Intro Log: October 2020

[faileas]

Intro Log: October

I. ARRIVAL 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. A moment later, you feel a tug, and you find yourself stumbling into a dark, musty room. Behind you, a mirror stands ornately decorated with reminders of home wrought in brass and wood: the faces of people you know, and symbols important to you; all things that send a pang through your chest with the desire to return to them. Touching the mirror's surface does nothing but leave the stain of your fingerprints. When you turn to survey the room, you find there are hundreds of other mirrors. None of them are as decorated as yours - they're plain and dusty, speckled with age. Then you realize a second thing: You're not alone. Distantly, the ringing bell of a clocktower can be heard. But no matter its distance, the time is clear to make out: it chimes three times, stark, resonating like a pulse of something in this mirrored hall that you and many others have found yourselves in. For those familiar with magic, they might feel the power of the witching hour upon them, though it will feel different from what they're used to - in fact, everything does. You're certainly not the only ones here, however. On the first floor, with the doors wide open behind them in the foyer, is a small group headed by two individuals. As people begin to arrive, to come from the higher floor, they're waiting - and they're waiting for you, and your questions. Explore the rest of the mirrored halls you've now found yourselves in, or proceed to the foyer? Leaving the Looking-Glass House makes it obvious that the clock striking three was for 3 AM - the night sky is faintly cloudy, but the stars are dim in the face of two moons, even so close to the new moon as it is. The Looking-Glass House is rather nondescript two-story cottage made of grey brick, sitting at the edge of The Coven's courtyard; stones which glow as you step on them mark the path to and from the two buildings. While fairly small and plain on the outside, the inside has been enchanted to be the size of a large library, with hundreds upon hundreds of mirrors hanging, standing, and resting inside its walls. Some are broken, some are cracked, and some seem completely uninjured - but all of them are just as plain as the cottage itself, showing age in the silver beneath their glass and in the greening of their metals... Well, all except a character's personal mirror; to characters, one mirror - the one they came through - will be decorated lavishly with metal-and-wood-wrought reminders of home, and the surface will be as clear as a brand-new mirror.

II. THE WELCOME PARTY Whether you've decided to find a way out of the building you've arrived in, or decided to explore the rest of the Looking-Glass House - and perhaps finding a few familiar faces among the crowd - you feel a pull towards the foyer of the first floor. It's like a firm suggestion, as if to take you by the hand and draw you to where it begins, and the source of it becomes quite apparent upon finding one's way to the front room: a tall, comfortably-dressed older woman and her even taller wolfish companion, along with those which feel to resemble yourselves in a world-traversing sense: Mirrorbound, they're called. "My goodness. In the middle of the month! We weren't expecting you, we weren't!" The woman smiles broadly, with her Bonded glancing over the newly arrived and those who may have followed them in to volunteer explanations and assistance to the newest addition of their Mirrorbound bunch. "Let's get through the introductions, shall we? This here's Mhairi Ainsley, ambassador to the Parliament, and of course, my Bonded. And I'm Nerissa Bell, Head Witch of the Coven -- but you can just call me Miss Nessie, you can," she adds with a wink. "I know you must all be tired and confused after all that. We're here to help get you settled, dearest. Let me just..." With nothing more than a wave of her hand, rows of seats are summoned; despite their wooden nature, they're all sturdy and comfortable, filling the foyer and spreading out a ways into the lawn behind them, making room for all of the new arrivals as well as the previous batch. After all, they'll find this just as interesting. The Witches and Monsters that accompanied Nessie and Mhairi move to make room, and some disperse into the building itself to see if there's anyone who needs tending to. Mhairi steps forward as the chairs materialize. "Please, those who are able, join us for a moment. There are many questions that I'm sure you have. We will do our utmost best to answer them, and you may take any that we can't as a promise to find some sort of solution or answer." NOTE: If you wish to handwave interaction with Nessie and Mhairi, please comment here. All responses will be summarized answers rather than an IC thread. For those that'd like a more player-based interaction, Aefenglom has its own Welcome Wagon! These are players who've volunteered for the role, and those that didn't sign up may assist as well if they'd feel their character would -- have fun, and make friends. Additionally, those with notable injuries or sickness will be attended to ASAP by Coven-based witches, and should anyone be curious about what they are -- namely, if they have magic potential or not -- then this can be done during this and the general hour or so the new arrivals are within the Coven's grounds. There are ongoing classes on magic, monsters, and Bonding as well, though they take place more during the day than at night. Feel free to have your characters attend them at any time!

III. THE HAVEN After an hour or two of general chaos, questions that the natives attempt to help with, and injuries tended to for those who arrive in poor condition, it's time to make the trek to where you'll be staying. As you're leaving -- with Coven and/or Mirrobound escorts as guides -- you'll be given a peculiar-looking device. It's a very special watch, the native Witches explain, compliments of Parliament. These watches are passed around to all the new arrivals, who are given a quick rundown on their functions and encouraged to test them out when they can. They can even do it as they make their way out of the Coven's courtyard and to the Haven. Formerly part of the Aristocratic District, The Haven is just as well-kept and brightly-lit as the district it hails from. The houses err on the tall and ornamental side, large enough to fit several families (or, according to the upper class, their one family, several dozen servants, and guests), especially closest to the Aristocratic District. They become a little more modest and smaller as one gets away from the realm of high society and nearer to the Residential District proper. Newcomers are shuffled here and invited to find somewhere to live, free of cost. The Coven is currently handling expenses for the houses themselves in a program implemented by the Parliament, though if your character wishes to have anything extra -- like maids, chefs, and so on -- they'll have to pay for them with their own earned money. Much of the landscape and fixtures are the same as in the Aristocratic Districts, though it lacks formal emergency services. Much of the housing already has furnishing as well: standard items such as kitchenware, couches, beds, etc. were left behind by the relocated owners for those moving in. Though some are fairly newly-unoccupied, the dust on the floors of other houses suggests they were left long before the new arrivals even showed up -- a reminder that the Cwyld can strike just about anyone, regardless of standing. Another portion of this district has been opened up to the new arrivals: the barracks, the row of buildings pressed against the very edge of the Bright Wall. As the city's military force no longer has the same presence it previously did, the barracks have gone into disuse, and a cleanup effort has been in place since before the new arrivals came through the Looking-Glass House. For those who desire something a little less opulent, the barracks might just be the answer. The barracks can also be used for business, for a welcome center, a communal space, for anything that the residents of the Haven see fit to use them for -- so long as the legality isn't questionable, at least on the surface. To help with filling up the larger houses -- and even some of the smaller ones, or the shared rooms in the barracks -- the Coven put together a little roommate finding service, on a smaller scale from the grand opening of the Haven a while back. For those who aren't entirely sure who they want to shack up with, they have a small survey for them to fill out and post on the board they've magicked up in the center of The Haven. The board also very helpfully reads aloud each form for everyone to hear in a cheerful, monotone voice. It isn't able to be shut up, nor is it easy to ignore, being imbued with a kind of amplification magic. It simply reads the information you've offered up yourself -- or that someone might have written up for you, should that be their idea of fun.

Welcome to the intro log! While mingling on the log itself is highly encouraged, feel free to make your own logs if you prefer! The network system is free to use once characters have their watches as well; information on that can be found at the bottom of the Setting page, while any extra questions about it can be found in the FAQ index. Quests can be picked up throughout the month as well! While new characters will have to get settled in, you can go ahead and put your name on some by replying to the October's Quest Pickup thread on the Quest Board. Finally, if your character is getting into any Shenanigans or if you have any other questions, just let the mods know here!

Comments

[omnicrafter]

"Yeah, sure," she says agreeably, shrugging. It's nothing new or remarkable to her; glamours are all over the place in Eorzea, just... generally not selective glamours like this. Perhaps it's something she could look into back home...

But then he asks what's on it, and she has to come up with something on the spot. There's a beat of silence, a fumble, and then, "It's an advertisement for puss. Obviously. Interested?"

Well... at least it's not a lie, for a certain meaning of the word. She grins at him and tilts her head coyly in an attempt to fluster him.

[whiteofcrime]

It's then that he stares pointedly at the ears on her head.

"Puss...like cats?" Rather than fall for her coquettish wink, it only makes him wary. After Akako, he's not all that trustful of women who try and seduce him.

"If I didn't already have birds, maybe, yeah."

[omnicrafter]

Irhya hesitates. "Y-- Yes. Cats. Exactly like that." She passes a hand through her hair and sighs. "What kind of birds? If they're big enough, I'm sure a domesticated cat wouldn't want to trifle with it."

A trained hawk, maybe? Or even those sparrows they train to deliver messages in Doma... but sparrows are much smaller, so maybe he has a point there if it's the latter...

And then she notices where he's looking, and huffs.

"My eyes are right here," she says with a pointed gesture. "I'm not a cat, so perish whatever thought you're having."

[whiteofcrime]

He raises his hands and adopts an oh-so-innocent wide-eyed look.

"I wasn't thinking of doing anything!" Which is a bald-faced lie and they both know it.

But in response to her question of birds, he holds his hands out to the side and whistles. A trio of doves emerge from his clothes, one from each sleeve and the last from beneath his collar. They flutter up and settle along his shoulders.

[omnicrafter]

She's about to cross her arms and quip at him in response, but then the doves nudge their way out of his clothing, and her eyes widen.

"Oh!" she says, then grins. "Are those... doves? How unusual..." Her hand slowly extends to try and beckon one onto her finger; she can't resist. "I have heard of hunting hawks and messenger sparrows, but never anything like doves. You must have them trained, then."

Were they just in there the whole time? Perhaps they're trained for a particular task, then...?

[whiteofcrime]

"I had more but they're back home, obviously."

He coaxes one of the doves on to his finger as he steps over to the woman, holding the bird out so it can sidle on to their own hand. The dove...does not seem to want to hop on Irhya's finger however. It dips its head a few times to examine her, shuffles its feet along Kaito's hand, but it does not seem to wish to go near her.

"...Sure you're not a cat?" he jokes after a few moments of watching this behaviour. He brings the dove back to him and gently calms it down.

[omnicrafter]

"Very sure," she says, shooting him a dirty look. "But, hmm... what if I...?"

She takes a few steps back, and in a puff of smoke (fog?), disappears. Or rather, looks to disappear until he looks down to see a tiny, palm-sized bat craning her neck upon the ground and hoping to the gods she doesn't get stepped on.

Taking off from the ground is difficult, so she latches onto his pant leg and uses her thumbs to get some leverage, finding a pocket and clinging to it persistently. Surely a dove wouldn't be afraid of a furry non-predator that's even smaller?

[whiteofcrime]

His eyes widen and he watches as the tiny bat crawls up the leg of his pants. Belatedly, he reaches down so she can sit in his palm if she wants - which certainly does seem to garner his birds' attention. They peer at the bat curiously.

"Will I be able to learn to do that someday?" he asks in awe.

[omnicrafter]

She's unable to answer properly as a bat, but she does tilt her head at him before easing forward to sniff at one of the birds, just barely touching its soft chest feathers with her nose.

Then, hopping from his palm to his shoulder, she scoots herself beside one of them as if to huddle for warmth. Birds do that too, right?

[whiteofcrime]

Right. Of course. Kaito somehow expected that people who could transform into animals would still be able to talk, but realistically probably not!

The dove she has settled next to coos quietly but seems content to remain where they are for the time being.

"Can I pet you when you're like this then?" Kaito asks cheekily after ensuring there'll be no sudden spats between the two creatures.

[omnicrafter]

Another chirp. It's an affirmative, if he can interpret it as one. She does her best to nuzzle against the dove and raises her head in the hopes he'll get the hint.

Funny, she'd considered turning back after a few moments, just to prove she could... but now she's comfortable and doesn't really want to move. Maybe she ought to stay like this for a while.

[whiteofcrime]

He does just that, carefully stroking her back with two fingers. And for added cheek, he rubs one of her bat ears in lieu of her feline ones, smirking all the while.

"Okay, well, if you're gonna stay like that for a while then I guess I'll keep looking around." Kaito turns away from the poster and starts to stride in a direction towards the next thing which catches his eye. There's plenty of odd businesses to goggle over, from alchemy shops to book stores to eateries. "I'm Kaito, by the way."