lostcarnival | ⇨ The Tourist Trap: WEEK 1

Who: Anyone, anywhere in Portland.
When: October 1st - 7th, 2017
Where: Portland area, in the new reality.
What: Memories begin returning to the displaced as the fall gets chillier. How the hell did we end up here, again? Also, apparently, the fair is in town.
Warnings: Individually marked!

PORTLAND BY NIGHT↴

Memory regains will come into effect at the beginning of October, to whatever degree you've decided upon, and may be regained at whatever pace you desire from then on. For those with their full carnival memories, it will be like waking up in the body of someone else - for those with half and half, it will be like rapidly recalling sets of memories from a totally different life. Those with full amnesia will simply feel as if this is how it's always been.

Unfortunately for you, memories aren't the only thing you have to deal with. The supernatural community of Portland is bustling all of a sudden - could your presence and these events somehow be related?

► THE OUTER CIRCLE: As of the start of the month, the Portland Circle of Enlightenment will find itself starting to get swarmed with members from other chapters. Most notably, it would seem that a small cabal of top mages from the North American Enlightenment Council will be making their home in Portland's HQ. For anyone but the highest of ranks, the purpose behind their visit will be unclear, but it seems like something is definitely up on a metaphysical level. The Circle will be buzzing with rumours of unique planar activity and threatening omens. It seems that it all started with an unusual flare of activity in the planetary ley-lines, starting approximately a week ago. However, even if you would usually be the type to keep tabs on such things, you will find that you oddly have no memory of observing this phenomenon yourself.

► THE ANIMAL FAIR: Good news, the fair is in town! Or, at least, it would be good news... if this was a regular fair. Instead, what's being observed is a bunch of nearly identical flyers, spread all around Portland - each of which bears only the words "THE ANIMAL FAIR", a seemingly bloody paw-print of unknown origin, and the directions to a vague forested location outside of the city. It's dated for October 7th, and all instances of its posting having been discovered with a scattering of rose petals, crow feathers, and pre-burnt matches laying on the ground around them. Most are taking this to be some kind of bizarre viral marketing campaign, but others may know better.

► THE EARTH SPIRIT: If you have connections to The Pack or any of its many variations, you'll probably hear whispers of something very odd that occurred last week - according to the elders, it sounds as if the Earth Spirit, the magical and spiritual center of the planet, has suddenly taken a wound. It's not clear why or how, but there is a fair bit of concern among spiritual types, as it is werebeast belief and nebulous magical fact that the magical forces within the earth are the source of all magic here, as well as the source of life. While many werebeasts claim to have felt the Spirit succumb, you strangely have no memory of such an event occurring. Though things do feel strange, if you know how to tap into the Spirit yourself.

► THE WAR CRY: Though Anath's rain of terror across North America lasted for the first fifteen years or so of the Severing, most independent demons have had enough time to start taking the arch-demon's relative inactivity for granted. For that first while, the warrior queen had seemed determine to rebuild an army on earth by forcing her scattered brethren into service - only for her to gradually settle down in a fortress somewhere in Texas and dig in her heels. Of course, this was too good to last - it sounds as if she and her demonic legion have begun tearing their way up the west coast, their goals remaining a mystery. Their destination, however, is almost certainly Portland.

Flat | Top-Level Comments Only

Yeah, that sort of changes things.

Yuya pauses at Steven's question, a mischievous glint growing in his eyes. He leans over and speaks barely above a whisper, putting a finger to his lips. "Watch this."

He points up, at the wooden spoon sitting in one of the pots behind the counter where the chef is working. It wiggles briefly before slowly floating up, up, and out of the pot to hover a good three feet above it. The chef reaches over to give it another stir, only to grope at the air for a frantic minute before he finally turns to look and find where the damn spoon went.

It catches Steven by surprise, his particular choice in performance, and he lets out a giggle before any interior thoughts can drag him down. He puts a hand over his mouth, grinning as he watches.

He glances at Yuuya furtively, watching to see what he does.

The wooden spoon floats over the chef's head, with Yuya wiggling his fingers for effect. The chef leans over the pot, peering in...

And then thrusts his arm up suddenly and grabs the spoon. Yuya jumps and leans back. The chef looks over his shoulder, not the slightest bit amused.

Yuya lets out a startled laugh and pushes Steven's shoulders, guiding him away. "Run!"

Steven looks super freaked out about having to run, but he also just kind of freezes up and goes where Yuuya leads him. Whoa. Is the chef mad? Steven keeps his partially eaten donut awkwardly in hand as they rush out of the kitchen.

It isn't until they're out of the way that he tensely wheezes out something like a laugh. It took it a moment for it to process, but it wasn't real danger. Just... silly danger. Okay. Breathe.

Yuya crouches down beside Steven as they stop, letting him see the expression of ease on his face. There wasn't any real danger at all.

He scratches his nose. "Aha, sorry... he doesn't like it when I do that." So that wasn't the first time. "But I think he needs to lighten up! I was gonna put it back."

Steven swallows, and manages to smile, giggle more quietly after. It takes a lot of effort to relax, which is an unpleasant feeling, but he's trying.

"Yeah... I guess so."

Yuya pats Steven's head briefly before he moves to stand up straight again. "Where's your room? I can take you back there if you want."

"Oh... it's just down that hall, but..." He falls silent for a few moments, staring off in that direction. "If its okay, I think I'm going to stay out here for a bit longer."

In times like this, he really doesn't want to be alone.

"That's okay. You'd going to be fine here," he emphasizes. Unfortunately, he can't stay the night himself. He's been determined to prove he can handle public school to Bob, so that meant he had to keep up with his work.

He doings his backpack around though, and unzips it to get to done paper and a pencil. "Do you know how to use a phone? I think the Sanctuary has some that you can use. I can give you my number, and if you want to contact me for anything you can!"

He starts to write it down, using his hand as a base.

He nods, a little confused at first, but then - oh! Yeah! He can totally do that. It would be nice to have someone he can get in contact with outside of this place, if necessary.

"Oh, sure! Thank you..."

He's a bit meek about it, but he will totally take those digits.

"No problem!" Yuya grins wide as he hands the paper to Steven, then flips his backpack overt his shoulder again. "I have to go back home now, but I'll be back tomorrow. It's nice to meet you, Steven."

Steven smiles, a little more confidently now. He takes the paper, looks at it for a moment, and then stuffs it in his pocket for later use.

"Thanks for helping me," he says, with a little wave. "Bye."

Time to go back to the common room and maybe catch a few more z's.

⇨ The Tourist Trap: WEEK 1

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