Event Log: May

[moustre]

Event Log: May, Moving Day

I. GATHERING The morning of the 15th is heralded by the sing-song voice of The Coven's coimeadai sidhe Nerissa Bell ringing through the hallways, seemingly unimpeded by the heavy doors or any silencing spells that have been placed in rooms. She asks that all those who arrived at the beginning of the month - not the new inductees, the ones from The Looking-Glass House - gather in The Coven's main room; she has some exciting and important news to deliver. Once everyone is gathered, Nessie (very much a morning person, and sorry to the anyone who isn't) grins and lays a hand on her chest. "Thanks to a good bit of your lot, we've managed to get things ready in record time - aye, I should start out with what I'm talking about, aren't I? Well, well - with the Parliament's permission, thank goodness for my Mhairi's sharp wit, we've managed to get a space for all you to live in outside of The Coven. You can still come and attend classes or talk to all of us, 'course, but everyone's been getting a bit itchy with such suddenly crowded quarters, aye?" Aye aye, calls some poor, tired student from the second floor as they pass through, and Nessie pauses with a slow blink before she laughs, shaking her head. "Anyway, gather your things if you have any and follow me. Or us," she corrects herself, as a few other Witches seem to materialize from nowhere. "Can't be out without a couple of friends, I suppose." As soon as everyone's ready, Nessie and her entourage lead them out of the courtyard, aglow with fresh flowers and the soft light of dawn peeking between the clouds. The spot they've managed to get isn't too far from The Coven proper, and it doesn't look much different than the rest of the Aristocratic District that it resides in - the only thing that sets it apart is the sign Nessie takes a moment to conjure up and hang with balls of light between two streetlamps. The Haven. "Named so as a respite for all you refugees," she explains as she turns around; she sets her hands on her hips, gazing out at the crowd, and gives them a small smile. "I can't stay and chat right now - Mhairi's still with Parliament even with the hours, and I've got things to get in order at the Coven still - but if you have need of either of us, we'll be in contact. We've a little mailbox set up in front of the Coven just for you lot, so just drop us a letter or some such with one of our names or both, and we'll be right quick about answering, we will. Within reason," Nessie adds, laughing a little, "'course, within reason. Anyway, find some familiar faces and have a lovely time, will you?" With that, and a few more little goodbyes, Miss Nerissa Bell takes her leave; half of her Witches disappear with her, but the other half remain to help keep an eye on things as the day progresses and to help with directing people to either houses or the barracks set against the Wall. While there will be no NPC threads this time - sorry! - we have opened up an NPC Inbox! You can find it here. While they definitely prefer letters, they do both have watches now like cool moms and can be contacted through that as well, provided they aren't busy at the time.

II. 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 - the Coven is currently handling expenses for the houses themselves in an 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 themselves 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 due to its roots as part of a district that already did. Much of the housing already has furnishing due to the speed at which homeowners were relocated; they were given enough time to collect their valuables, but standard furniture such as kitchenware, couches, beds, etc. were left behind for those moving in. Other houses appear the same, but the dust on the floors suggest these houses were left before the new arrivals even showed up - a reminder that the Cwyld can strike just about anyone, regardless of standing. Some may be familiar with this portion of Aefenglom already, as they took on the task of helping to clean the area up. Surprise, one could say; they were preparing their own future homes, for their stay in the city. However, 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 it for - so long as the legality isn't questionable, on the surface. Not everyone is so happy, however. A very vocal group of younger rich people are set on harassing and bullying those moving into The Haven, and they aren't afraid to use a little magic to do it. Levitation, fake fire, real fire, sudden weather shifts, and threats to do more if they don't find somewhere else to live are all present - these aristocrats don't care for the new people butting into their lives, especially anyone who looks distinctly non-human or already have signs of their Monster traits coming in. There are others, though, who are quite pleased to have new neighbors - many of them weren't so happy with their other ones - and have set up little stalls to peruse and tables to sit at to help foster them in. These have everything from food to flowers, to expensive-looking trinkets and jewelry on them - the people running them are quite amiable, especially closer to the Residential District proper, and don't mind handing these out for free... or mostly free. The only thing they'll ask of any characters wishing to procure something from their gifts is to perform a trick - sort of like a one-man talent show. They aren't picky, and as long as a character does their best, they'll give them a gift. (Or someone with quick fingers could just swipe them off, given how unprotected they are, but that person will find their hands turning red and leaving similarly-colored marks on everything they touch, as if dipped in paint.)

III. AND THEN THEY WERE ROOMMATES To help with filling up the larger houses - and even some of the smaller ones, and the shared rooms in the barracks - the Witches left over from Nessie's group have come together to set up a little roommate finding service that will run for the week. 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 similar kind of amplification magic that Miss Nessie used earlier in the morning for her own voice. It seems these Witches - or at least one of them - has a prankster nature... and unfortunately, it doesn't stop there. a. A LITTLE MISCHIEF While by and large the board will work as it should - a listing is filled out, put up, and read aloud for all to hear - for characters who aren't interested in doing some writing, or who can't for one reason or another, the board will take it upon itself to make one for them. It isn't going to be the most accurate at all, being either completely fictitious or based on a first impression from the board itself. This can range from "They have blue eyes, so you know they're a kind person!" to "How stand-offish, they must be a crook! A thief! A villain!" and anything in-between, including but not limited to: outrageous feats they may or may not have accomplished, poor hygiene habits, false accounts of incredibly embarrassing moments, and so on. b. A LITTLE HANDS-ON Not entirely content with just allowing people to write their preferences and call it a day, a few of the younger Witches have begun magicking small chocolates, hard candies, and bubble gum, and handing them out to new arrivals as a welcome treat. These aren't any ordinary treats though - they have one of three of effects: • Sticky fingers, meaning characters will stick to anyone or anything they touch. • Truthfulness, meaning characters will say whatever they're really thinking or feeling at the moment. • Desire for company, meaning characters will gravitate immediately to the first person they see, regardless of their feelings on them otherwise. Thankfully, none of these last long - only about ten minutes, and they can't be combined with each other; eating one candy with one effect will simply replace any other effects... Which might be for the better. The subthread for this can be found HERE, while any ones that are made up by the board itself can be simply written into your top levels or replies to other people. Have fun with it, and good luck finding some housemates!

Welcome to the midmonth event log! While mingling on the log itself is highly encouraged, feel free to make your own logs; take the prompts offered and go wild, go crazy, go stupid, have fun. As ever, if your character is getting into any Shenanigans, let the mods know, and if you have any questions about the log, ask them here!

Comments

Vashti Venus | Original Character | Monster (Naga)

[subruo]

1. the barracks

[This isn't a nice show. These young rich people are clearly displeased - one sends a spot of lightening at the skirt of a woman, making her scream a little and jump back in fear. Another threatens a man with fire, telling him to get out of dodge before he leaves him a nasty burn.]

[Vashti grits his teeth - he's standing at the edge, watching it all go down. Of course, he could just walk away, leave it be, because really, he doesn't care that much, but...]

[Well, a "hero" never leaves a situation like that without lending a hand, does he?]

[He turns to the person nearest to him, his eyebrows furrowed with a serious frown.]

Ugh, these bullies....I wish I had my magic. I'd make short work of them! [He shakes his head.] But I want to stop this, regardless. Want to help me out?

2. the haven

A trick, you say?

[Vashti had his eyes on a pendant - a nice sphere of white with golden veins etched in its surface - it's quite the pretty thing! He has to have it! And yet, the payment here is...a trick?]

[He frowns, thinking for a moment, before stepping back - he asks a couple of the people around him to step aside to give him some space. When he has what he needs, and he's made sure there's no one too close to him, he lifts up his strangely-shaped lance, holding it nice and secure in his grip-]

[And then proceeds to twirl and toss the thing in the air. It sails, a quite visible blue and white streak against the sky, before it descends to be caught by Vashti behind his back.]

[Overall, quite a show - some of the people around him clap. He sheepishly scratches his cheek, waving it off.]

Ah, it's alright...it's nothing really special!

[Ever so humble, huh? But outwardly, yes, he's glad to take his pendant, though, beaming to himself like a boy who won some carnival game for the best and biggest prize in the world.]

3. the monster mash (tw: for mild form of self harm)

[He's never itched so much before in his life.]

[He's restless. In the evenings, instead of staying at home, he wanders the streets. He doesn't know why. Maybe it's some unconscious method of escape, of wanting to feel like he's in control despite the overwhelming feeling of being trapped - he walks down the valleys and roads like a tiger paces in its cage. He doesn't like this. The only changes he's used to are changes he's done to himself, in the past - but he's no longer that sort of person, is he? All of his otherworldly powers, gone. And now, it's just him, and his anxiety, and the pressing feeling of doom in his chest.]

[He's scared. He doesn't remember the last time he felt scared.]

[Vashti, posture hunched, scratching endlessly at his hands, wanders, muttering under his breath:]

I don't want it...I don't want it....I don't...

[If you take a look at his hands, you might see several purple and blue scales shining on the back of them. A couple of them have been scratched off, leaving some bleeding cuts. But still, he scratches, and scratches, because nothing seems to help. His blue eyes are sunken.]

[He doesn't want this.]

4. wildcard

[If you want something specific with Mr. Twisted Hero over here, PM or plurk me over @ vampirize!]

iii

[horkbajir]

[Toby, an over-six-foot reptilian alien with curved blades emerging from her flesh, has worked out how to use the magic to call light, and has called it... into her blades, so they're luminous enough to cast soft-edged shadows and light her way. She's more comfortable in the city when it's less crowded than it gets at certain times of day, and with the light she doesn't have to worry about fumbling around with fire.

Someone hunched and scouring their own hands catches her attention, and Toby approaches, but slowly and carefully. A lot of the locals are wary of her, a witch who resembles a large dragon.]

Don't do that. What's wrong?

[subruo]

[His first instinct is dragon - the reptilian features, the size, the snout - Vashti yelps and backs away. Dragons aren't evil where he comes from, nor are they impossible to kill, but they're hardly to be messed with. And especially in his state, without any of his abilities...]

[But on second glance, he feels his cheeks burn with embarrassment. This isn't a dragon. It walks on two legs, for one. At her question, he glances down, quickly moves his hand to his back so she can't see, momentarily internally cursing the fact that he put away his gloves.]

Nothing. [He tries to inject a sense of cheer into his voice - it doesn't work.] Ah, goodness, you startled me-!

[horkbajir]

[The light on her horns and her heavy, raptorlike brows mean her red eyes are deeply in shadow, which probably doesn't help her first impression. She's growing accustomed to small flat-faced aliens staring at her everywhere she goes. It's going to be like this on Earth some day, if she can ever get home.

Toby waits patiently as he recovers his composure and blusters at her. Her voice is deep, gravelly, very measured.]

You might as well tell me. I don't think less of people for having problems. Certainly I have some of my own. Is it the change?

[subruo]

The change?

[He swallows, self-conscious. He glances down, as to not meet her eyes, but he catches the sight of those wicked-looking blades instead. Ah, better the eyes than looking at those things-!]

I don't know. [A shake of the head. His hand itches again - he tries to ignore it.] Maybe it's just a...disease. That's all.

[horkbajir]

[She's got many blades, most of them meeting her body in a knot of muscle that means she can move them to lie close to her body or extend out into the air.]

There are curses used to alter someone. I've seen it explained a few times. Have you aggravated any witches since coming here?

sorry for the late, had a long weekend!

[subruo]

What? Aggravated?

[That question gets him to shake his head even more in absolute disbelief. Him? Aggravate people? Never! It can't happen! He's everyone's friend!]

No, hardly not! The last thing I want to be is someone's enemy. Besides, if it was a curse, I'd think I'd know...

[He definitely would not know.]

Uh, if you don't mind me asking, what...what are you?

1

[holybeasts]

[Maria gives Vashti a slight smile. It's one of determination rather than humor.]

I was just thinking the same thing. Why don't we show them how to be polite?

[With their fists. Is that polite? Probably not. But let's do it anyhow.]

[subruo]

Oh, certainly!

[He's glad for the company, giving the other a curt nod.]

I'll take the three in front, if you don't mind. [He's already moving, hands flexing into fists at his sides.] Just make sure to be careful, miss-?

[holybeasts]

Maria.

[That said, she nods and sizes the others up. Three in front, another two in the back at least? Her grip on the magic here so far is tenuous at best but when she thinks back to how she learned to use her abilities as a child? That was in the heat of the fight too.

So she digs down in herself even as she rounds about those first three. There are no guardians to borrow from but she remembers her dreams before she arrived here. If she can just grasp onto that and force it back into a familiar form she can use...]

[subruo]

[It would be easy, he thinks, to go for the kill. Finish it here and now. But alas, this isn't the time for bloodshed. Besides, these are just nobodies. Scum. They're simple enough to take care of.]

[He approaches with a wide smile, aiming to be disarming.]

Hello! What do we have here?

[One of the ones in front sneers, ready to offer up some biting reply back - but before he can, Vashti draws his fist back and launches it right into his stomach. The man bowls over with a gasp. Well, that's a way to do things without magic...]

Sorry, I can't let you keep doing what you're doing! It simply isn't right, you know!

[holybeasts]

[Oh my! Maria blinks a bit at the punch, one of the others looking towards her. She looks over at them in surprise, then shrugs a little.]

He's not wrong.

[The man goes to argue and at that Maria manages to wrangle up what she had grasped onto in that dream. All it is really is the crackling blue of lightning around one hand and no more powerful than a taser at this point but it looks impressive enough and seems to be enough to make the one man draw back, one of his friends eyeing her with more skepticism.]

Wander off like good boys and we'll forget any of this ever happened, alright?

[Her tone is stern though not unkind.]

3

[digiorno]

[He snatches Vashti's wrist.]

[Ask him in five minutes and he won't be able to say why. It's some rotten combination of instinct and impulse, curiosity and concern. The muttering is irritating him, and he could walk away, but he doesn't want to. He's concerned, because this man is bleeding. He's exhausted, like the world has pressed its weight down on him all at once, and this is one way he can exert control over the world around him, despite the fact that it isn't his own.]

[None of which he'll be able to articulate. He just — grabs, and that's it. Holds Vashti's hand up to look at the back of them, the bleeding patches and the scales.]

[His eyes, equally sunken, meet Vashti's levelly.]

They'll grow back, no matter how many times you rip them off. Don't you think?

[subruo]

[He reacts instinctively, wanting to pull his arm out of the young man's grip, to hide it, to run, but the grip is too much. He actually lets out a hiss, snake-like, a sudden flash of terrible anger in his eyes. How dare he, how dare-]

I... [He starts, then stops. No. He can't let his emotions control him. This man is...concerned. That's all. Rude, yes, but it's still done out of some sense of worry, and he can't blame him for that.] I don't know.

[Vashti glances away - his hand is still itching. A few drops of blood cascade down towards his wrist.]

Please...let my hand go.

[digiorno]

[It doesn't make sense, the flash of anger and the neutrality that comes after. They don't go together. They feel off, as though one is false — but he doesn't know which, and maybe he's just paranoid.]

[He holds the man's gaze, level and stern. Part of him wants to keep holding on out of — what? Pique? Spite? — but he doesn't in the end, letting go after a long moment's pause.]

[There's blood on his fingers. He flicks it away irritably. It's nothing.]

Scales grow back. [His voice is quiet, raspy.] That's how they work. But if you keep doing that, your skin will get infected. Is that what you want?

[subruo]

You don't know that.

[There's a twinge of desperation in his voice. This time, his changes aren't under his control. He wants them to be.]

I'd choose an infection over... [He gestures to himself, eyebrows furrowed.] This. Whatever it is.

[He feels...helpless. It's irritating. Even so, he lets out a short, nervous laugh, like he's trying to tell himself that everything is going to be okay.]

At least, an infection, I can...fix, you know?

[digiorno]

[If this isn't panic, it sounds very, very similar. He presses his lips together and remains quiet for a moment, scrutinizing the man's expression. He didn't exactly initiate this interaction to soothe a stranger, not when he feels so excruciatingly every-man-for-himself right now, but . . .]

[He can't help thinking about what he would do in Vashti's shoes. Probably the exact same thing. He couldn't stand to have his body change in such a drastic, inhuman, uncontrollable way.]

[He rubs his fingers against his pants absently, trying to scrub away the itchy feeling of claustrophobia.]

I don't know that, [he agrees quietly, eventually.] But it's logical. If they bleed when you pull them off, they're part of your body. They'll grow back, like skin.

. . . You may not be able to choose. But you're right that no one can stop you from injuring yourself.

two

[bluffer]

[ Belial had caught sight of the lance, contradicting against the colors of the sky for only a brief second, before it lands in the hands of its owners. And while his expression seems relatively friendly upon approach, he doesn't seem all that impressed. ]

It really wasn't. [ However the words leave his mouth without the intent to insult him. Rile him up, possibly, but that is as far as his charades will go -- at least on the surface. ] I'd dare say that you can throw it even higher. There's no need to hold back if you're well prepped to show a crowd of people how great you can be with your hands!

[subruo]

You think so?

[He pockets the pendant as he looks over at the man, his eyes crinkling in amusement.]

I could, I suppose... [Vashti glances up, as if trying to judge the distance. Hm. He could...he glances back at Belial.] But well, the last thing I want is it to come down the wrong way. I hardly think someone like you would want to be skewered like a piece of meat, ha!

[bluffer]

[ :) ]

Contrary to popular belief -- [ Anyone overhearing immediately stops, eyeing him with fearful suspicion of what he'll say next. ] I'm an acrobat! [ And some sigh with relief. ]

If I were to accidentally be harmed by a display then it would be a disappointing end, for sure... but that would be my own fault.

so sorry for the late, just came back from rl long weekend!!

[subruo]

...

[He looks the man up and down. He looks him up and down again, slower this time.]

You don't look like an acrobat.

[Muscular, for sure, but...]

I'd be grateful for you taking the blame, but...ha, well, I'm not sure the bystanders would think the same thing.

you're fine!

[bluffer]

[ The first look gets a quirked brow, to which the second gets an open armed gesture that allows the man to examine him further. A sharp eye, he assumes, chuckling lightly. ]

I hear that a lot~ [ And it's not like he has any intention of sticking with it. ] Then would you believe me if I said I was a pâtissier? Which do I look more like?