're both having the same thought. If only they had the presence of mind to speak it aloud, they would know they're on the same page. Still, Zixuan places a hand on A-Ling's shoulder again, looking him square in the eye. ]

I won't leave you. As long as I have a say in matters, I will stay by your side. I intend to make up for the time we have lost, by whatever means necessary. I--

[ He doesn't quite know how to do that, though, is the thing, so he's left trailing off awkwardly again.

Thankfully, there comes a interruption in the form of some rippling in the water of the fountain behind them. Zixuan turns, his attention caught. His hand flying to Suihua's handle. ]

[rootstalks]

[ The gilt walls and sweeping gauze of her chambers are closing in around her, soothed by the chime of a bell and the soft sounds of a baby just drifted to sleep. There is no news, and she wants... She wants a great deal, all at once; not least to see them all safe, within her arms, where she can protect-- she cuts the thought off, blinking away the beginnings of what can't possibly be tears, with A-Xian on his way, and--

A sudden movement in the mirror, distorted through damp eyelashes, has her reach for her sword and A-Ling, not in that order, but the movement is gold, and more silk, and a familiar figure. She hesitates, lurches-- she surfaces, freshwater pouring from her shoulders. A sword in one hand. A blanket, pulled from a cot by panicked fingers, in the other.

From the small fountain, Jiang Yanli stumbles out through the spray. ]

[fairyherder]

[ Jin Ling jolts into reaction a second behind his father and stands up from the bench, hand going for his own Suihua as he backs up a couple of steps.

he doesn't falter even as he sees the stranger woman emerge from the fountain, just as he had when he arrived here, but he relaxes a tad because this is just another rival... he doesn't speak, a little too emotionally tired to be indignant and pompous, but even so, he keeps his distance, frowning. ]

[jichengren]

[ Is it strange? That he recognized the blanket first. Maybe it's because he was assessing any threats before looking to see who the stranger was, not expecting any more familiar faces in this foreign place.

He recognizes the blanket as coming from A-Ling's cot, and that's what makes his eyes travel up to the face of the one holding it. ]

A-Li?

[ Without any further thought, Zixuan rushes forward, into the pool of the fountain, to catch his wife as she stumbles. He doesn't know how she's here-- but then, he doesn't know how any of them are here. As he catches her, his face is worried and excited all at once. ]

A-Li, you'll never believe who I've found...

[rootstalks]

[ She must look a state, gripping Zixuan's arm, and she's ruining his clothes. Then again, he isn't the one who just fell out of a fountain in an unfamiliar street. Ah, she thinks, trying not to seem too off-balance. It was a spell, then? Transportation takes so much energy, she hasn't had the opportunity to try-- but of course her husband could achieve such a thing, given cause.

The cause, apparently, is a slight teenager in Jin family regalia. ]

Please excuse me. [ She smiles at him gently, apologetically, and then at her husband, awaiting the rest of the explanation.

Her husband, who has the same look on his face that he had when she handed him A-Ling for the first time. Her smile freezes a little, confusion overriding poise. ]

[fairyherder]

[ he startles as his father rushes forward... that's... oh. okay then, someone he knows? a slender woman who, even if she's supporting herself on someone else's arm, still looks dignified and strong, gentle without looking harried.

it takes another few seconds before the name registers to him, and he freezes.

"A-Li"...?

of course he wouldn't know what names his father would have used for his family, but if he was as traditional as any other family, the answer is fairly natural. so he stares, distantly feels his fingers going slack around Suihua, hears it clatter to the ground but unable to move to retrieve it, feels his throat closing up, again, his vision blurring, and he doesn't even dare take a breath, lest the two people in the fountain will somehow disappear if he does. ]

[jichengren]

[ Yanli is confused and A-Ling is overcome with emotions again, but Zixuan couldn't be beaming any wider. He slides his arm around Yanli's back so that they're both facing Jin Ling standing outside the fountain. He honestly doesn't care that they're still standing in a foot of water. They may never get a chance like this again! ]

Look, A-Li! This in Jin Ling. This is our son.

[ Sure, in a minute he'll have to explain to his wife the fact that A-Ling grew up without them, but allow him to be happy in this one single moment.

He reaches down for the blanket still clutched in his wife's grip, holding it out for A-Ling to see. ]

This was yours! From your bedroom, when you were born.

[rootstalks]

[ If Yanli claimed to be second-best at reading a potentially fraught situation in her family, no one would claim to be first. Zixuan, beaming and proud, holding her close in that way that sends warmth singing through every part of her. The boy - A-Ling? Is he really? But he's so big, so handsome, a dashing young lord - looking at them with familiar eyes gone huge and suspiciously damp.

The impossibility of Jin Ling standing here is only beaten out by the impossibility that Zixuan would lie to her about this. ]

This is our A-Ling? [ How can this be, she wants to ask, but the contrast between their expressions is suddenly intolerable, and she opens her arms to Jin Ling with only a moment's hesitation. ]

I'VE NO IDEA HOW HE'D ADDRESS HIS PARENTS BUT HEY...

[fairyherder]

[ "our A-Ling".

he swallows hard, unsure how to react, already exhausted from crying earlier, feeling as if his limbs aren't cooperating, like he's been trapped in a block of ice. this all can't be possible. it has to be a dream, some sort of hallucination, someone's playing a trick on him. meeting not just his father but his mother too? he's already in a strange place, already with ears and a tail for some sort of transformation, and his parents are too... whatever this is, he doesn't want to let go of this, doesn't want them to disappear into thin air, which is what he's the most afraid will happen.

he forces his legs to move, taking a halting, unsure step forward, because she's holding his arms out for him, but he doesn't get far as his legs give out and falls to his knees, barely catching himself against the bench with an arm, breath hitching because he doesn't want to cry again. ]

N-niang—?

[ no wait, how does he even address his parents, he doesn't... this isn't one of his uncles. this isn't the same informal feeling. it's different and he stumbles over the words, trying to find the right ones. ]

Fuqin... m... muqin...?

[jichengren]

[ As soon as Yanli is strong enough to step forward on her own, Zixuan leaves her side, stepping out of the fountain once more to stand on the other side of Jin Ling. He's become accustomed by now to his son's emotional responses, and doesn't blame him for not being able to handle this sudden appearance. It's a lot for Zixuan to take in as well. ]

Come, let's all sit together.

[ That way no one has to worry about trying to stand on legs that are giving out beneath them. If Zixuan has to be the strong, sensible one here, then he will. ]

[rootstalks]

[ Sitting seems like an excellent idea, for all that it feels like she's been sitting sedately for about a month straight at this point, and she gives him a shaky smile for the suggestion. And perhaps a widening of her eyes over Jin Ling's head, hoping to prompt more of an explanation. ]

There's no need, just niang is-- [ Oh, that's strange. Her son just spent the morning crying because the nurse had misplaced his favourite rattle. This...

She sits down, reaching blindly for Zixuan's hand. Sees Suihua, lying on the floor between them, even as her fingers brush against the same pommel. Blurts, ] Why do you have that sword?

[fairyherder]

[ somehow, he gets back to his feet, watching this entire exchange with a sense of someone who doesn't know if he wants to cry, flee or latch onto someone for dear life and it's incredibly taxing and confusing to deal with.

he's grown up, of course his parents are unaccustomed to him like this, just as he is to them, and for a moment he feels he missed the invitation to hug his mother, that all of this is still sort of slowly slipping through his fingers and he goes to rub at his face, furiously, sniffling and swallowing down his tears. he's out on open water, and he barely knows how to swim, but if he doesn't pull his face back together and just deals with it, nothing will come of it.

in one way, he wishes his Jiujiu was here to threaten to break his legs or something for being a crybaby. at least he knows how to deal with that.

picking up Suihua again, he ends up standing in front of them, awkward, wanting to reach out and touch but keeping himself back, at least for the moment, eyes trained at his feet. ]

It's... it's my sword. I've had it since I was a child.

[jichengren]

[ Yes, of course. Here it is. The thing he had first noticed. Of course Yanli would notice it too. Zixuan is extra glad now that he suggested they take a seat.

He clutches his wife's hand in his own, grip strong. The way you hold someone's hand when you're about to give them horrible, tragic news. ]

A-Ling... Grew up without us. [ He looks from Yanli's eyes to A-Ling's, face solemn. ] I don't know the details, but... We both died when he was very young. He inherited Suihua from me.

[rootstalks]

[ She listens attentively, already concerned from A-Ling's behaviour. The best case is an inheritance, but since I was a child shatters that slim hope, and Zixuan's explanation brings tears of sympathy to her eyes.

She grips his hand perhaps too hard to be appropriate for a gentlewoman, but the part of her that notes that is lost beneath the need to have them both close. ]

A-Ling, come here. [ Her sword slides to the ground as she holds out her free hand again. ]

[fairyherder]

[ ah... there it is. the expressions on their faces has him guilty for even saying anything. but of course, his father already knew and they'd find out sooner or later because of Suihua. but he'd do anything to keep the guilt from their minds for not being there. for dying. it's not their fault, it's...

...

he knows exactly who to blame (or who he'd rather not blame, Xiaoshu is still important to him) for the mess he's somehow in the middle of. he hates all of these emotions because they're complicated and pulling him in too many directions at once.

he curls his fingers tight around Suihua and steps forward so he can reach, though he hesitates for a beat before he accepts his mother's hand. ]

[jichengren]

[ As A-Ling steps forward, Zixuan sets his own Suihua across his lap and reaches out with his free hand to rest it on A-Ling's arm, completing the circle. He does his best to keep the emotion out of his voice even though his every inch is thrumming with it... Too much feeling, too much to keep in check! And yet he has to. Someone must, and it falls to him to be that someone. ]

We're together now. A family. The way we always should have been.

[ Yanli's grip on his hand is so tight his fingers are losing circulation, but he doesn't care. He will hold onto her like a lifeline, as long as he needs to. He worked so hard to become the right sort of man, a man who would love her as a wife, and treat her the way she deserves to be treated. He had planned on becoming the right sort of man to raise a good, strong son. It looks like he failed in that endeavor, but he wants so badly to right that wrong. Be there for A-Ling now, even if he couldn't be then. ]

Talk to us. Tell us who you are, what we've missed.

[ He turns back to A-Li, explaining what he's gleaned so far. ]

My brother gave him a spirit dog, named... Xiānzǐ.

[ He almost forgot! How could he almost forget the one salient piece of information he has about his son's life??? He'll have to try harder. ]

[rootstalks]

[ Something settles in her once she has them both, and she takes a deep, fortifying breath. He's right. They are here; nothing terrible has happened, and if it does, they can face it together. She aches to imagine his having to grow up without them, when Zixuan has so much affection to give him. She hopes that her brothers love him enough in their place.

She ignores that she has no idea where here is, or the strange rasping the skin of her arm makes as her damp sleeve pulls across it. One crisis at a time. ]

Xiānzǐ. That's a good name. [ She says, firmly. Well. No. But it's the name of her son's dog, so of course she likes it. ] Please, tell us everything. Are you eating well?

[fairyherder]

[ if only she knew the animosity and awful things that have gone down... or that Jin Ling spent most his life hating the name Wei Wuxian.

together. they are together, and he's overwhelmed, both by an indescribable lightness and the heaviness of everything and the responsibility of knowing what they don't. or at least the little he's been told, experienced.

tell them about himself...? he's not even good at that with his friends, with anyone. and talking about growing up with Xiaoshu is... painful, right now, and also the root of every problem he's experienced the past few months. he looks at his hand in his mother's as he talks, feels the smoothness of it against his palm, despite how she's still dripping from the fountain, a little cold. he mumbles, a little indignant, feeling very small in front of the people who brought him to the world. ]

I do... eat, I mean. I don't... there is a lot. A lot has happened, and it's complicated, and I don't even know everything. I thought...

[ he just shakes his head and reaches up with the hand holding Suihua, rubbing his knuckles over his cheeks. he doesn't know how to talk about himself. what do they want to hear? everything? that would take several days and he's not sure he has that long with them. ]

[jichengren]

[ There's obviously a lot to cover. Fifteen whole years, two deaths... Zixuan imagines it's a lot to sort through in A-Ling's mind. ]

You thought what? It's alright, you can tell us.

[ He has no idea of the complications that could be holding A-Ling back from divulging the whole truth. But he is a strong man, and Yanli a strong woman. They can take whatever the truth reveals. ]

[rootstalks]

[ She swallows back the slight licks of impatience as always, sublimates her grief, and just focuses on giving a graceful nod to reinforce Zixuan's request.

Unconsciously, she curls her fingers more securely around her son's. His skin has lost the softness of infancy, of course; she can feel calluses from sword and bow instead. The strange grief rises again, and she tugs at him without thinking. ]

[fairyherder]

I thought I knew who to trust... but I didn't. Xiaoshu—

[ ugh. he just shakes his head again. he knows he's not very forthcoming, but without all the details he doesn't want to create further misunderstandings if something is missing. misunderstandings and intrigue and twists is what made it all into a mess.

he's about to open his mouth to salvage something, but then his mother tugs at him and he just... goes, lets go of his sword and drops down probably in a very awkward initiation of a hug, because since when has he hugged anyone like this before? ]

GMAIL NEARLY ATE THIS TAG

[jichengren]

[ Zixuan lets go so that A-Ling can better hug his mother. His eyes drift off to the middle distance, wondering how that sentence was going to end. What had his brother done, to shake Jin Ling's trust so dearly? Is this why his son is the way he is? Emotional, withdrawn, uneasy? What had happened to make him this way?

He has a lot of questions, but he'll save them for after A-Ling and his mother get better acquainted. For now, he'll stand by and give them the moment to reconnect that they need. ]

gmail quit that!!

[rootstalks]

[ The proportions of the hug are momentarily awkward for both parties, until Yanli moves over on her seat to make room for him next to her. ]

If you don't want to speak of it, we can talk about something easier. [ Her hands, now free, rise to tidy Jin Ling's hair, pausing on the pair of furred ears.

...

She rallies, and smooths those down too. ]

gmail rude!

[fairyherder]

[ somehow he finds space beside her and tries his best not to sniffle, swallows down his emotions because he's... he's better than this. he's not quite relaxed just yet.

not until his mother reaches up to brush him off, to smooth his hair out.

not until she brushes her hands over his ears and he goes still, eyes widening a little before his shoulders sag and his head tilts forward without his consent for more of that touch because who knew this is why dogs like to be petted? it's embarrassing but... but. ]

...!