⇨ The Tourist Trap: WEEK 2

[ringleaders]

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.

Comments

[small_reservations]

"Holy-" His voice actually breaks off as he gags a little. He's never seen any changes so fast except the replacement of his own hair with fire, after the original burned away. He's not sure what to make of it, except that it's wrong. This place is wrong.

"What happened?!" That's the first thing that comes out of his mouth. He can't imagine that she'd eat or drink here, she's too smart for that. But there's definitely fae magic permeating everything around here, now that he opens his senses to it. Damn. This WAS a trap. But the energy is... different, somehow. It's not like Summer's, it doesn't resonate with him. What could this be?

"C'mon. We're leaving." He bends down, ignoring that his arm bumps a bush as he goes, and takes her good hand from the weird one. "There's too much going on here, we can figure it out later."

[anti_nonsense]

What happened? That's what Rita wants to know. Her mind is still reeling.

When he takes her hand, she uses him to steady herself as she rises to her feet, still staring around in daze. "I, I didn't..." she stammers, "All I did was touch it..." She was careful. Wasn't she? How could this happen, even though she was careful? For some reason, that's all she can think as she watches the shape of her hand taper off into a single point, with no usable digits left.

Urgently, she looks back to Axel. "Be careful. Watch what you touch. Anything here could be dangerous." She doesn't realize that her warning comes too late.

[small_reservations]

"Right, got it." It's definitely too late, but he hasn't really noticed what's happening to him. Not yet. He pulls her away from the bushes as directly as he can, trying hard not to bump either of them into more, and starts to walk towards the section of wood they entered through.

... Only to realize the banner's been taken down, and the whole forest looks the same. There's no gap in the trees anymore, no clear path trodden by many feet. He can see over the crowd with relative ease, and there's no obvious way out.

"... Rita. I don't mean to alarm you, but the path's gone." HOW IS THAT NOT ALARMING?

Fortunately, he spots a gap between some of the food trees. They can go into the woods, right? Anywhere's better than here. "C'mon, I think I see a way."

[anti_nonsense]

Everything around her is a blur, but she tries to focus on Axel. Keeping up with him as he leads her away is all she can manage to do. That tingling feeling in her body only seems to be getting worse... The changes don't hurt, but the strange, unnatural feeling spreading throughout her body makes her feel ill.

When he draws her attention to the missing path, Rita's eyes widen for only a moment, before she takes on a more sullen look. "We're trapped... of course it's..." She knew something like this would happen. It's her own fault. Rita blew off the possibility of something terrible happening, and now they're both in trouble because of it.

She goes along with Axel, towards the alternative path he saw, but she's starting to slow down. Her jacket's starting to feel hot, stuffy, and oppressive, and she doesn't really know what's happening underneath it. Her other arm is starting to change, too, her remaining fingers stretching and melding together into some inhuman shape.