lostcarnival | ⇨ The Tourist Trap: WEEK 3

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⇨ The Tourist Trap: WEEK 3

Who: Anyone, anywhere in Portland.
When: October 15st - 22th, 2017
Where: Still in Portland
What: As all sides of the struggle gradually become informed, and the awareness of outsiders begins to spread, Portland faces a critical question - what should be done with them? And who gets to decide?
Warnings: Individually marked!

THE WOLVES AMONG US↴

► WHEN SEPTEMBER ENDS: It's fairly common knowledge that October is a special month - Halloween has always been an excitable time in the supernatural community, because its during this month that the magical energies of Earth seem to disproportionately swell in power. This peeks on the 31st, and has every year for as long as anyone can remember. The holiday of Halloween is a byproduct of this, because the magical phenomenon has gone on for ages past. It's also a pretty common time for wizards to attempt bullshit shenanigans, and also when the Severing first came into effect.

► TOUCHED BY AN ANGEL: Towards the end of the week, Prudence Jaeger will be asking her angelic contacts for a pretty huge favour - she wants them to help her and some of her associates break into the Circle stronghold that the visiting Council members are staying at. It seems that they have some kind of macguffin item that will be needed to crack the barrier cutting off the Earth from the cosmos - and, to that end, allow the angels and mysterious outsiders to return to wherever they call home.

► THE PATH TO HELL: Perhaps unsurprisingly, Team Heaven isn't the only group to clue into the fact that the Circle has what they need. On the same night that the angels go in, so will Anath's army, as the arch demon finally arrives in the city just in time to join the party. Whether the angels and demons fight each other all the way or cooperate to achieve a mutual goal is up to them.

► WITH GOOD INTENTIONS: The Circle and Torchlight aren't all bad, okay? It's entirely possible that they are just acting in the best interest of humanity - unfortunately, that has resulted in them being pretty massive pricks recently, and now the payback for that is arriving on their doorstep. If you're a member of the Circle, you may or may not realize that anything is coming in time for you to prepare. (That will depend on your threads up to the end of the week.) However, once the fight starts, you'll be charge with defending the Councillors whether you like it or not, and Torchlight is getting pulled in as an unexpected ally to ensure their safety as well. Are you going to heed their call? Or is it time to split from the pack?

► BLOOD OF ICE AND FIRE: It's been made no secret that the Rose Queen isn't the only fae trying to pull back her lost changelings - now the Winter Court appears to be doing it, as well. More than a handful of changelings have gone missing over the last couple weeks, lost to both the thorns and agents of the Count. Whatever they're doing, it's also in competition with each other - Winter and Summer will be biting at each other's heels far more than normal, to the degree that it becomes clear they must have some competing objective in mind. Unfortunately for everyone else, that objective happens to conflict with the desires of just about everyone else. Fae are, by nature, opportunists.

- ✪ -
These are the major conflicts that will be coming to a head towards the end of Week 3. In the meantime, your actions will decide how certain elements are set up, and what the likelihood of success is for each group.

Dice rolling handily won the opinion poll where we asked for the preferred method of conflict resolution, so that will be coming into effect a bit later on to determine who actually wins and loses, with advantages based on the choices made.

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Of the many, many places Childermass does not go, Sanctuary is high on the list. He's been there a few times, long ago, years ago, when he'd first escaped the realm of his father, the Count, but they simply never could offer the same kind of protection the Rose Queen had. Sometimes he wonders if it may have been better to carry on trying his luck with the angel and her safe house, but—

Pointless to wonder now, really, isn't it?

He's in the process of flitting around the grounds, searching. So far, he hasn't spotted any of his sister's flocks in the area, which means he's free to search. For his own plans to go well, he needs to figure out where his so-called co-workers are. Greg and Pearl aren't entirely unknown to the Sanctuary, after all, which makes it as good a place to start as any other. Being a bird, he easily bypasses any security that's been put up and seek out an open window. That part happens to be slightly less easy, considering it's October, but he eventually finds one, a room with a window left open a crack for fresh air. As a crow, he can't really pry it open, but as a Winter Court changeling? He can just sink into shadow and flicker from outside to inside.

Which means there's suddenly a random crow in a room, be it someone's room, a guest room, or just about any other kind of room.

Edited 2017-07-13 03:14 (UTC)

While Rita has found a more discreet place to spend her nights, she's been spending part of her days in the Sanctuary's library, gathering books and documents relating to the fae and the Severing and learning all she can from them. She sits at a table topped with a pile of such books, as well as several scattered pages of notes. A slight movement elsewhere in the room catches her eye, and she glances up briefly... then does a double-take and shoots up to her feet, her chair toppling over behind her.

"Who's there!?" she demands, staring directly at the intruder. It's far too unlikely that a bird just happened to wander in here. It could just be a werebeast, one of the many Sanctuary residents that Rita hasn't met before... but with everything going on lately, and it being a crow of all things, she has her suspicions.

She holds a hand out in a spellcasting stance. With her glamour inactive, it's easy enough to guess what she is and, to some degree, what she's capable of. "Show yourself, or you're gonna be roast chicken!" Of course, that's no guarantee that she won't roast him if she doesn't like who he is. And if he tries to flee, she'll blast him then too. Rita's not taking any chances.

A library. Interesting place to end up, but— ah, hold that thought. There's another changeling threatening him. The crow cocks his head to one side, eyeing Rita from where he's landed. One of the fire lord's, that much is easy to tell, and... a name comes to mind. Rita. Rita? Does that mean he's met this one before, somewhere in Summer's courts? That she's clearly not a Rose Queen changeling means she can't be one of the poor unfortunate kids he's stolen away in the past.

He doesn't react right away, considering his options. No matter what, he may get set on fire. The real question is, will she really use fire in a room full of paper? Let's find out. Rather than transform as demanded, the crow suddenly bursts into motion, launching himself into the air, wings spreading as he flaps his way up to the top of the stacks!

There's no hesitation. With a flick of her wrist, Rita conjures a fireball, about the size of the bird itself, and launches it right at the offending creature. The blast causes the loose pages on the table to scatter, some of them getting caught in the flames and ending up burned to various degrees. The books, too, are scorched and blown over by the force of her attack.

Does Rita care about books? Of course she does. But more than that, Rita cares about her pride, which won't let anything stop her from following through on her words. This guy needs to see that she doesn't make empty threats. "I said show yourself!"

Well, that answers that question.

Childermass flaps wildly to stop himself from passing through where the fireball lands, though he can feel the heat and smell the slight scent of singed feathers. That's how close it comes, but he does evade. The crow lands haphazardly on a table instead, immediately shifting. It's quick, letting the spell go rather than changing the way a werebeast might; bird one second, a pale changeling with feathers the next, seated on the edge of the table and raising his hands in a placating gesture.

"Very well," he says, affecting indifference in his tone despite the close call. "Calm down already. I'm only taking a look around, not looking for a fight."

Rita lowers her hand slightly at his compliance, but keeps it in front of her, ready to go back to throwing fireballs at a moment's notice. On the floor around them, there's a flickering of tiny flames from the bits of paper that were thrown about, but Rita pays them no attention. Her focus, of course, is entirely on the intruder.

A changeling, black feathers... "Hmph... if it isn't the Rose Queen's lapdog." Childermass. Rita's only heard of him, and there might be other changelings like him in the Winter Court, but somehow, just at a glance, she knows who he is with complete certainty. "You've got some nerve coming here, after the mess your master made." There's still plenty of hostility in her tone. "You think I'll believe you're just looking? What a joke. Just looking for someone else to kidnap, I bet."

"A mess I had nothing to do with," Childermass says, a tad defensively. "Although one must wonder where Pearl was during all of that."

Because he knows who's and who isn't a part of Pearl's gang, at least by sight, if not all by name. It pays to keep tabs on that kind of group, considering a few of them are changelings themselves. Including Rita, too. He also knows that. Ah, but he isn't here to seed discord in the ranks of the Renegades, so he shrugs and moves on, lowering his hands as he does, but otherwise making no sudden movements.

"It's true, though. I'm only looking for someone and certainly not to kidnap them. I would rather say I'm done with all of that entirely..."

Rita glowers at the mention of Pearl. Yeah, she's been wondering that too, considering Rita called her while it was happening. But she doesn't say anything on that; he's probably just trying to bait her.

More importantly... he's done with kidnapping? "What do you mean, you're done?" she asks cautiously, her stance unchanging. "Don't tell me you've already recaptured all of the Rose Queen's changelings." That would perhaps be the most cynical interpretation of his words, but Rita isn't one for giving people the benefit of the doubt.

That thought earns a smirk. Not a very kind one, either. Already recaptured them all, huh?

"And what would you do if I had?" Childermass asks. He shouldn't, he's sure. She's like to take it as a confirmation. As such, he adds after that, "Though I haven't, for the record. She's more inclined to have me issuing threats to rogue fae these days than sending me to steal children."

"Maybe I'd kill you, for starters," Rita replies simply. There's no guarantee she won't anyway, but it's still a likely response on her part. Taking out some the Rose Queen's servants would make everything a heck of a lot easier. "Then I'd break them out." Which would be an absurdly difficult and complex operation, but Rita says it with firm confidence.

But is he telling the truth about his recent assignments...? "What rogue fae?" she goes on to ask.

"You'd have a little more trouble there than you likely imagine," Childermass points out in return, clearly unworried. If anything, he's more concerned about her raising an alarm. One changeling is easier to deal with than all of Sanctuary. Although whether he means with killing him or with breaking them out, well...

Both, probably.

That she asks about the rogue faerie does get him to arch an eyebrow at her, though, mildly surprised the Beast hasn't made the rounds of gossip this far just yet. Interesting.

"The one who runs the Animal Fair, of course. The lords and ladies of the courts are not pleased that she's paying Portland a visit."

He's confident. That's fine. Rita didn't think he'd be easy to kill, even if her tone might have implied that.

So it's as she suspected; the fae behind the Animal Fair isn't affiliated with the Rose Queen. Rita didn't think the other fae in the area would appreciate her intrusion, but it's interesting to hear confirmation of that. But more importantly... "You were able to meet her?" she asks, eyes wide. Rita had tried to do the same, with no result.

"Of course," he answers. Sure, he makes it sound like it's no big deal, though he suspects it might be. The Beast did take her sweet time showing up even for him. "What, did you go expecting to meet her yourself?"

That gets a scowl from Rita, because yeah, she kinda did expect that. "Hmph. For someone who'd make a big spectacle like that fair, I didn't think she'd be that reclusive," she grumbles. In the end, her investigation into the fair was a bust. No fae, no answers, just a temporary transformation curse that makes her cringe to think about.

"So, how'd it go?" she asks, knowing full well that he could stop telling her things at any moment, but hey, she'll push her luck. "Knowing how the fae usually are, I doubt she's packing up and leaving after a little threat." And surely, she must have known she was stepping on a few toes when she came into town in the first place.

"She thought it was funny," Childermass replies, shrugging and looking away, idly searching his pockets for his cigarettes rather than keeping an eye on Rita. Besides, there's little need to dance around that unsurprising fact.

"If anything, she said the Courts were afraid of her, not the other way around, and I imagine she has good cause for that. She's killed their kind before."

Edited 2017-07-16 19:29 (UTC)

She's killed their kind before... Rita's stare intensifies as she considers that. Of course the Courts are afraid of her. That's why they bothered with spoken threats, rather than a display of power or a preemptive attack.

Actually, while she's considering people's motives... why hasn't Childermass clammed up yet? He doesn't strike her as especially careless. Telling someone who hates the Rose Queen about someone else who might have the power to fight her... Maybe he's not as loyal as Rita thought.

"I need to meet her. How can I do that?"

There could be plenty of reasons for it. Rita could be correct about not being all that loyal. It could also be he doesn't consider Rita a threat or the Beast a threat or that he doesn't see the Rose Queen as in danger in the first place. Whatever it is, Childermass isn't revealing his own motives, although he can guess at Rita's own with her renewed interest towards meeting the wyld faerie.

No Summer Court changeling who's escaped has much love for the Rose Queen.

Though he does take his time in answering. He finds his cigarettes first and checks to see how many he has left, then looks up and around for a sprinkler system. Luck's with him since there isn't one. Good thing, too, what with Rita being so fireball happy. If a smoke detector didn't go off for her, well...

You'd better believe he's going to light up in the library if only to be obnoxious. It's only after then that he'll say anything more.

"She's still in the forest, where the fair was. You can go there and try calling for the Beast if you'd like. You could even say I told you to go looking for her." Again, he shrugs. "Who knows. Maybe it'll help your case."

And if the Beast decides to include the fiery changeling on their little plan, well, he won't argue. She'd probably make a decent enough distraction if it came to that.

As he takes his time lighting the cigarette, Rita grows impatient, her eyes narrowing and her teeth clenching. She has to force herself not to yell at him to get on with it. Fortunately, he finally gives his answer.

In the forest? Rita has some doubts, considering how much time she spent there with no sign of the fae, but maybe having a name and a reference will make a difference. She has to try, anyway. This could be her ticket. "I'll do that," she says, much calmer than before.

Since it looks like she won't need to try to kill him, Rita raises her hand, chants a quick spell, and waves her fingers. The scattered flames around the room bend and wave in unison with her gesture, then suddenly extinguish, leaving several thin wisps of smoke. She'd left those pages to burn not out of apathy, but as potential catalysts to enhance her fire magic, should their conversation turn to violence.

"Shouldn't you go?" she suggests. "The person you're looking for probably isn't here, and you're not exactly welcome around here anyway." Even if he did just share valuable information with her. If what Childermass told her turns out to be true, he might not be her enemy, but that doesn't mean they can start acting like friends.

"What? So soon? I've only just gotten here," Childermass says in a slightly mocking way, a faint smirk creeping into existence around his cigarette as he takes in a drag off of it, then breathes the smoke out. While he can, anyway, seeing as Rita's little fire extinguisher trick also managed to suck the flame right out of the lit cigarette.

It smolders, but won't last long. He does take a few seconds to hold it out and give it a skeptical look. Like, gee, thanks... But whatever. She isn't entirely wrong. Sticking around here would be a poor idea for the likes of him.

"Though you may be right. I have no idea how often Mr. DeMayo visits the Sanctuary."

Rita wears a flat, humorless stare, until he mentions the name of his supposed person of interest.

DeMayo...? Rita folds her arms, thinking. Where has she heard that name before...? DeMayo... Greg DeMayo? Right, Yuya mentioned him too. Rita seems to remember meeting a Greg around here before... was that him? She doesn't know much about the guy, but it seems like he's deeply involved in a bunch of this nonsense. Maybe Rita ought to check him out... even pay him a visit, if she can find him.

"I wouldn't know, either," she offers uselessly, shrugging. "I don't go out of my way to keep tabs on everyone around here."

"You might be surprised who you can find here, then, Miss Mordio," Childermass replies with a shrug. What he doesn't show is the mild confusion over how he knew that other name, too. Is it even hers? Rita Mordio? But he doesn't care to look put off in front of her, lest she takes that as a reason to mistrust him further or even attack again.

So, he just carries on like nothing strange has just happened.

"As such, I think I'll take a look around," he adds, though after he says that, he does tilt his head slightly to one side, a curious gesture. "Unless you plan on running off and raising an alarm about me?"

Mordio? The name sounds so familiar that, for a moment, she doesn't find it strange that he'd call her by it. But then it sinks in, and Rita realizes that actually, it is really strange, because that's not her name.

Ugh... and he's planning on sticking around. Way to complicate things, Childermass. Rita still doesn't know if she can trust him. What if all that stuff about the Beast was just a distraction, something to get her off his back long enough for him to do as he pleases?

"Wait." There are a few things bothering Rita right now, but most of all she wants to know... "Where'd you hear that name?"

"From someone else, I would assume," is the answer he'll give Rita after a moment of pause, where he frowns and thinks about it. It could be he had misheard, although he still isn't even sure where he heard her name before in the first time. "Why? If I got it wrong, please, feel free to correct me."

Or don't. If it isn't the girl's true name, it's probably better she doesn't share that with anyone at all. Childermass would certainly understand that, considering his own problems currently (thanks, Strange, thanks so much).

"It's just Rita. I don't have any other names." Maybe she'd have a family name if she ever had a family, but she doesn't. She has a fake name for her fake driver's license, but it isn't Mordio.

So why does it sound so familiar? Wait... could it be related to those memories? But how the hell would Childermass of all people know something like that?

Rita sighs. "...Forget it. Just go." They don't have time to attempt to solve this mystery here and now, and finding the Beast needs to be her main priority. Rita has no choice but to leave Childermass to his own devices and hope for the best. If it turns out he is screwing with her, she'll just have to get him back for it later.

"Odd, I could have sworn..." Childermass almost wants to dispute the claim, because it still feels wrong, but then again, it's her right not to claim a name. He'll drop it, shrugging. "Fine. As you say."

With her telling him to just go, he'll take that as whatever unexpected business they had with one another to be done. He hadn't come here expecting to point another changeling in the Beast's direction, but he'll let the faerie decide whether Rita's tagging along or not. Before he does go, he does have the gall to sketch out a fairly mocking bow to Rita upon her dismissal.

"Until we meet again, Miss Rita."

And then he's gone, very abruptly falling into his own shadow and flitting away through the stacks — shadow to shadow to shadow — rather than retaking the form of a crow.

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⇨ The Tourist Trap: WEEK 3

closed to Rita;

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