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

Ruby Rose | RWBY | Monster (Dragon)

[clickclickbloom]

An Unusual Arrival

Ruby had experienced a lot of strange things in her life. Travelling through a mirror and appearing in a strange new world was a new one for her. She had just finished a rather intense day of training at Atlas Academy so she found herself feeling pretty darn hungry. Luckily she landed in some poor souls kitchen.

She's happily helped herself to a few sandwiches because that's about the only thing she can make without over or under cooking. She's just about to take a bite into the first one when there lights turn on. She yelps and grabs the sandwiches. Making a run for the closest door out of there and onto the streets.

"I'm sorry! I'm sorry! But thank you all the same!"

A Wilde Hunt

Honestly Ruby had felt more than a little freaked out at first when she started sprouting gold scales, fangs and sharp claws. Any sort of fear disappeared the moment she found herself with a pair of wings. Now things were going to get fun.

She certainly wasn't an expert or anything when it came to flying. But she was able to a few really high places he could jump from and get a glide going. Once she was she sure she could do this without falling part way through she'd find trees or ledges to hide by until someone below came into view.

She'd leap from her perch. Wings spread as she dove down to playfully tackle the person from above.

"Rawr!"

Wild Card

[Not a fan of these prompts! Feel free to choose your own adventure or hit me up at jjabarrett on plurk.]

wilde hunt

[beaumains]

While Gareth found her more literal wolf-like tendencies had helped her a great deal in terms of her senses being a lot sharper, her insistence on wearing her full armor to the hunt still left her in a situation where she wasn't exactly utilizing them to their fullest. She'd been comfortable in her own skin in the armor, but getting used to having that as well as being part wolf was another bag entirely, and boy was it not more obvious than watching her own head.

It didn't help that the mana charges in her lance didn't work in this world, and just made the while thing heavier. She barely got it up in time to block Ruby's descent, and found herself crashing to her back with a heavy oof.

"H-hey, no fair! It's hardly chivalrous to blindside someone like that!"

[clickclickbloom]

Ruby can't help but giggle as she sends the both of them toppling onto the ground. She shakes like a sardine in a can thanks to the heavy armor.

"Oh come on. It's just a game! And now you're it!" Ruby scampers off her and rises back up to her feet. She rubs at the back of her head nervously.

"I mean, unless you're just going to give up.'

[beaumains]

"Don't you even imply that!" Gareth literally growled, scrambling to her feet as her armor rattled. She tossed her lance and shield aside, not needing them for this kind of match she figured, and instead hunkered down, a wolf-like tail popping up from her beneath her armor.

"A knight never surrenders! Have at you!" Taking off not unlike the wolf she started to resemble, bounding well faster than was likely expected.

[clickclickbloom]

"Aw come on, I'm just playing~!" That was until the growling started and then she was quick to scramble off her "prey." Jeez this got a lot more serious than she expected, on the bright side the weapons had been dropped so it didn't seem as dangerous as it could be.

"Bu-Wai-Hold on!" Oh wow. She was pretty quick. Ruby scrambled up to her feet and tried to run but her wings were spread and that slowed down any sort of escape plan she attempted.

She was a sitting duck.

[beaumains]

A leap, a tackle, a roll. Gareth thankfully didn't hit quite like a truck, but her 'spear' still had some oomph to it. Even so, the way she wrapped her arms about Ruby, it was clear she was trying to keep her new wings from getting roughed up too badly. She may have been a wild wolf, but she still had her knight's honor.

a hoonter must hoont

[hallucinogem]

All the circumstances of Emerald ending up back here didn't matter. All she knew was that her transformation had been accelerated and she absolutely hated it. Her feet, much more rabbit-like than they had been, plodded along the stone as silently as possible. She could feel it, though; she knew damn well when she was being watched.

The long ears covered in green fur and sticking out from her head twitched slightly, though she'd learned by now that that was kind of just what they did. Her snout had developed nicely, making food much more difficult to eat than it needed to be, and her whiskers wriggled along with her nose as she caught the smell of whoever it was that was trailing her. It was enough to make a girl anxious, and that had always been the absolute worst part of this whole thing: The psychological effects.

As whoever was following her drew closer and the pounce got more and more inevitable, the hairs on the back of Emerald's neck bristled, and the prey instincts rose. Freeze or flee. Freeze or flee. Disgusting. She hated it. And she stopped walking in the middle of the alleyway for a moment, and she knew—she knew she heard it. The pounce was coming. And her body had chosen freeze like it always, always did.

And she buckled to the ground and tried not to tremble as the predator leaned in and made its triumphant cry, and—wait.

"Ruby?"

EMMMMMEEEEEEEERALD~!

[clickclickbloom]

Ruby certainly didn't recognize who she was about to pounce. All she saw was a waskally wabbit and the proud hunter dragon in her took the wheel. There was a surge of pride as her prey froze before she came in for the pounce. It knew it couldn't stop her, knew it couldn't outrun her, knew it had been beaten.

So she pounced and happily pinned her prey to the ground, letting out the proud war cry of a delightfully cute rawr before she blind and looked down at a very familiar face.

"...Emerald?" There was a stunned moment of silence as she realized she was dealing with an enemy from her home. Someone who had pretended to be her friend to blend in with the crowd.

"What are you doing here?"

[hallucinogem]

"I came in through a mirror. Again," she said, her voice coming out with effort at all in the first place. She couldn't even bring herself to sound bitter about it; fighting back the instincts and not freezing up was hard enough. "Get off me," she added, her feet wriggling underneath the pin.

She probably could've kicked Ruby off, but that prey brain was really difficult to fight back against. And she hadn't been able to use her Semblance since she got here (and came back? why'd she get brought back?) that she couldn't even pretend she was about to.

"Before I throw you against something that actually breaks when you go through it." Didn't mean she couldn't threaten, though.

[clickclickbloom]

Ruby blinks. Absolutely confused by that comment.

"Again? You've been here before?" She manages to shake off the dumbfounded feeling, but she's a little slow to break the pin. Emerald wasn't exactly her friend back home. She didn't have any reason to believe that letting her go wouldn't end up meaning bad news for her or someone else.

So instead of listening to her, Ruby moved to roll her onto her back and pulled her hands behind her. She had no problem taking advantage of Emerald not playing with her mind or fighting back at the moment.

"Or you could nicely tell me what's been going on here AND THEN I'll let you go."

[hallucinogem]

This is a dangerous position for Ruby to have put Emerald in. Or it would be if Emerald had any confidence in her ability to kick upward, shove her legs forward, force the dragon off and away from her. But her body is still choosing freeze, so she just lets it all happen in a display so pathetic it almost makes her sick to her stomach.

But, again, not sick enough to still her tongue. (Never mind that she's being asked to make a deal and going along with the deal is pretty hard to resist.) She narrows her eyes. "Your sister killed Cinder," she starts, "And then I ended up here. And I thought I was done with this place a few months ago, and now I'm back and I know as much as you do."

arrival

[perspicaciously]

[ Well that is certainly a sight to behold. Ruby might find herself running smack dab right into...Ozpin?! He almost doesn't budge with the force of it but his cane is there to balance him out. He sure is in his older former too, no Oscar to be found here, unfortunately. ]

Miss Rose?

[ She seems a bit...in a rush, but Ruby always ways a bit hyper in that way. ] Is everything alright?

[clickclickbloom]

[Of... All the people she had could have literally ran into she did not expect it to be Professor Ozpin. At least... Not like this. Not looking like that. She's still startled from the whole ending up in a different world in someone else's kitchen that she hasn't even processed how impossible that should be.

Instead she yelps and takes a few nervous steps back.]

Prof-I mean... Oz-

Ozpin.

[She glances around nervously and gives herself a moment to breath.]

...I think so?

I mean there's a lot of weird going on right now.

...And I kind of borrowed some stuff to make a sandwich.

Is that okay?

[perspicaciously]

[ Trust him waking up in body was also an...experience. Not really one he was expecting but it's also not an unwelcome feeling either. His eyebrow might raise slightly at the fact that she seems...on guard, but he chalks it up to being the fact that she's literally been thrown into an entirely new world. ]

Yes. There certainly is, isn't there? [ He chuckles lightly as he turns to look at the place where she had come storming out from. ]

One moment. [ He'll give her an amused look before he wanders back in and will come out with a few newly made sandwiches of his own. He'll thank the owners with a smile and nod, before handing them off to Ruby. ]

They understand the situation so they're perfectly fine with it. I've paid for whatever you took plus these. So, by all means, help yourself to them.

[clickclickbloom]

[She blinks briefly at his reaction. She... Hadn't exactly been expecting Oz to be so casual after the last time they spoke. Something wasn't quite right and she couldn't put her finger on it.

her shoulders go slack for a moment. She didn't really know how to take this.]

Y-yeah. Okay.

[She watches Ozpin steps back into the house and returns a moment later with more sandwiches. This is a complete 180 from what she was expecting. It kind of reminds her of when they first met.]

Oh-Well-Thanks for that.

[She takes the sandwich but doesn't bite into it right away.]

Professor Ozpin,

Just what exactly is going on here?

[perspicaciously]

[ If only he was from a further point in time...he wouldn't be so casual about it. But Ruby's words do strike a chord with him and he'll tilt his head curiously back at her. ]

Do you mean the part of arriving in an entirely new world, Miss Rose? Or is there...something else? You seem to be decidedly more on edge than usual...

[ Something happened back home, then? He'll wait for her to respond before even trying to ask more questions. ]

[clickclickbloom]

[She tilts her head. This didn't feel right. How could he not know what had happened? ...Well if he still had that body it was possible that he didn't know anything after the fall of Beacon. After all he had been Oscar's body after all that happened.

This was weird and it made her feel uncomfortable. She didn't really know how to hide that but she could work with it.]

Mostly that first part.

I'm not exactly used to seeing you look like that these days either. If that makes sense.

[Really subtle way to say she knows he died. In case he wasn't aware that it had happened.]

[perspicaciously]

Ah, yes. Well your surprise is just as great as my own. I came through the mirrors like this, rather strange, but... [ what is he to do?! He gives her an apologetic smile, because this is rather alarming when you thin about it. And given what she's said she must be from after Beacon's fall. ]

Oscar, however, is not here with us. At least not to my knowledge.

[ He hasn't ran into the young man so perhaps he's back at home still. ]

[clickclickbloom]

Really? I didn't think there was much that caught you off guard, Professor. Just where exactly are we than?

[She paused briefly. Caught off guard that he knew about Oscar while still looking like that.]

Well... He's safe, relatively speaking than. That's good.

[perspicaciously]

[ Ozpin chuckles as that as he shakes his head. ]

Perhaps back home. But one doesn't simply arrive on an entirely new planet and not be a little taken aback. Especially when...the situation is a bit, shall we say, out of the ordinary.

[ That is certainly one way to put getting back your previous body! ]

The last I remember was after the fight in Haven's Academy. After that I seemed to have pushed us both too hard, and then I wound up here.