Realistic or Modern If December Freezes (IC)

[Larry]

Aódh McFaol
Location: The Marasong Inn.
Mood: Looking to settle down for the night...hopefully.
Interactions: n/A.
Mentions: n/A.​

As he sat there, longing for sleep to wash over him like a gentle mist, Aódh picked up on a strange sensation; not particularly loud or strident, nor low enough that he might not be able to hone in on it, but there was definitely, even if it was in his own head, the sound of a melody being played. Given the disorienting amount of sounds that been heard on his first proper day in Marasong, the slow, deliberate nature of the song was a pleasure to listen to in contrast. In a way, it almost seemed to lift the tourist out of his skin...in a pleasant way, not like the sensations he'd be hearing about from people who suffer from sleep paralysis. I don't even want to be thinking about that craic, the Irishman thought, the melody seeming to enhance the notions already flittering about in his head, of the wish, the need, to go to sleep. And though it would be really nice for him to just drift off without a qualm, there was another feeling vying for room in his mind.

Whilst the repose that the melody brought him into was pleasant, it didn't completely override the fear that continues to stalk about his person, nor did the feeling of being the subject of something or someone's gaze abate in the slightest. Arguably, with most of the lights off and the lids of his eyes clinging to each other, he ought to have been even more worried about this nebulous presence. Yet, the dose of such a placid song, stoking the hopes of a good nights rest within the youth's frazzled mind, served to diminish the urgency about the formless gaze upon him...

...but not entirely.

There was still ambivalence about sinking into unconsciousness, the man realised, through the haziness of mind that the melody brought about. While he might end up getting the sleep that he had been pining for since the incident in the forest and on the beach, it'll also leave him in something of an exposed state, to whatever this thing was, that he sensed was in the room. Aódh tossed from side-to-side, as almost a physical representation of his mind wracking with the positives and negatives of finally getting some rest. Even now, the bulk of that shapeless being seemed to fill up the small, hostel room.

But the sense of ease that been Aódh had been submerged into, baulked whatever concerns that being evoked in him.

So, as a signal to whatever it was, the youth turned off the small lamp on the bedside drawer, and cocooned himself with the blankets, perfectly at ease with what may come after.

 

[silverwhere]

Hatsu Black
Tags: BillieRoss Out Of Words
​

There was a lot going on. A lot more than what a normal person would typically go through in a day. First, his house catches on fire. Then his house floods. There was a weird horse. Bill is weird. Bugs are really weird. And then magic is real. It was like his life was a terrible sitcom that came on midday on cable channels. The kind of shows only old retired people watch and they didn't understand what was going on. Hatsu certainly didn't understand what was going on. Hatsu didn't think that the binding spell would do all that much. He was supportive in trying the idea since he didn't want to discredit the other two. It was their idea and he was more than happy to add more protections to the bug infested box. Instead the box sitting in the middle of the witch's circle bounced and shock waves were radiating out from the place it landed. Threatening to stick him to the floor just like everything else. There really much he could do, but hopefully jump at the right time to miss the shockwave; however that wasn't on the forefront of his mind. Hatsu was more focused on how the hell the box did that and that it totally didn't just bind itself to the floor- sealing whatever was in there for good. Without Bill's intervention he would have become a permanent fixture in the room. Instead, Bill cased another spell causing him to defy all laws of gravity and float up just in time for the spell to miss him. Causing him to spin slightly as at the sudden shift.

A string of curses erupted as he tried to get himself balanced as Bill snapped at Alyce. Ranting on about the terrible day she had and how Alyce probably had some explanation.

Okay, some time to process what was going on, before he had to work with Bill again. Magic was real. There was no way he could deny that. He wouldn't deny that. Everything that had happened so far was enough for him to go ahead and say that was certain. Sure, was he still trying to wrap his head around it. 100%. Did he want to. No. There was too much going on for him to question existence itself. Second off, maybe Bill wasn't as much of an asshole as he thought she was. Turns out she did another spell that caused Marasong to almost flood, but it did prevent a forest fire. Either way, serves Marasong right for all the weird shit that has been going on. Bill was right. Marasong was a weird place. It was messing with Bill's magic and it was messing with his life. Why was he so drawn to stay here? Sure he missed his flight home and just opted to stay- but no normal person would do something like that. Not only that but that safe was an exact replica of the one that was currently under his bed.

Alyce giggled, making him remember that he couldn't just float and think about what was going on, she was looking at him and he did the only thing his brain could process to do and flipped her. "No shit Sherlock even an idiot would have put that together by now. Can I be put down now?" Hatsu said in response to Bill. Maybe he should have been nicer about it, but he was far too tired, a headache was coming on, and his nose was already starting to get too stuffy. And most definitely overwhelmed. There were also bigger problems to address now, why would someone put that in the woods. It was like they knew he was going to be there and that the other safe was going to end up there.

"So you found this safe in the woods right? The same part we just so happen to stumble upon right?" Hatsu asked, "Make me wonder if whatever is in my safe is any more exciting."

He wasn't sure what the next steps were. Just wait and see if Bill wants anything to do with it, but from the way Bill was acting, he wasn't sure if he wanted Alyce to be there...It wasn't like she did much to help in the first place. Plus she just showed up out of nowhere. He didn't want her in his room. He knew Bill at lot more than Alyce- and he doesn't really know Bill.

 

[Rhyme]

Indy

Location: Cat Nap
Tags: Silver- Britt-21

When the world stopped spinning Indy resumed her watch by the window, studying the figures outside. She felt a tug with each passing person, something that should have felt familiar, but when the feeling disintegrated each time she tried to grasp hold of it. The spiral that had started once she had shifted began to slow a bit, not quite stopping entirely but slowing the descent out of her human mindset fully into a feline one. She remembered who she was, who the other two in the room were, that there were more around town, but it was...hard. It was difficult, anything beyond the most basic details felt like the memories of a dream.

She was angry, too--though who knew why. Even as a human, she wasn't sure she had always known exactly why she had been so angry.

As Roje and Silver settled, Indy found her own place in front of the fireplace. She watched them for a bit, studying their forms as the sun set into night and the low light swallowed the shadows across the floor. It was good, seeing them ease. She couldn't remember the last time they had slept peacefully, safely. Especially Roje. Memories of the Coven were fading as the rest were, but Indy still remembered the feel of cold metal bars clutched between her hands.

Before she could stop it, her eyes began to drift closed. She lost herself to the dream, allowed herself to fall into the garden of her mind as fireflies drifted toward the sky in waves as she chased them, tail high in the air. The grass beneath her feet had no feeling, the ground softer than any blanket, the air rich with the scent of fresh dew and mountain air.

Indy followed the lights, speeding after them into the horizon.

coded by: @s e v e n

 

[BillieRoss]

Bill
Location: Home
With: silverwhere , Out Of Words [Alyce]

[CW: Alcohol mention]

"I don't know. Maybe someone didn't want whatever they were hiding in the safe to be found? But.. I don't think they could live long without air or food, unless you know.. magic. I guess we won't know what they might have been guarding." Alyce said.

Bill didn’t try to hide the eyeroll she felt coming on, but did make the effort to bite back the long string of swears building up in her throat. Alyce was a witch, which made them kind of sisters.

“Brilliant. Ye dinnae ken a single damn thing. Whatever,” she scoffed. No help from Alyce, then, top. And now it was in her room, fused to the floor, still chittering. Having maybe guarded something or maybe not. And Hatsu, still here, still floating.

"No shit Sherlock, even an idiot would have put that together by now. Can I be put down now?"

Bill fought the urge to drop him roughly on the ground. This was the second time today she’d helped him out - of her own free will, because it was the right thing to do - and here he was snipping at her! It wasn’t her fault magic was real.

Bill turned back to Hatsu, and held up two fingers. “That’s twice today I’ve stopped ye from befallin’ some terrible fate, y’know,” she grumbled, “You could at least pretend tae be glad yer still alive.”

She picked up her wand and waved it, muttering ‘fodha’ under her breath to gently dispel the floating spell. Her jars, cauldron, and whatever else had the bad fortune of being behind Hatsu when she floated him up sank down too, landing with a gentle thunk.

Bill took a deep breath, picking her way off her bed and walking over to the pile of dirty clothes. She picked up an armful and dumped them on the box, hoping it might do something to muffle the noise. She rolled the rug back over it as well, but it barely disguised the conspicuous lump.

"So you found this safe in the woods right? The same part we just so happen to stumble upon right?" Hatsu asked, "Make me wonder if whatever is in my safe is any more exciting."

“I dinnae think I want tae find out, at least not tonight. I'm damn knackered, and I need tae call my Granny besides,” Bill said, glancing back over at Hatsu, “If I were you, I wouldn’t touch it. Or talk about it, or look at it funny, or think about it. If the box full of God’s loudest beetles is anything tae go by, there's probably nothing good in it. I’ll come by tomorrow, we can see then. Or you can bring it here. This room’s already fucked.” She looked around at the furniture all fused to the floor. It had been a long, long day.

“God, what a day. I need a nap,” she groaned, walking over to her desk and pulling out the lowest drawer and rummaging through it, “or a litre of coffee. Or a new place tae live.” She let out a little cheer, finding a mostly-full bottle of dark rum.

“This’ll do. What a day. You want some?” she asked over her shoulder at Hatsu, pulling out a set of mismatched glasses. “Yer welcome to a measure as well, Alyce, if you’re after one.”

She poured herself a generous two fingerfulls of rum and drank a big gulp, coughing a little as it went down.

 

[Out Of Words]

IF DECEMBER FREEZES​

IC Thread - Discord Compilation
Day's End ​

Upon reaching the inn, Leif was glad the check in went quickly and smoothly, and even more glad Seraphim had a charger that'd work with an older model phone. Upon heading upstairs to the room and bidding Edwin goodbye for the night, plugging the phone was the very first thing he did, followed by a hot shower while he waited for it to pick up some charge.

A shower that lasted an environmentally unfriendly amount of time, because he wouldn't be able to just sit by the phone and wait for it to charge otherwise. And the water also drowned the melody that seemed to somehow stress him and pump up his anxiety and need for answers.

He left the shower and changed into one of the robes provided at about the time he estimated the phone had picked up enough charge. Making a beeline for it, his mind was so focused the melody in the back of his head was barely heard. Heart raced as he got the confirmation the phone had indeed enough charge, and he opened up the text history first, this time.

Chase didn't seem to be a big texter, only had a few contacts with any type of text history. Turid was one. Seems like the last few texts were just on his side, trying to contact Turid. There were a lot of 'where are you' and 'please answer', scrolling from the most recent, which were a couple months old, up toward the oldest, there were several to note.

C: I'm here, but where are you? Not sure where to go, staying at the inn for now. Your move.
C: Landed! Got the email. Will text once there.
C: OMW long trip LOL! Guess I'll get my sleep in.
C: Okay, will be there next Wednesday. Email me the directions once I land.
T: Great! The scenery cannot be beat.
C: Fine, fine! I'll check flights and let you know when.
T: Just get here. It's fantastic. And once I get Papa here, it'll be even more! I promise!
C: I haven't flown before! You sure?
T: Trust me. I've an instinct for these things.
C: Sure you're not just hyping it up? Maybe a little? And what does he think about this?
T: You've got to come. It's like nothing you've seen. And you can finally meet Pops! You two would defo get along well.

The whole conversation was intriguing, but offered few answers, if any. It did confirm some of the story Leif already knew. And it did give Leif enough of a lead to check the email inbox before the photo gallery.

A starred email from Turid contained directions on how to get to Marasong Harbor after landing at the nearby airport, including a rough map. It looked hand drawn, and the points of interest had Turid's handwriting.

Another email from Turid had several photos of Leif, and some of Leif and Turid together. The photos were also visible from the photo gallery, including a few of Turid, including the one of her by the cruise ship she had sent to Leif. And a few of Turid and a familiar looking white wolf in some forest in the states.

What he saw generated more questions than answers. But Leif wouldn't be able to have his phone repaired before morning anyway. It was starting to feel like options were running short, until something less obvious crossed his mind: perhaps he'd be able to recover the coordinates in which some of the pictures had been taken, or perhaps Chase's gps history.

Unfortunately, the GPS idea, while sound, turned out to be a goose chase. However, in trying to find the information, Leif did come across something else. There were a couple of photos, more recent but sorted in a different folder. It was a bit blurry, as if taken in a hurry, without time to focus. There was a long dark haired figure in the water, far from shore. It was at night, there were blue lights from bio-luminescent plankton in the waters. The figure seemed to be facing the camera, but the face was too blurry to make out any features at all.




OOC Information

Leif KodakWolf : It was enough to make your mind physically ache, and with it came the realization of how long of a day it had been. With everything the day brought, it felt like much, much longer. Even those who didn't have to sleep, would feel a pull to at least rest and -not be- for a little while. Perhaps even egged on toward slumber with a faint lullaby echoing about in the back of your mind.

IF DECEMBER FREEZES
A story by Out Of Words​

Season One: A Night Bleeds​

 

[Out Of Words]

IF DECEMBER FREEZES​

IC Thread - GM Post
Goodnight Marasong​

Alyce bids Bill and Hatsu a good night instead of sticking around. "I'll see if I can find anything about guardian beetles." She had tucked her wand away and gave them a small wave before adding, "Was nice to meet you!" Even gave a big grin and a small shoulder lift, like one does when they are pleased and excited at the same time. She let herself out, leaving Bill and Hatsu.

Meanwhile, the rooms in the inn were quiet, save for the occasional creaking or other small noise that comes naturally from occupying space in a hotel environment. Overall, the place is peaceful, even if the occupants of the rooms didn't feel so peaceful. Melodies play and toy in the minds, dreams or nightmares plague others. The past, present and the future can weigh someone down with emotion, as much as they can lift with fond memories.

Something about Marasong at night proved to heightened the deeper, core emotions. Sadness, happiness, fears and anxiety, they were all felt stronger, with one's entire being. They felt almost exaggerated, blown out of proportion as one dreamed, or just lay there, thinking about memories that wouldn't usually surface without actively pondering the memory. Marasong made them surface, break the water of one's buried secrets, gasping for breath and renewed life. The sentiments felt as if the memory just happened earlier in the day.

For those who didn't sleep, the memories would have to fight to surface even harder. They'd be felt, but maybe not recognized as being tied to any specific memory. It was a faint knocking on the door to one's mind. If they chose to answer and open the door, the memory would flood in, sweeping them away in lost longings, past pains, hopeful happiness. If they chose to ignore the knocking, they'd be left with the 'what if' sensation, not quite knowing what would have happened if they did open the door.

Morning felt so very far away.




OOC Information

Jay xAlter : The sensation at the docks has convinced either you or your spirit animals to go ahead and call it a night. You return to your room and feel a sense of lethargy creep over you. It's been one of those days and you're ready to reset it with a good night's sleep.

Bill's House BillieRoss silverwhere : It's just the two of you now, and Mary, the rabbit only Bill can see, and whatever is left in the now permanently sealed box fused with the floorboards. The day weighs heavily upon both of you, you've both seen more than your fair share of strange stuff, more than anyone should experience in a single day. Exhaustion sets in quickly and it's rest or pass out before much longer based on how heavy the eyes feel in their sockets.

Room 102 Worthlessplebian : While pondering the strange sensations and melody in the back of your mind, or maybe pondering the level of your hunger, you can recall a small, mostly unused, vending machine in a slightly out of the way nook next to an ice machine near the stairs. It would provide enough sustenance to keep you going another couple of days, longer than some measly batteries. Best of all, it wasn't in the front desk's line of sight, so as long as someone else wasn't looking for the ice machine, it might be a feasible option.

Room 103 Larry : There's the couple of minutes after burrowing into the blankets, where everything was still, save for the racing beating of your heart. Nothing came out of the shadows of the room, but once asleep, perhaps it came again from the darkness of your buried memories.

Room 202 Britt-21 Rhyme Silver- : You're sleeping. However it may or may not be very restful. Roje, if you choose to not actually sleep, you can feel the memories knocking on the door in your head. Do you open it, or try to ignore?

Room 204 Thropian : You get checked into your room, and the day hits you like a ton of bricks. There's still no hint of the bear, but you feel like you could hibernate like a bear. Maybe it's time to do just that.

Riley KodakWolf : Augie makes sure the both of you eat well while the food is still warm, then goes about setting up the back 'safe room' for the night. All the blankets that will fit, along with some snacks for the middle of the night will be dragged through the small passage. Augie will fall asleep very shortly after finally settling in and laying down. The wind does seem to be a bit louder at the mouth of the cave than usual that night.

GM NOTES: Hope everyone has a great rest of the year and have had/will have enjoyable holidays.

All characters who do actually sleep will experience a dream or nightmare. Use the first character memory that comes to your mind. You do not have to post about it, but keep it in mind and how it affects them when the character wakes up in the morning with next week's GM post (01/02/2022).

IF DECEMBER FREEZES
A story by Out Of Words​

Season One: A Night Bleeds​

 

[Larry]

Aódh McFaol
Location: ...?
Mood: ...
Interactions: n/A.
Mentions: n/A.​

"Bloody Connelly," a boy muttered to himself, tinged with irritation, "If only he stuck that chance, we would have won the match...ara, sure he's been useless the past while anyway."

Aódh was knackered; were it not for the heat from the pure amount of running he did during the match, the misty October night might have felt a bit more biting to him. The aftermath of matches were often like this for the young man. Incidents, particular plays, a nice catch, a timely interception: these were things that would be replayed in the minutes and hours after the game had concluded, with all positives and negatives considered, whether it'd be a victory or a defeat. On this particular occasion, given that the team had lost, there would be a protracted bout of introspection to be had. Already, the youth was using his hands, gesturing about the boreen, much like Pep Guardiola, of the different movements that one of their forwards should have used or indeed, how he should have been quicker to receive the sliothar after a particular puck-out. There's no point being thick at Johnny, Aódh mentally admitted, a puff of breath given visible form as it escaped from his lips, we were all fairly dog this evening.

Whilst he walked blissfully unaware down the road, blanketed in shadow as it was, something further up the way, partially lit up by porchlight of a nearby house, stalked towards the oblivious hurler.

"He could have hit anywhere but where the keeper feckin' dived..." Aódh bemoaned, head in hands as his gear-bag swayed back and forth due to the pace of his walk.

"...then the game could have been put to bed much-"

Unfortunately for the boy, his playful reconstructions of the match had led him further down the road than he ought to have gone.

He heard the creature, whatever it was, long before any part of its visage was lit up by the sparse rays of moonlight which percolated through the overhanging tree branches. From a distance of 25 metres, where the Aódh was glued to the spot in trepidation, came a low, guttural snarl, piercing through the relative silence of the boreen. As it crept ever closer, and the imposing sound of a creature with ponderous bulk began to resonate with each step, the instinctual urge to flee the creeping danger began to prevail upon him.

However, all of a sudden, the panting of the creature ceased, as did its movement.

Aódh could only just about make out its form, but its presence, that heavy dread, was easily felt by the thirteen-year old child.

He stood there, fear cementing him to the spot.

Likewise did the creature, as though it were calculating the most likely direction the boy would flee in.

Then the boy, swiftly turning on his heels and springing from the spot, sought to escape what stood in front of him.

The creature, bellowing a roar unlike anything Aódh had heard before, dived into a pace on all-fours towards the child.

To scream, to let out that sense of fear, was the only thing he could do, as he felt the weight of the creature clamber over him, in what seemed like milliseconds since he began running.

But then, the sound of a person sprinting from just behind him, drew his attention backwards, as it did the beasts.

BWOK!!!

Aódh stared in amazement as the creature was flung backwards a few yards, through the sheer force of the strike that was directed against its face. The person who had delivered the blow, panting, turned in the boy's direction, addressing him: "Get up, and head back to the clubhouse, Cyril should still be there. Get him to ring your mother and father. Get going, NOW!" Aódh couldn't utter a word out of fright, but instead took to nodding his head vehemently. As the numbness from shock abated, the youth found himself skipping across the tarmac, bolstered by the dose of adrenaline that was coursing through his body. With the barest allowance for thought, the young lad couldn't help but think that the man, whom he had never seen around the parish before, sounded familiar, but in a way he couldn't describe.

The man gazed back at the child turning the corner, smirked, then brought his attention back to the beast,

In the briefest flicker of a moment, the man disappeared.

The very next, a werewolf was seen flying through the air, a roar issuing forth imbued with pure rage.

It stalked its kinsman, which had fell over in astonishment, as well as through the renewal of pain from its earlier-received wounds.

Wasting no time, the man-turned-wolf, some seven and a half feet in height, latched at the throat of the beast, lifting it off the ground.

Ever snarling, the werewolf, with the gleam of moonlight bouncing off his talons, reared his arm backwards before thrusting it towards the creature's neck.

But then, the scene was subsumed in blackness, never were it allowed for the dreamer allowed to ponder what happened next.

 

[Britt-21]

Out Of Words Silver- Rhyme

Roje continued to enjoy her onion rings with some cheese, listening to what Silver had to say -if she said anything at all- or perhaps even ask. The food dance paused as she heard the shifter speak up about Tilly, who was asking that they wanted them at the Loving Spoon? "Huh?" her chewing resumed, finishing what she had chilling upon her tongue. The vampire moved next to her to take a look at the writing that said to meet up at 8 "I mean... 8 is a decent time. We wont be with Strawberry Shortcake till probably brunch..." she then murmured underneath her breath "Not like I'd probably be there anyway..." Roje finished that with another ring into her mouth.

Time had gone by and it seemed everyone was ready for bed, and her own body seemed to already have enough action for one day. Between world jumping, kidnapping, death, and all kinds of fun things, she was ready for a good night of rest with no surprises. Now, she wasn't going to sleep per se, but she was going to relax her body. Luckily with 2 double sized beds, Silver took ownership of one, while Indy herself slept in front of the fireplace. Typical cat things...Hopefully we can get her to shift back soon she thought as she plopped her body down onto the mattress and leaned back, legs still off the side as she closed those hazel eyes. How come no one heard Beth screeching like a banshee earlier...?


It felt like hours passed since she remained relaxed in the bed, but something seemed to be tugging at her mind much like it had whenever she was killed, or even knocked out cold. With a soft huff, she just let her body take her wherever it wanted to go. Between the Lullaby, Trauma, and More™ she eventually just said 'Fuck it'. What else could possibly go wrong right now?

Spoiler: Dreamie Weenie

Roje, had been still sleeping on her comfortable bed. Her hair sprawled out on top of her pillow and her breathing soft. The vampire turned onto her side and hid her face in her hands and listening to almost everything around her. Her window was even open to let in a nice breeze and hear the sounds of birds singing. Though, her peace had been disturbed once she picked up an unfamiliar sound of her front door slamming which made her sigh and get up and out of bed. She opened her eyes and looked around before rising to her feet and walking out towards the hallway and down the stairs. Instantly picking up the smell of Dean "You know, you could have knocked. I'm not deaf." she reached the bottom of the stairs and leaned against the banister pillar that held the railing. "You look a hell of a lot different during the day... Actually a little meaner with that face going on." probably because she slapped his ass on the way out of the diner "Look," Roje pushed herself from the banister and walked towards the living room "I found what I wanted, I have my answers." she stopped and turned, looking at him "But it still doesn't help my situation with the hunters chasing the hell out of me." the vampire put her hands on her hips and leaned more on one foot than the other "I did tell you to come talk to me again... Well I have not much to say aside from that you now owe me a new door."

Dean ran his hand through his hair and chuckled. "Sorry, but I think your door is fine, I didn't hit it that hard. So no you will not be getting a new one." Why was he talking to this girl normally? She was a danger to him and his sister! "Listen. I don't want you anywhere near my sister, is that clear? I don't care what it is. She is off limits. And as for Chris? Well you should advise him to stay away from her as well because he clearly didn't get my hint." There would be hell to pay if his sister got hurt, and while he wasn't necessarily going to continue to chase this vampire, he would hunt her down if Alex was harmed. "The institute is going to go after you no matter what. Whether or not you did kill a human like they claim, you pissed them off. They're not going to try capturing you anymore, now they're just out to kill you. And no, there isn't anything I can do about it. I'm a downworlder too, and we can't set foot inside the institute." At this point his hands were tied, even if he wanted to help her and get them off her back, there was nothing to be done.

Roje raised her eyebrow "Chris? Eh dont worry, he's harmless. He was my buddy before I became this. The reason why he looks older than me. I was kinda frozen at 24 so yep. Forever twenty." she shrugged and then continued "As for your sister, the fact that I now know who she is and what she looks like, it'll keep me from killing her if a pack of hunters come for me. There was no intention for me to hurt her. Even if she did hurt me, I wouldn't hurt her. I don't understand why you didn't listen to me last night, I did tell you to tell me her name but you didn't do that so I found out myself, big deal. Now she isn't in my cross hairs." Dean was a pain in the ass wasn't he? Not to mention he wasn't gonna fix her door which sucked, majorly. "I'm really not a killer, but obviously you wouldn't believe me even though you're a mutt with temper tantrums." she turned her back to him and walked towards the kitchen "If you noticed, I'm doing this world a favor by removing murderers and things like that. The crime here is absolutely insane." she moved to her fridge and opened it, pulling out a blood bag and bringing it to her lips, ripping the cap off and drinking without spill but then she paused and swallowed what she had while turning towards him "I get these from a blood bank. Did you know they throw out some blood bags that look and taste fine? At least I live off these more than the people anyway." she rarely removed the bad people of the city, maybe once a week which isn't a lot because it was one person per week "Not to mention I've saved tons of people by getting rid of the person responsible." she latched her mouth back onto the open bit and began to drink, her eyes locked on Dean.


Thinking about it, she hadn't told him her name. Then again, he didn't tell her his name so it was best that they wouldn't exchange names. Seeing as Roje didn't want to speak more, she continued to drink and waited for Dean to speak. In the process, she was just downing that bag.

"Did you honestly think I would just trust you? You were on the run of course I wasn't going to tell you about my family, the person that was hunting you!" Shadowhunters weren't exactly trusting people, they were trained specifically not to trust people and to question everything. He groaned as she continued to suck down the pack of blood. "That is absolutely disgusting. Seriously you are drinking a person!" It practically made Dean's stomach flip watching her. "Please please stop." Becoming a werewolf definitely did not help his hatred of vampires and the whole blood drinking thing.

The vampire listened to him as he began speak but in the middle of it, she heard something which caught her attention and made her turn her head to hear what it was. Then she heard it, a trigger being pulled and she dashed, pushing Dean into a wall (Dropping her empty blood bag in the process) and having him dodge a odd looking bullet for a gun. Before she knew it, hunters rushed in with guns pointed at her from all end and the fact that she was pinning Dean made it look like he was in trouble "Well this looks bad doesn't it." she muttered, "Shit. This is going to suck..." quickly moving from Dean and taking this moment to dash, only to be shot with multiple darts which had green fur on the ends and stopped her from dashing. She fell to her knees with blurred vision and fell onto the ground, out cold and not dead, surprisingly.

"Ah, we finally got her. Broad daylight too." a woman said, walking in with high heels and wearing a pencil skirt with a white top and a jacket matching the skirt on top "Good work. Take her into the van. Bring her back." she then looked at Dean who was up against the wall "Seems we came and saved you at the right time, wouldn't you say? I'm quite proud that you lead us to her. She was too tough to catch on our own in the past few weeks. Too bad you wont get much credit since you're a downworlder now." She then looked at the Vampire as she was carried out "This one I took a liking to. She is the first vampire to lose her mind inside a cemetery and that means we have another Vampire on our hands. There was a term for vampires like her back then when they start screaming in places where the dead have been. Such as hospitals, funeral homes, as well as cemeteries. We do know that she is linked, and we want to get all the information out of her. Hopefully she'll cooperate." the woman said, turning her back to Dean "Do make sure to tell your sister to return to base, Now. No excuses." then she walked out.

An old memory...
​

 

[silverwhere]

Hatsu Black
I never know what to put here:- just imaging something funny and witty
Tags: BillieRoss Out Of Words
​

[CW: Alcohol mention]

It was probably three times today that Bill had prevented Hatsu from suffering some terrible fate- but he didn't know that. After being placed back on the ground he debated if he should thank her. Part of him told him to not to- after all she had made it a point to express his unthankfulness. He also didn't even know that she could do helpful magic. Hatsu had just thought she was a bad person. Turns out Bill wasn't as bad as he thought.

"Yeah, I figured. That's a tomorrow problem." He said talking about the safe ignoring her requests for appreciation. "Hopefully it's just some dead man's tax documents." He mumbled at the end as Bill made it over to her desk and showed off a bottle of rum. Hatsu wasn't sure if he wanted another exciting day tomorrow, maybe it'll be a calm day where nothing happens. He doubted that would be the case; curiosity had its hold on him and now he was invested in the secrets that a Marasong held. How did so many different people end up here and stay here? As Bill mentioned, something was off about the town. He never bothered to acknowledge it but now he's deep into this mess. A house fire, a weird horse, and a weird town. Not only that but there was no magic involved. The next thing he's going to know is that the tooth fairy is actually real. There was a lot for him to wrap his head around. What was that saying? Curiosity killed the cat but satisfaction brought it back, right?

“You want some?” Bill said as she showed the rum to him.
"I'll pass. I'm a lightweight," Hatsu pointed out as he made way to his shoes to put on, "I don't really want to crash here. Not that there's anything wrong with your place, I just have a cat allergy. Besides, I should probably keep an eye on whatever is in my room."

Hatsu started to leave Bill's room. It was true, he couldn't really handle much alcohol and there was no way he was risking a swig of rum. He'd probably end up wasted and telling Bill his whole life story. Bill wouldn't want that. Not only that but he was itching to get to his laptop even though his body was ready to crash. He wanted to do research about Marasong and see what he was dealing with. Afterward, he can do more research about other things. Like horses. God, he didn't want to go through a horse phase. He really didn't want to go through a horse phase.

"Anyhow, thank you for all the help today," He said giving in to her request, "Just come by the Inn whenever and I can treat you to breakfast or lunch." Hatsu gave her a wave before closing her door and leaving.

He quickly and quietly made his way out of the house and walked back to the inn. He stopped at the front desk asking for some of those coffee packets. Hatsu didn't like coffee. He much prefer an energy drink but he didn't want to have to go to the store this late. The store probably wasn't open either. However, he knew that if he didn't get something that could boost his energy he would crash too soon into his research. After getting back to his room he kicked off his shoes and made sure to change his clothes into something comfortable; sure he should take a shower but that could wait for tomorrow. Now that he was comfortable he started the coffee (hopefully he did it right; he didn't make it often enough for him to know for certain) before grabbing his laptop and starting to Google: "Marasong". It was time to see how long he could stay up before he crashed.

 

[Silver-]

SILVER BLACKWOOD
Tags: Out Of Words Britt-21 Rhyme | Mentions: grade-school silver | Location: Marasong Inn


"Please be there." Silver muttered quietly, knowing all too well that Roje could hear her plea even if she'd whispered it. She hadn't wanted to admit it, but going to the brunch on her own sounded god-awful, regardless of the fact that it was Beth the Banshee they were meeting up with. Silver was sure that Indy wouldn't be allowed to go in considering she was a cat and all unless they'd managed to come to an agreement where her feline half would finally give in to her human half. "I'm not good with adults," she stuffed the last few fries into her mouth, making sure to chew as quietly as possible (and when Roje had popped another onion ring into her mouth). She really did hate eating in front of other people.

A full belly, a place to rest her head and there was even a cat in the room? Ideally, Silver's life should be reaching it's peak if it hadn't already by how she could suddenly turn into a wolf whenever she liked, but there was something still tugging at her mind. The wave of exhaustion that passed over her once they'd finished eating nearly had her dropping into bed like a rock sinking beneath the surface of a lake after being thrown. Propelled forward by responsibility, she took initiative to clean everything up and tuck away anything that had been left into the hidden fridge beneath the TV's perch. It was after automatically cleaning up any mess there was, that she finally allowed herself to sink into the bed closest to the front door.

Wariness towards the idea of an open, dark corridor right beside her in a place she'd never been to before lapped at her anxiety and she wanted nothing more than to cease the disquiet that already buzzed in her mind as she plopped down. Carefully, she slipped underneath the duvet covers, noting that she'd also never been in a hotel bed before either. A plush, supportive pillow tucked easily beneath her now weary head as she turned onto her side to sleep, peering at the figures in the room through slitted eyes as the weight of slumber soon dropped them fully.

Her wolf seemed to settle around her - fur brushing her sides and hands as if she wasn't falling unconscious on the bed, but rather against a big, furry body. She didn't question it's wordless movement. The further she fell into slumber, the more she could feel it's warmth, no longer floating around her like when she was awake, but tangibly encircling her, as if it was keeping her safe.

Bright, blue sky greeted her seconds later, grass shuddering around her in patchy waves as the wind caught some and jumped over others. Laughter cackled from a distance as rapid footsteps overlapped the other, Silver then raising herself up out of the grass to see a few kids chasing each other around a playground. The black rubber underfoot they thudded on, deep green jungle gym paired with a tall slide and monkey bars, even the little bridge - they were all familiar. Her breath caught in her throat when she saw one particular kid with curly, unruly hair and dark eyes easily whisking past the others whom were attempting to chase her. It wasn't just "her" though, it was Silver herself.

Watching from a different perspective rather than that of her own was daunting, seeing herself so carefree and full of naivety.. her heart hurt. It thudded in her chest, as real as the grass between her fingers and the scent of the nearby sea that enveloped her senses. The dream shifted once and then twice, to different scenes of her youth. It was the time of her life she couldn't always recall when she wanted in reality, but when she did it was in vivid detail and even more so now that she was no longer human. Was I ever human in the first place?

The final shift of the dream sent her into a bounce house even they'd had at her old elementary school that she'd remembered jumping so high in, she'd nearly reached the top of the thing-or so she'd wanted to say. Anything a foot higher than your kid self was essentially the top and worthy of boasting about. Her child self had plopped onto the floor of the bounce house ungracefully at the last second, flattened onto the dense material, but getting up and laughing it off nonetheless though her eyes had quite obviously been watering from the impact. It was then that Silver froze up, realizing now that the image of her past self was staring right at her. The light in her eyes seemed to have sharpened in intensity, mouth somewhat open in what appeared to be... surprise? Silver tilted her head when she was soon approached, growing rigid with apprehension as there was no one else in the bounce house therefore there couldn't have been anything else to look at. She couldn't remember seeing anything during this time, unless it had slipped her memory? A small hand reached out towards her, a big grin running across her little face.

"Doggy."

 

[Worthlessplebian]

Bernard Greve
Location: Room 102 > Vending Machine in the Inn > back to his room;
With: N/A
Interactions: N/A Only mentions: N/A
Art by leevolt on DeviantArt
Mood: Positively miffed;​

The pervasiveness of the accursed song had all but assuredly ruined or momentarily shattered Bernard's positive views on this little town. His vengeful gaze is directed towards the window of his room, nothing to gawk at in particular but venting an insidious aura that personified his wrathful state. The Dane remained in his sleepwear with hands behind his back, his thumbs vainly scratch against skin as he ponders upon this... Unusual occurrence. A number of hypotheses ran through his head, from the mundane to the supernatural. All worthless at the moment, as he can neither confirm or deny any of them. His biases point to this being otherworldly, but his objective mind compels him to remain neutral and await evidence before hastily or foolishly jump to conclusions. He quietly hums to himself, making noise almost always helped him during lab time when he is stuck on a difficult segment. That and pacing around but due to the time of day, he avoids it not to pester the other guests.

A pang of sentimentality swept over Bernard's spirit. He is not this particularly emotional, especially since his unwarranted transformation into a creature of the night but Marasong's night sky that reflected on his face had this profound and indelible effect on him. As if something told him to cut loose his gated, disciplined soul. And truly feel what it was to be human again. Before the burden, before the experience had blunted AND irreparably sharpen his mind. Yes, experience... That word lingered as his train of thought screeched to a halt. A tapping sensation briefly caressed him. Once he was made aware of this, Bernard mustered his mental faculties then banished this annoying feeling. Chalking it up to an after effect or a different occurrence altogether. At this revelation, his careful stride took him to the edge of the room's table, where his laptop rested. Flipping the device open, its fan hummed it to life. Bernard punched in his password with quick keystrokes, he had been in a rush to jot down everything that has happened. It would also aid his mind in staving off further passive infiltrations.

While writing down his findings in his native language, the soft glow of the screen coupled with the darkness of the room mirrored Bernard's face. At first, he did not notice this but once the text stopped and the black caret began to flash, did he properly look at the screen. He knew that the self-electrocution would leave damage but...

His tall form jostled up from the chair, speed-walking to the bathroom. He didn't know whether his room neighbour had been asleep or not so he took the utmost precaution in being quiet. A quick lock of his door ensured that Mr. Greve had all the privacy he could need. The mirror provided a disturbing feeling. There had been splotches of burnt flesh at the intersection points where his fingers touched. Blackened to brownish patches, barely containing the underlying redness. Some appeared to be dragged downwards, as if in some cliché horror movie where the victim's hand slides down a window. His nose suffered the brunt of the attack, the skin had peeled itself unnaturally but there was no bleeding. It had been cauterised, much to Bernard's favour. His teeth then grit as the rush of adrenaline had stopped. Pain pulsated in a sickening rhythm. Further compounded by cravings or the desires of feeding. Quick on his feet, Bernard quietly stepped back to his room, retrieving a cloth. Turning the faucet, he ran the cloth through cold water thrice for good measure. Armed with this cloth, he shut off everything in the bathroom and unlocked the neighbour's door. The cold, wet cloth was draped over his face. It was painful, at first but soon alleviated somewhat. Perhaps, his unique physiology came into play. He didn't know but he was thankful. Next to deal with the hunger, he remembered that there was an out of the way vending machine that could provide him with the nourishment to sate his apatite.

The Dane carefully creaked the door to the hallways open, the coast was clear. Confirmed by his sense of sight (even if the area had been dimmed) and his sense for electricity. Now armoured with his grey, fuzzy slippers, Bernard would step out into the hallway. He adopted a low posture to reduce his noise production and outline. Each step had been measured twice, and done once. There was no moment of hesitation, no anxiousness about it. He needed to feed, there was nothing that could stop him. Creeping like a fiend, Bernard had snuck his way down a floor and immediately into the lobby. His prize had been so close, he could feel it in the air. A smile contorted on Bernard's face as his sense for electricity revealed the vending machine. He had managed to elude any eyewitness in the lobby by any measure of shadow provided. That plus careful movements. For the feeding, his hand reached behind into the circuitry then with gentle flexes of his muscles and thought, he began to siphon the energy. It would sound like the buzzing of a fly or mosquito but Bernard didn't plan to stick around entirely or siphon the whole thing. He can't unless he stood there for hours or someone unplugged the machine. The draining lasted minutes but had been enough to hold over Bernard for the night and maybe even the morning, time will tell as he slinked back to his room like the silent flying of a bat.

Still he could not find sleep, but he can still think clearly.

 

[KodakWolf]

Boy / Riley Adler
Out Of Words

Soon the day seemed to be settling back into the routine Boy had gotten so used to. Augie was getting their food ready, and shortly after eating they'd settle for the night in the cave they both called home. Even if Augie seemed a bit more agitated than normal, and even if they were apparently sleep in the far back room tonight, things were starting to look normal again. He couldn't really blame Augie for his change in behavior, not after such an eventful day.

Perhaps not everything was settling back to normal. Boy spotted what seemed like a handwritten note in the back of a napkin, something he'd never noticed before. Maybe because he used to be blind, maybe not. But because he was no longer blind, he was really curious, and couldn't help checking out the note closer.

And what he read made him alarmed, and even almost angry. We need to talk about the dog?! Really? Part of him wanted to believe Tilly didn't want Augie bringing any more pets into the cafe, which kind of made sense. Perhaps someone had complained? Bullshit. He knew it wasn't about that, he just did.

Apparently, he wouldn't be able to postpone reevaluating his situation any longer, he was being forced to figure things out and take action. But before he could give this any real thought, he'd have to take even more immediate action. The dog lunged forward and snatched the napkin together with a bite of some of the food, briskly trotting away as he chewed and swallowed it all up. During the night he'd have time to think about what to do after.

Even with the new concern in his mind, he was still able to enjoy the food, and Augie's company. The extra blankets were so cozy in the back chamber that it was hard to stay awake and keep his mind sharp enough to think clearly. Unavoidably, he drifted off. Far, far away.

Boy didn't dream a lot. His mind and thoughts had become a lot simpler ever since he started living as a dog. But this night was anything but ordinary. A mix of flashbacks, memories so clear it felt like he was living them again, and others he didn't reckon, all blended together in ways that made sense and didn't, all at the same time. Everything was amplified, intensified. Like most people who are dreaming, Rio didn't know he was dreaming. But if he did, it'd be hard to tell which he'd wish for more, if to wake up or never leave that slumber.

 

[Out Of Words]

IF DECEMBER FREEZES​

IC Thread - Discord Compilation
Snack Before Bed​

There wasn't enough time to start feeling frustrated, as Leif soon stumbled upon something that made him hold his breath even before he could make anything out of those pictures, as if an instinct told him what they showed possibly held the answer he'd been looking for. Or one of the answers.

Shortly after, he put the phone down on the bed beside him, rubbing vigorously at his face then running a hand through his hair as he tried to figure out his next steps. He couldn't go to many places during daytime, that was a fact. So wherever he had to go, he better go now. Even if his head hurt and his body silently begged to rest for just a couple of hours.

With a quick google search to find out the most likely spot the photo was taken, using the blue algae as reference, Leif got back up and changed back into the only clothes he had, which were still damp from the storm earlier.

He didn't have a plan, actually. The closest he had to a plan was to happen in daytime, which would be getting his phone fixed and hopefully finding Alice and her dolls. But he just couldn't ignore the thing he saw in those pictures. Even if just to look at the water, look around the area, try to find any clues, he had to go there. He just knew that whatever was standing in the water in those pictures was what he'd been looking for, and even if there was nothing he could do at the moment, he wanted to see it with his own eyes. Or try to, at least. Perhaps he'd find another clue there.

He debated going out the front door for a second or two, but decieed it'd be best if no one knew he left, including the inquisitive front desk agent. So left out the window in a cloud of dark smoke that billowed into the night.

All around the town, there were more of the fire glass pits, providing warm light. It wasn't until one ventured away from the docks, toward the shore when the fires faded, leaving one to whatever light came from the moon and stars.

It was a fairly clear night, the stars breathtaking, but there were two different shores. The ones to the east, and ones to the west. The main clue being the glowing blue, which seemed to come stronger from the shore along the east.

So, toward the east the vampire drifted. The waters looked clear, calm, save for the rolling of the waves ebbing in and out. It looked like there was nothing at the moment. Nothing but the sound of the water, the breeze in the air, and that melody in the head.

It was a relief to finally be away from the fire pits and artificial lights. The pits were meant to be ears, sure, not eyes, and Leif had no plans of speaking anything audible, but their mere presence was enough to make him feel watched.

Getting away from those lights also made it a lot easier to identify the glowing blue hues in the waters. It was stronger coming from the eastern shore, so that's where he went, always hovering over the water but never touching it. It was a little hard to pinpoint where the exact location of the picture could be, but once Leif was able to take a solid guess, he landed.

Only what landed wasn't a man, but a dark colored wolf, dark gray intertwining with pitch black in its fur, the tips seeming to constantly give off bits of dark smoke as if burning, if one looked really closely. If one didn't look too closely, the wolf would appear corporeal enough, even heavy as it was quite large, with distinctively large paws the only clue to its uniqueness being the absence of any footprints and the absolute silence and lightness with which it moved as it looked around for any clues that might explain Chase's presence in the area, or most importantly, that thing's.

Looking out over the water, it wasn't anything one could really see, but something felt. Something was there, or someone, but out of sight, and possibly even out of reach. It felt dark and somewhat oppressive, and more questions than answers.

The blue glow was beautiful, distracting, moving and swirling about under the water's surface. They seemed to extend along the shore, farther and farther east, where the rocks started to swallow up the sandy shores more and more.

And along the way, that somewhat familiar taint of dark magic. That mangy magic.

There was no need to double check the picture in the phone. The place looked about the same, but it was the presence felt somewhere beneath the surface of the water that confirmed it. A presence Leif wasn't fully sure he wanted to disturb. It remained hidden, but clearly there, it wasn't a trick of his imagination.

It made him wonder whether the blue glow meant more than just naturally occurring algae. It probably did. Eyes followed the glow along the shore until it seemed to start weaving between a growing number of large rocks the furthest away it got. It seemed to be a good observation spot, so that's where the sudden cloud of smoke that engulfed the wolf shot toward, before the wolf could now be seen a bit further away, atop some of the rocks.

There was another scent he picked up along the way, one very familiar that Leif now knew didn't belong to a familiar face. The dog had to be around, and that in itself raised a lot of questions. Why would it be around? Why had Chase been around? Yet the vampire was pretty sure the dog's scent didn't belong to whatever was in the water. Perhaps there could be a connection between the two presences, or perhaps it was just a coincidence that the dog was around, but he had yet to pick up a scent or see anything that'd allow him to identify whatever was creeping just beneath the surface.

Even with the stars and moon above in the clear, clear night sky, peering into the depths of the waters deep enough to find whatever emanated that presence, was impossible. However, the mangy darkness came from inside the rock face below the wolf playing sentinel. Along with one Leif barely registered from the docks earlier, sea and wet fur.

However, the lullaby melody returned, louder and it grew twisted. Instead of a peaceful lullaby, it became something akin to a rodent repellent. Screeching instead of singing, painful instead of calming.

The view was beautiful, even more than from the shore, but standing on the rock didn't do much to improve the visibility in the water. So Leif ended up getting caught watching the glowing blue sway with the waves for a minute or so. It seemed to be in tune with the soft melody that played constantly in the back of his mind, until the melody started getting more and more noticeable. So noticeable it seemed to be no longer a lullaby, but a twisted screech, one that sent a message very clear.

The wolf shook its head in discomfort several times, eventually yielding to the painful sound. Whatever was in the water, it didn't quite enjoy his presence there. It wanted him to leave it alone, and perhaps that was the most prudent thing to do for now, at least until he had more information. He hopped down from the rocks, hoping he'd be given a break from the sound. His intentions were clear, he wouldn't push it any longer, not today. He'd let the water and its inhabitants be, for now.

Levi had to know more; he was in the water himself a lot, apparently. There had to be a connection, and while Leif still had no answers, and had in fact even more questions now, he had enough information to take back to Levi.

Although Leif didn't find any direct answers, he did learn a new fact besides everything he took note of while at the beach: he could still shapeshift. It wasn't something he thought about too often in the past day, with all the confusion and mixed up memories, but it was something to think about, in fact. If this was the first time he'd met Chase in this timeline, he shouldn't be able to shift, right?

Down on the ground, the dark magic scent was stronger, and it was accompanied by a different, wet dog scent that was different than that of just a dry, regular dog. Might be related to what was in the water after all, might not. Either way, the night was still young. So he followed the scent, using the noise still ringing in his ears as an indication to whether he should proceed, or retreat for the night.

Entering the cave, the wolf initially saw no one, but there were clear signs it was inhabited. Several things were scattered around, provisions, some blankets, even a mattress and... dog bowls. Interesting.

More interesting even, the screeching sound did leave him alone for now. Which meant he probably wasn't into some hot lead to figuring out how to bring Chase back, but it didn't mean that wasn't an equally precious opportunity.

The scents were even stronger inside. Venturing deeper, he inevitably ran into their sources. The black dog was there, along with the man who'd showed up to fetch it back at the docks. The man which was also not 'just a man', given his scent.

They slept. Like so many others, so many of his past victims. By far not his favorite means of hunting, if he could even call it a hunt. But it was nourishment, nourishment his tired bones already asked for after such a long day, nourishment he knew he'd need after this nights silent, shapeshifted exploration. He didn't want to harm Chase by draining too much the next day.

So the wolf fed. It lasted only a couple of minutes, and neither the man nor the dog would feel any pain. Perhaps a slightly strange dream, who knew. Leif had never been on the other end of that blade.

Regardless, he'd done this a thousand times, enough to know how to leave no trace. When the wolf left, dissolving into a cloud of smoke outside the cave that shot back toward the illuminated town, it was as if it'd never been there to begin with.

IF DECEMBER FREEZES
A story by Out Of Words​

Season One: A Night Bleeds​

 

[Out Of Words]

IF DECEMBER FREEZES​

IC Thread - GM Post
Good Morning Marasong​

The sun rose a few minutes past 7:30am on June 2, 2021 in Marasong, and with it a brand new day. However, the small harbor town woke much earlier. By the time the sun was up, there were ships to load and unload, shops to stock and open, farms to water and harvest. In Marasong, if you waited for the sunrise, you were considered late.

Seraphim would already be behind the front desk, though it's possible she never really left it for very long. She gave off a workaholic vibe pretty easily. The place was always kept clean and tidy, to the point of bordering on obsessive levels. The room smelled faintly of lavender and roses, and everyone who came down would be greeted with a cheery smile and happy 'good morning', prepared to pass out the day's meal vouchers as needed. Seraphim even had a small plate with cheese and crackers set out, not enough for a meal, but something to tide one over if they were in a pinch.

There were a few blissful moments of peace, silence, and an inner calm upon waking. However, a couple minutes after waking, the night would come flooding back, the good, the bad, the ugly. Dreams or nightmares, they left a lingering trace upon everyone in some fashion.

Good morning.




OOC Information

GM NOTES : Unless you had an alarm set, on your phone or other, your character can wake before the sunrise, or with the sunrise. If your character would sleep in, please include an estimated time in your post so I can coordinate the time of events.

Jay xAlter : Maybe you can find the other druid in the light of a new day. Or maybe you just want to enjoy a hopefully quiet breakfast at the Loving Spoon first. Seemed to be a bit of a hot spot yesterday though, great for people watching.

Bill BillieRoss : The drinking helped block out the scrabbling now and then of the box in your room, however once there is a sound louder than a whisper, there is a bit of scrabbling, scratching that lasts a couple of seconds at a time. And you cannot find the rabbit from the previous day.

Room 102 Worthlessplebian : The vending machine definitely helped sate you for at least a day, maybe even two if you don't use it picking metal locks or shocking yourself again. There are no new emails from your colleagues, but you have a brand new day to continue your investigation.

Room 103 Larry : For all you've eaten in the previous day, it feels like you could eat a small herd of sheep in the morning. Almost as if you used a lot of energy during the night and burned through all the sustenance.

Room 202 Britt-21 Rhyme Silver- : Today's the brunch with mama day, but you have a full morning to yourselves to do as you wish if you don't pursue the curious notes from Tilly included in your food.

Room 204 Thropian : The morning feels heavy, like a thick fog in the woods. Something's brewing in the air, and it isn't coffee. The room likely feels a bit small, maybe claustrophobic.

Room 205 KodakWolf : Quite a day, and filled with tumultuous emotions. Draining emotions, but the little snack before the return to the inn did help. However, it wouldn't completely stop the strange lullaby, and you might have felt a sense of weightlessness when you dozed off. Despite that, your senses know when the sun is about to rise, at least the curtains seem thick.

Room 206 silverwhere : You've been a busy boy. There are a few articles around Marasong, but they all seemed incredibly normal. Typical weather reports, tourist information, basic history such as being founded in the 1800's, and a home for the Uskah Community. However, with the things you've seen recently, it all feels a little too normal.

Riley KodakWolf : Augie surprisingly seems to need extra sleep, and does not want to get up with the sun. He's fairly groggy, and did a lot of tossing and turning for the second half of the night. Looks like you're on your own for a couple more hours.

IF DECEMBER FREEZES
A story by Out Of Words​

Season One: A Night Bleeds​

 

[Larry]

Aódh McFaol
Location: The Marasong Inn.
Mood: Hungry...again.
Interactions: n/A.
Mentions: Worthlessplebian | Out Of Words ​

"AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAARRRRRRGGHHH!!!" roared Aódh in his sleep; in fact, his sudden lurching forward, in the manner of a lunge, being the very thing that broke him out of his slumber.

The youth, his eyes blinking hurriedly to adjust to the sunlight beaming into the room, couldn't take his mind off the scenario that finished playing out only a few moments ago. The boreen, the trees, the moonlight, the...werewolf. It was surreal to see the events played out scene-by-scene, to reminisce on that frightful feeling when he first recognised the large frame of the creature skulking in the darkness. But then to have the perspective suddenly change, to that of your older self doing the rescuing, was beyond strange. It was...more than weird, he thought to himself, wrestling himself free of the blanket as he sat up and shifted himself to the side of the bed. Standing up, he made his way groggily into the bathroom, locking the door to the Dane's room lest he walk in on the pure state that Aódh was in at the moment. A furious bout of bathroom business was done in what seemed record time, due the hunger pangs, which indicated, amongst other things, that the dream sequence was enough for him to completely burn off the reams of food he had ate the previous night.

With the events of the day before salient in his mind, Aódh found himself disinclined to wear any of yesterdays clothes and promptly threw them into the corner of the room, keen to get them washed after he had his breakfast down him. He quickly slipped into a pair of pale-blue Levi jeans, a navy polo-shirt and the spare pair of shoes his mother forced him to bring, aware as she often was to the irritation of a sudden downpour. Aódh muttered a Thank you! before gliding over to the door, opening it and locking it once he made it to the other side. Perhaps it was because he was one of the few people awake in the building at that moment, but the atmosphere of the Marasong Inn early in the morning, draped in sunlight with the sounds of birds chirping, proved to be quite relaxing. Quickly descending the flight of stairs, he caught a glimpse of Seraphim sorting out some documents at the counter. Aódh, remembering she told him that the vouchers were allotted on a day-by-day basis, realised that he would have looked quite the fool had he ran out the building without them.

Pacing over to the counter, much like the day before, except with a more noted esuriency about him this particular morning, Aódh smiled.

"Good morning to you Seraphim," he said, "How are you getting on today so far?"

 

[xAlter]

Jae-eun
Location: Home -> Loving Spoon
Interactions:
Mentions: Larry Worthlessplebian

“Haaaaaa…” With a stretch and a sigh, Jay rose himself from the confines of his blankets, the coolness of the morning hitting his body with a vengeance. Blinking to clear the fog from his mind, and also adjust to the early morning light, the barest hints of daylight filtering through his windows. Rubbing his nose, Jay sneezed from the shedded fox fur that floated in the air. “Morning world…” he muttered as he swung himself out of bed. Petting Yun on the foot of the bed as he passed, he also booped Yeung on the nose, the serpent coiled under a heating lamp.

The previous night’s events had left him a little worse for wear. He needed to recharge and account for everything that had happened. The new druid, the man who smelled of blood…

It was all too much to be completely honest. He had been overwhelmed by the amount of interaction he had. He wasn’t the greatest around strangers and new faces in Marasong, but the Aodh fellow was at least nice. The thing in the water though. As soon as Jay had verified there was something in the water, he scooped up Yun and sprinted as far away from the docks as he could. Being at night, alone, on the docks, was not a good idea. He had seen plenty of horror movies!

Flopping face first into the bed, Yun took the chance to annoy him, and proceeded to climb on top of, and lay on his back. “Thamkf fyou.” he muttered into the bedding as the fox got comfortable. A few more minutes passed to the point where Jay just got up, Yun rolling off his back with a disgruntled shout.

“Why you ungrateful!” The rest of the words from the upset vixen were drowned out as he made his way to the bathroom to clean up. A quick shower later, and Jay was dressed and ready. Grabbing his things, Jay motioned for Yun to follow as Yeung slithered up his arm and coiled around his neck. “You coming?” he asked the fox. “I want breakfast and I assume Tilly will have something for you as well.” With a grumble, Yun followed after.

The morning was brisk and light as the sun was still in the process of rising. He enjoyed the early mornings. He had work later, so breakfast at the Loving Spoon sounded really nice. Maybe he’d run into that Aodh dude and that Bernard guy. They were pleasant enough to be around.

 

[Worthlessplebian]

Bernard Greve
Location: Marasong Inn ;
With: Aódh ( Larry ), Seraphim ( Out Of Words )
Interactions: Larry Out Of Words Only mentions: Jay ( xAlter )
Art by leevolt on DeviantArt
Mood: Simmered, not stirred;​

What a miserable night. The physics professor thought, carefully examining the "burn holes" left behind by the introduction to the finer points of electrodynamics. Though the damage was intense, Bernard had been surprised by how quickly the burns healed over night. Severe skin damage like his ordinarily would take close to a year to fully heal—even with proper skincare—yet from a black crust of dead skin, cracked at the seams, that no longer felt anything to what Bernard can only describe as superficial damage in just a couple of hours is astounding display of cellular regeneration. Red patches, some appearing to be dragged down his face then abruptly ending. Even the tip of the Dane's nose which had suffered the worst fate of his face, had knitted itself albeit producing flakes of skin and possessing deep cracks. It also hurt when touched...Greatly. Room 102 is sealed against the open wind of the outdoor so there is no unwanted irritation, however when Bernard will step outside, he anticipates that the wind's caress will undoubtedly produce unpleasant results. Fortunately, Bernard is a studious traveler and had the forethought to pack a first aid kit with him when he came to Marasong almost two weeks ago. It is nothing extravagant, a sterile gauze loosely applied on the nose and at the edges stuck to the Dane's cheeks with breathable tape.

Suddenly, Bernard's ear picked up the distinct noise of the bathroom door locking. Ah, the neighbour who hollered like a beast had finally awakened. Bernard will have the time for it soon after his howling hotel-buddy had done his business.

After freshening up, Bernard had slipped out of his comfortably PJs and fuzzy foot coverings into lighter attire. A white, wool turtleneck with black cuffs, black denim jeans, and Burgundy-coloured sneakers. Dressed for the day, the night had still haunted the electrical vampire. From the hypnotic hymn to the attempted intrusion of the younger days or so Bernard assumed. The evening of that day also did not provide any recompenses as Mr. Tangaroa staunchly refused to cooperate. When next they meet, Bernard will not be in a gentlemanly mood.

Climbing down the stairs of this fine abode, Bernard—with eyes that are draped by purple-ish bags—happened upon the Irish fellow and Seraphim, it seemed he is conversing with her about the day. Actually, this is an opportune moment as Bernard knew this man is a new arrival thus immunised against nefarious influences. At least, for now. "A fine morning to you, Seraphim and my diner friend." As if anticipating either Sera's or Aódh's question. "If you're wondering about my injuries or the bandage, fret not. I had suffered a minor accident." Of course, they'd notice the reddish skin splotches and accompanying nose bandage but with Bernard's answer, he is sure that they wouldn't prod too deeper. At least, he hopes Seraphim would not.

"How are the both of you today? Well, I hope?" He believed the relaxed demeanour would further sell his theatrics. Resting an arm on the desk, Bernard suggested something to Aódh. "Do you have any plans for the day? Been too cooped up in my room and would be nice to travel with a fresh perspective." If Aódh accepted then it would be easier to introduce the Irish youth to why Bernard is here and to explore the mysterious music that afflicted him. That Jay fellow could be useful too.

 

[silverwhere]

Hatsu Black
Tags: Larry Worthlessplebian Out Of Words
​

Hatsu hadn't meant to fall asleep. He brewed himself some coffee the previous night, but had forgotten it as he dug deeper into his fruitless search about Marasong. All the research pointed to the town being normal and typically that would be a good but, after everything he had been through, it didn't fit. He grumbled to himself as he got up from the chair and stretched; he should start to get ready for the new day. Grabbing a new set of clothes, he quickly hopped into the shower. Afterwards he grabbed his toothbrush and brushed away as he went back to his laptop and hit the spacebar a few times. The screen lit back up on a Google page as he stared at it trying to think of what he could type to trick the search engine into giving him the answers he wanted.

What answers did he even want? He tapped his fingers lightly on the keys, threatening to actually type something. What he wanted was to solve a mystery, but what mystery was he even trying to solve? Magic was real and it was acting weird in Marasong. Some weird ass horse in the woods. And a house fire. Hatsu sighed as he looked around for a notepad and a pen struggling to to write down it all down as he brushed his teeth. He took the notepad to look at while going to the bathroom to finish brushing his teeth. What else could be real? If magic was real there was no telling what else there could be. He went back to his room still looking at the notepad; he wasn't sure how all of this was connected but he knew that they had to be in some weird way. Or maybe he just needed a break from the research.

Today was going to be another busy day. Hatsu took a second to look at the safe under his bed. Was it even safe to leave it in the Inn? And if someone placed the second safe for it to be a trap or for him, maybe they actually wanted this one and are now on the hunt for it. Maybe there was something important in it and part of him was ready to just go ahead and open it. The worst that could happen is that Bill or Seraphim will find him being eaten by beetles or dead. It was tempting and he looked at the spot under the bed before grabbings his room keys and forcing himself to leave. If he stayed any longer he'd probably end up opening it. Besides, he wanted food and he didn't want to place a delivery order. The Loving Spoon wasn't far and he was pretty sure that Tilly would have some cupcakes. He really wanted cupcakes for breakfast- and if he was going to eat cupcakes for breakfast he should at least move around.

Hatsu took the stairs down to the lobby to see Seraphim, Aódh, and Bernard. Hatsu wasn't sure what time it was and he didn't want to know- but it if felt like it was earlier then he'd normally be up. Aódh felt like a morning person and Bernard looked like he had been beat up with the bandages that he wore. Either way, they both felt like morning people and Seraphim worked the inn and had no choice but to be a morning person. Hatsu wasn't sure if he was a morning person- hell he really wasn't even a people person. Didn't he want to get better about that though? Be more social, afterall he lived here for about 4 months and still didn't really have any friends expect for Augie and Boy...and maybe that one guy who ran that import shop. What was his name again? Bill didn't turn out to be the worse, but they had a long ways to go before being friends. Aódh felt a lot nicer than Bill, besides with the crazy that happened maybe it wasn't bad to have someone with muscle around. "Good morning," Hatsu said to the group. It was a start.

Hatsu looked like he should be tired and he typically wasn't up this early- or at least out of his room this early. He wore plan jeans and a simple shirt not really caring to dress up as nicely as he did the day previously. Thankfully he didn't smell like a house fire anymore, but his hair was still wet from the shower.

 

[Rhyme]

Indy

Location: Good Meowning
Tags: Silver- Britt-21

A burning sensation was crawling up her body. For a moment, she nearly mistook it as her mother's hand--clutching her tail, dragging her deeper---

No, no that was fire, she was on fucking fire.

Indy lurched awake, every strand of fur sticking straight until she was little more than a furious cotton ball as she scrambled away from the fireplace. The grey tip of her tail was blackened where it had strayed into the embers around the still-burning flame. For lack of anything better to do, Indy skittered back to face the fire and hissed wildly, nails clicking against the floor as she swiped at it uselessly. The minute she had her thumbs again, that shit hole was getting a bucket of water to the face.

Wait; thumbs. Right.

Fuck.

It was slipping again, she could feel it--but in that moment, she could remember what she was, what she needed to get back to being. What they needed to do. Memories, dragged back from the recesses of her unconscious mind had saved her precious time, but they would need to move fast if anything worthwhile was going to be accomplished.

Silver seemed to still be asleep in the bed; that was going to be inconvenient, seeing as her translator didn't appear to be rising at the moment. Roje's bed was empty however, and Indy could hear water running in the adjacent bathroom. She jumped onto the table, rooting through the empty takeout containers--pausing only to take a quick bite--before carefully picking up the card in her teeth. Which, to be frank, tasted like it had spent the last hundred years in someone's musty pocket.

She ran to the bathroom, dropping the card and batting at it with her paw until it slid under the door. That wouldn't be enough to catch Roje's attention, so she flexed her paws and stretched against the wood. Leaning back, she let loose and loud yowl as she ran her claws soundly down the door.

Good morning, wake the fuck up!

coded by: @s e v e n

 

[Thropian]

A well deserved rest.
Location: Waking up in the same place he went to sleep.
Tags: ​

It had been a long day, and Edwin couldn't remember the last time he went to sleep. He could remember waking up multiple times, but not going to sleep. The body hopping made it hard to tell how long he'd been awake. The only real clue was how quickly he fell asleep.

He was vaguely aware of the music playing as he crawled onto the bed, though he didn't even manage to lay down before his body gave in to the comforts. He slept deeply, and awoke feeling refreshed and ready to take on the day. He also was curled up in a fetal position, with tears streaking across his face.

The dreams weren't his, and the memory of them faded quickly. He knew they they were happy dreams, but they tore at him, mocking him with what he didn't have. And so, Edwin awoke angry. Angry that Dwight had something he longed for, angry at his own jealousy, and angry at the tears.

The morning was spent in meditations, or attempts of, to get his emotions back under control. After wasting a good amount of time trying, he gave up. He wasn't upset any more, merely burnt out. Good enough for appearances at least. Good enough to go to that restaurant for breakfast. Might as well eat something. Celebrate getting to choose to sleep by sitting down for a real meal.

The lobby had a small crowd forming, new faces. A fine reminder that the world existed and wasn't some sick joke of layered dreams and copied bodies. He feigned enough cheer in his "Good morning" as he collected his vouchers. He hoped it was passable, or at least looked like a non-morning person faking it. He didn't linger long, stepping out and getting a deep breath of fresh air. Here he delayed, taking more time to just accept that this was real, that this place existed, and that he wasn't trapped like in the last few worlds.

 

[Silver-]

Silver Blackwood
Tags: Rhyme Britt-21
Location: Marasong Inn

“Good morning, wake the fuck up!”
The words rang in her ears like an alarm that blared louder than the sudden yowling that greeted Silver when she awoke. Nails scored into the painted door of the bathroom, raking through her ears with purpose although it’s volume made her jerk into action.

“Woah Indy, hey, you can’t do that!” Surely the hotel would hit them with fees for any damage they caused to the room—fees they surely couldn’t afford right now. Silver shook the fog of her reminiscent dreams away to push Indy away gently from the door, realizing a half second prior that she didn’t want to shove her too hard for fear of breaking her. It was then that she noticed her especially sentient alarm.

Her body was puffed up, eyes wide with a knowing look that said she needed something now and the scent of.. burnt hair? If Roje hadn’t opened the door to Indy’s desperate attempt to get her attention, then Silver lightly tapping her knuckles against the door would surely denote there was a need for her.

“Roje? I think Indy wants something from you—“.

Her eyes caught sight of the blackened fur at the tip of Indy’s tail and she frowned briefly, concern washing over her eyes but she shook her head and stood up, taking a step back to sit on the edge of the bed closest to the door. If they were going to go out today, she needed to order a change of clothes if that was a thing.

 

[BillieRoss]

Bill
Location: The Marasong Inn
With: Larry , Worthlessplebian , silverwhere , Out Of Words [Seraphim]

Bill rolled out of bed and scrubbed at her face. A new day was about to dawn, and the first creeping tendrils of light were already smearing themselves against the sky.

Bill changed her clothes. She washed her face. She tied her short, unruly hair back without even bothering to try and comb it. She set the kettle to boil and squeezed a packet of wet food into a little dish for the cat. The kettle boiled. She made herself a strong, strong pot of coffee and waited for it to brew.

It could have been like any other day. On any other day she’d be thinking about what kinds of potions she could brew, what kinds of plants she could gather. Unfortunately there wouldn’t be any of that today. She had a mystery to solve. She scowled to herself. She never liked mysteries. They always made her feel thick.

She cut off a hunk of bread and smeared it with butter, drizzling some honey over top.

What would Lara do, if she were here? She’d think through the facts. Fact one: there was a box full of beetles, which had been left in a safe in the woods. Alyce had mentioned them guarding something, but that seemed like a logical step too far. They were almost certainly magical. They were almost certainly bad news. They were an invasive species at best, and god-knows-what at worst. They were fused to her bedroom floor - it couldn’t hurt to draw another containment circle. Maybe she could take a little more time over it. Maybe she could get around to painting one on the underside of her rug - she’d been meaning to do it for a while.

Fact two: Hatsu had an identical safe, one which had been in his house before he got here. It wasn’t much of a stretch to imagine they were linked, but the nature of the connection was questionable. For a few moments she thought about whether there was any chance Hatsu had some ulterior motives, had been playing dumb and that this was all part of an elaborate scheme to….do something. It seemed unlikely. It seemed more likely this was just an extension of Marasong’s weirdness.

Which brought her to a third fact: There was something deeply, truly fucked about Marasong. It amplified her spells like nothing. It sang songs to her. The people were insular, the town was insular, the nation was insular. Nobody spoke directly about anything. Nobody had any answers. If Paddy was anything to go by, it attracted fucked people as well.

Not much of a fact, that last one. Half a fact.

That seemed to mostly be it. Two and a half facts. Frustratingly little. Maybe whatever was in Hatsu’s safe would be a third.

They’d do well to be careful. Bill went back into her room and nabbed a couple of candles - one for energy, one for tranquility. There was one that had been sold to her in Mumbai she’d never had the courage to burn which was said to reveal things “as they truly were”, but christ knows what that means. It was carved in Sanskrit, which she’d had no luck translating, so who even knew if it did what it said. Might be worth a shot, if things got desperate.

She rooted around through the bottles she had. Some stuff for burning, some stuff for nausea. The bandages with quick-healing spells written on them might come in handy - she pocketed a roll of those.

There didn’t seem to be much worth bringing, or making. The only things she had in could make a blank-memory potion, the thought of which made her stomach turn. She’d always hated memory spells. Messy. Horrifying. It always seemed like too much power, for someone to just…erase memories. Not something she ever wanted to dabble in.

That just left the chalk. She grabbed it and flipped the rug up, carefully drawing two circles around the box, just in case. She took the time to make sure the runes were even and legible, and that the circle was as round as she could possibly freehand. Then she flipped the rug back down over it, and piled her dirty clothes on top as well. She slipped the chalk into her messenger bag. You never know when it might come in handy.

Some candles, some bandages, the chalk, and her wand. It felt a little absurd, getting so ready to go and open a safe. But it was better to be safe than sorry.

She poured the coffee into a travel mug, loading it up with milk and sugar as well. By the time she stepped out, the sun was rising, and casting long shadows over the ground.

She found her way to the inn, somewhere she rarely had much cause to be. She opened the door, confident and quiet, and stepped into the lobby.

Hatsu was standing by the stairs, looking down at the gathered crowd. Paddy was there, and Seraphim, and some fella she’d seen around but never had the chance to talk to.

“Ah good, you’re up,” she said to Hatsu, “ye look awful, by the way, did ye sleep at all?”

She looked down to the rest of them. “‘Lo, nice tae see you, how about this weather, lovely sunrise.”

Before any of them could respond, she looked back at Hatsu. “Are ye ready for us tae have our ah…chat? I’ve coffee if ye want some and dinnae mind sharin’.”

She punctuated this with a long sip. Bill had always been a bit of a morning person.

 

[Britt-21]

Out Of Words Silver- Rhyme

It felt as if every time she had gone to bed for even just a moment, she'd dream about something in her past. It was always different memories, and it seemed that her own body never wanted her to forget. This is why she tried to avoid sleep most nights, especially now. So much trauma in so little time, she was surprised that everyone wasn't trying to kill one another or keep their distance from everyone around them. After she had woken up, she decided to just take a shower while the others remained asleep, and in doing so, she was deafening her own ears. Any type of running water always made it hard for her to hear anything, whether she was the one running the water, or someone else. That's what sucked about being a Vampire, trying to hear over anything like that made it increasingly difficult.

Taking the shower was the most relaxing thing she could do just to clear her mind from everything that's happened. In all her time so far, she's been in and out of hell. With a sprinkle of time travel and dimension hopping. She leaned forward in the shower wall with a soft sigh, her head resting against the tile while the water ran down her back. Those hazel eyes had closed while she tried to come up with a plan. Not only was today a trip to the Loving Spoon, but there was also Brunch with Shortcake, on top of having to meet an old friend... Getting a break can only last so long I guess... she thought, clearly unaware of a card being slid underneath the door, followed by scratching on the door. Pulling her head off from the wall, she tried to listen closely, despite the water running right above her head. It stopped and all she heard was muffles after that.

It's time to finish showering. Sounds like the others may be awake. with that thought in mind, she went ahead and shut off the water before stepping out and grabbing a towel to dry off her body. While drying off, she noticed the card hanging out right in front of the door, and a knock came soon after. She wrapped the towel around her body as Silver spoke out to her about Indy wanting something. With a raised eyebrow, she unlocked the door and opened it to look down at the black cat who had a burnt scent coming from her "What..." she leaned down and looked for the source, which happened to be her tail "Indy, how did you manage this?" with a shake of her head, she picked up not only the card, but her sister too, fully prepared for the scratches or bites that may ensue "You're the cat whisperer, Silv, you tell me what she wants." she said jokingly as she walked into the main part of the room, showing her the card "Did you put this underneath the door?"​

 

[KodakWolf]

Leif Hjalkarssen


The stormy black seas had been the worst Leif'd seen yet. With each new jerk of the ship to one side or the other, the waters threatened to swallow it whole. It shouldn't be long now, though. They were almost home. And Leif'd never wanted to be home so bad. He was married now. The days he could afford not coming back from a raid were gone.

But the sea didn't seem to think the same. It grew madder by the second, waves bashing against the heavily loaded wooden ship with unnatural strength.

Leif thought he saw something in the water, as unlikely as that was in such furious waters. But there was certainly something just below the surface. Something he couldn't inspect closer while trying to hang on for his life, something he couldn't inspect closer while a colossal wave finally swallowed the ship, and everything went dark.

Leif jumped awake, and it took him a few minutes or so to remember where he was. To remember the room at the inn, to remember Marasong, and everything that happened between that and the stormy night he was dreaming about. And it took even loger for the distress to completely subside. He hadn't been afraid to die in a long, long time, and it was a sensation he certainly didn't miss.

Being drenched in sweat, another shower seemed like a reasonable thing, one rocked by the strange lullaby that gradually ressurfaced as he woke up. And it wasn't the only thing that ressurfaced. Old memories, memories he thought had been lost long ago did as well. Memories good and bad, but unusually powerful.

It was hard not to give in to them. Impossible, really. It was still dark outside, but one could tell there was some hustle, and the town was waking up. But it was probably too soon to head to the store he had to go to. And too early to speak with Alice. Too early to wake up Levi and Chase, probably. He had time. The memories had time.





Riley Adler/Boy

The first thing Riley remembered from the dream was the fresh, familiar scent of perfume. A scent he knew just as well as the woman sitting right in front of him on the balcony. The ballet teacher he fell for years ago.

It was a lazy sunday morning, another one like many others. The warm breeze played with the tips of her golden hair that reflected the sunlight in a range of beautiful hues. She was talking about how her week had been. He couldn't make out the words, but he knew that's just what she was talking.

Because it was a dream, he didn't find it strange that he couldn't pick up any full words. He just relished in that peaceful atmosphere, that heart warming moment that could very well go on forever.

"You're just a dog though... who knows just how much you understand. Wish you could talk back."

The words snapped him out of the comfortable trance faster than a slap to the face. As he immediately tried to talk back, he realized he couldn't. He really was just a dog.

And before he knew it, he was just a dog, waking up in a familiar cave next to his best friend. The light breeze, the warm sunlight, Annelise and her soft voice were all gone. And it left a bitter taste behind.

Boy was feeling really down, and physically tired on top of all that. It felt like he just hadn't gotten any sleep, as if Augie had woken him up with all the tossing and turning he was doing just 15 minutes after he'd finally fallen asleep. If the day wasn't just starting to light up, he'd think it was still early evening.

But it wasn't, and the memories brought back with the dream he just had were too painful to bear. He wouldn't be able to fall asleep again, much lie in the cave with his own toughts much longer.

He knew he had to do something about Augie, but he didn't yet know what. He did have an idea of where to start though, and it'd hopefully keep him busy enough for his thoughts not to torment him any further.

Being careful not to wake Augie, even if it seemed unlikely he'd wake up any time soon, the dog sneaked out of their makeshift bed, and crawled through the narrow tunnel towards the beach. He wasn't nearly as afraid of the sea thing as he was the night before, and he was determined to fulfill his goal for that morning.

Whenever Augie woke up, he'd find a nice pile of the prettiest rocks and shells one could have collected that morning along all of the beach and the adjoining woods right beside their mattress.

 

[Out Of Words]

IF DECEMBER FREEZES​

IC Thread - GM Post
Front Desk​

Seraphim was still filled with an easy smile and peppy greeting, obviously one of those 'morning' types. She greeted Aódh, "Good morning. It's perfectly splendid! It's going to be a beautiful day! I bet you're wanting a voucher? Nothing like Tilly's breakfast to start the day." She started rummaging around in a drawer behind the front desk as Bernard approached.

Seraphim's expression shifted into concern as the second man explained he had a minor accident. "Oh dear! I do hope you feel better. You might want to visit the clinic if you're feeling poorly though. Marianne... oh well. Not Marianne, she's taken ill." She paused for a moment, then forced a brighter smile again. "Well, any one at the clinic will be more than skilled and helpful, I'm sure." She slid over their vouchers for the day, two each, as Bernard turned his attention toward Aódh.

Hatsu's greeting resulted in Seraphim waving back, she seemed to be waiting to see if Hatsu came closer for his vouchers or not. When Bill arrived, she earned a greeting as well. "Good morning!" However, Bill was already focused on Hatsu and sipping her coffee from a thermos. Seraphim's gaze could be felt off and on, however Edwight made his approach and came to collect his meal vouchers.

"Good morning!" Two meal vouchers were handed over to Edwight with the greeting. The man was ready to go as soon as he had the vouchers in hand, and Seraphim returned her attention to Aódh and Bernard, though she kept a small measure of her attention on Hastu and Bill.




OOC Information

Aódh & Bernard Larry Worthlessplebian : Seraphim is very awake, and alert, and as you two are the closest to the desk, very attentive to your conversation. You each receive two meal vouchers, and there are an assortment of local flyers and pamphlets spread out along the counter. They are advertising most of the shops on the docks, and one is a reminder for the grand reopening of the Careless Shark Pub coming soon.

Hastu & Bill silverwhere BillieRoss : The others appear to be in conversation, but you can tell Seraphim's keeping her usual watch over everyone in the lobby. Probably to make sure her customer service skills aren't called into question, though what one calls alert, others may call being a little too curious.

Edwight Thropian : The air is amazingly crisp and clear, one might even call it sweet. The docks are full of workers carrying cargo to and from two ships currently in the harbor. Shop lights are coming on, one can even see a shop keeper here and there unlocking the doors and going inside to get things started for the day. The sunrise just outside the inn is starting to look like it's going to be a banger.

IF DECEMBER FREEZES
A story by Out Of Words​

Season One: A Night Bleeds​