lostcarnival | ⇨ The Tourist Trap: WEEK 2

Who: Anyone, anywhere in Portland.
When: October 7st - 14th, 2017
Where: Portland area, in the new reality.
What: The week begins as the time of the Animal Fair finally arrives! Meanwhile, the truth of this reality starts to be revealed, and forces both human and celestial alike attempt to take advantage of a rare opportunity.
Warnings: Individually marked!

BY ANY OTHER NAME↴

Tensions thicken as various supernaturally forces react to the events of the previous week. Something critical is afoot, and it's only a matter of time before things start coming to a head. It's time to find out more about what's happened to this world, and what will happen in its future.

► A NIGHT AT THE FAIR: From the night of the 7th to the morning of the 8th, the Animal Fair is officially in town. There is a top level down below with more information, though you can also RP content from this elsewhere if you wish. The host, who is very likely something called a Wyld Fae (if you discovered that ICly), will be present, but they will only be appearing to you of their own accord and attempting to track them down by force will be ineffective. Just kick back and relax! Fairs are supposed to be fun.

► THORNS IN YOUR SIDE: Culminating in a full fledged attack against the Sanctuary, it would seem that The Rose Queen is declaring war on the changeling population of Portland. Though the vicious attack of thorns against the safe house was eventually stopped, it wasn't without damage, and the black roses that caused it are still popping up around the city and threatening the places where homeless and lost changelings would be likely to congregate. It's obvious now that this is a serious threat - will it ever stop without an intervention?

► HELL ON EARTH: As Anath's march draws near, the first waves of her demons will be entering the city. Primarily acting as scouts and foot soldiers, these demons will be attempting to secure loyalty from the local demon populace, as well as taking out any angels they can manage to catch. It's a level of aggressiveness against heaven's forces that hasn't been seen for years, and it's a foreboding hint of things to come. These demons can be NPCed by anyone, and will mostly be thugs or manipulators who don't know much about Anath's plans but do know that you need to join their side. They are also rowdier than most of the demons in Portland, and are a threat to the innocent mortal populace as well, if they decide to try to get their kicks here.

► THE WIZARD POLICE: The Enlightenment Council seems to have demanded control of the local Circle chapter, and now backup has arrived. These mages are being sent out into the city as if they are a police force, and will be attempting to demand control of various common supernatural areas, as well as questioning community members that they run into. Whatever is going on, it seems to have resulted in the Council instituting what is essentially martial law... of course, not everyone sees any need to heed their demands. If you are a demon, warlock, or other rogue element, expect to be harassed or even attacked by them. These character can be NPCed, and if you need additional information you can ask the mods.

Flat | Top-Level Comments Only

Yuya makes a beeline for Rita when he spots her across the crowd--he remembers her investigation before, and maybe she has some different insight on the fair. It's seemed mostly innocent to him...

But Fae food is almost never innocent, and he's already seen the events once. "I mean, it's working. There aren't enough people who are famili--what happened to you?!"

That jacket is a mess, Rita. He leans over to inspect her, frowning at the blood.

Rita backs away when he leans in closer, caught off-guard by the sudden concern. "I-it's nothing. Just a fight... or something like that. Huh? Wait..." She only just realized who she's talking to. "You're that kid from before. Didn't I tell you to stay away from here?"

"Uh, well--" Yuya laughs sheepishly, rubbing the back of his head. "I came with a friend, and I know not to touch anything! It seems a lot less ominous in person." He waves his hand to dismiss the thought. "You didn't get into a fight in the fair, did you? It looks kind of bad."

Rita sighs. She did warn him... but if he's here now, there's nothing that can be done about that.

She shakes her head at his next question. "It's from yesterday." Lifting one arm to show, she slides her sleeve back a bit, showing him her forearm. The arm itself has already been cleaned and bandaged... though it's possible to determine that she has several puncture wounds in a coiling pattern around said arm, where a thorn-covered vine grabbed her. "Had some trouble with a certain other fae."

The bandages at least assuage Yuya, but he still worries about her investigating when she's already injured. What if the Fae here gets mad about her suspicions? Or worse, what if her suspicions are right?

He looks up, furrowing his brow. "You mean the Rose Queen?" She was, after all, causing quite a stir in Portland right now. "Or the Fae that's running the animal fair?"

"The first one," Rita confirms. "Seems like she's going after any changeling she can find." She gives their surroundings a long, suspicious look. "Seeing how none of that's happening here, we can probably assume that the fae running this show isn't working with her." Unless, of course, they made some convoluted agreement, as fae sometimes do.

But, no... there's also the fact that Pearl had Rita and the other Renegades running around to investigate this fair. If the Rose Queen had something to do with it, she wouldn't have to go to all that trouble. But then... who the hell is behind this?

"That includes you?" Yuya purses his lips, leaning back. Whatever her reasons, nothing can be good about targeting so many people like that. He already saw the damage they were doing.

"Then we have to do something to stop her! People are already getting hurt, who knows how much worse it'll get before she decides she's done."

Huh. This guy sure seems concerned about changelings, for someone who isn't one. If he wanted to, he could probably just ignore the whole problem and go on spending his days in peace. Some people are too compassionate for their own good, Rita supposes.

"There's nothing I'd like more than to get her back, but..." Frowning, Rita shrugs. "It's easier said than done. There's no way to strike at her directly, so we can't do much more than respond to her moves as she makes them."

Yuya probably is too compassionate for his own good. But people and places he cares about have also been hurt, so it's still personal. He knows the Rose Queen has to be strong. It's all in the name. But the roses of hers, they're only her action... and that is something they can respond to.

"If I figure out a way to get rid of the roses, do you want me to tell you?

"You?" Rita sounds skeptical. "I'm not gonna hold my breath or anything... but, yeah. Sure." She really doesn't sound like she has any faith in him, but at least she's not against the idea. The next logical step is to exchange contact information, but...

Seemingly just remembering something, she clicks her tongue in irritation. "--Right, my phone's busted." Thanks, Rose Queen. "Contacting me directly might be tricky."

Yuya stops just as he's about to reach for his phone. Well that's not going to work. "Is there a place you're staying that I can come find you?"

A place she's staying... Right now, that's Axel's apartment, but Rita's not sure she wants a lot of people to know that.

"I move around a lot," she says. It's not a lie. Rita doesn't know how long she'll be staying at Axel's. "But I have some contacts around town. There's this shop... Portland Classic Records. If you give the owner a message and tell him it's for Rita, he'll get it to me."

"Portland Classic Records? All right, I'll remember that!" He grins and taps the side of his head. "If I find anything, I'll tell you. Just... be careful until then. I don't want the Rose Queen to get you."

Rita looks like she's about to say something, but is thrown off a bit at his words of concern. "Y... yeah. I'll be fine." It's hard to deal with nice people sometimes. She's trying to act tough and aloof, here! After a moment, she adds in a more natural tone, "Whatever happens, I won't go down without a fight."

⇨ The Tourist Trap: WEEK 2

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