Kai’s Wednesday afternoon odd encounter(Kai)

Date: 2025-06-25 12:35

(Kai’s Wednesday afternoon odd encounter(Kai):Kai)

[Wed Jun 25 2025]

An alleyway where reality doesn’t seem altogether correct
Three elegant beach cabanas sit in a row on the sand, each crafted from
smooth, sun-bleached wood with flowing white cloth panels that flutter
gently in the sea breeze. The fabric is tied at each corner in soft folds,
giving the cabanas a breezy, spa-like atmosphere that blends luxury with
coastal ease. Just beyond them lies an uninterrupted stretch of golden beach
leading straight to the endless blue ocean, where the waves roll in with a
rhythmic calm. At night, lanterns and candles are lit to provide a soft glow.

A neat line of pristine white lounge chairs and matching umbrellas sits
nearby, each arranged to face the water in perfect symmetry. Tanned,
muscular beach boys assist guests with setting up chairs and adjusting
umbrellas, their easy smiles and sun-kissed skin adding to the relaxed
charm of the setting. Stylish beach staff dressed in breezy resort
uniforms glide between loungers, handing out fresh towels and taking
orders for chilled cocktails and light seaside fare.

It is morning/span, about 102F(38C) degrees, and there are clear skies. The mist is heaviest At Birch and Lake/span

(Your target discovers a haunted mirror in an antique shop that shows disturbing visions of people’s deaths – including their own. When they try to leave without buying it, they find the mirror has somehow followed them home. The visions become more frequent and violent until they must decide whether to destroy the mirror or find its original owner to break the curse.)

While Mercedes is lounging around, in the baking heat of the noon of New Haven, she receives a tip off from the Hand about a strange mirror in an antique shop not too far away. The notification requests for her to go and investigate this mirror and determine if it’s something that ought to be destroyed or if it should simply be neutralized.

Kai also receives the alert and stands up, sighs and looks aside to Mercedes, “Want to come with me to deal with this thing?” he asks her.

Mercedes looks down at her phone, her other hand fanning her sweating face. She wanders through the streets before bumping into Kai, “I assume you mean this mirror?” she beams suddenly, “Absolutely Mister Ashford.”

Kai opens the door to the antique shop for the pair and steps in, then takes a step back, seemingly more comfortable to let the elder Hand and Conclave member take the lead, though his hazel eyes are bright with excitement as he looks about the interior, “Is all of this stuff magic or cursed or whatever?” he asks Mercedes

A rather young, pretty, slender woman with blonde hair is dusting off a few items and rearranging them on a table to make them look more presentable when the pair arrive. She turns watery blue eyes their way and asks of them, “Good afternoon! Is there anything you’re looking for in particular that I can help you with?” with a kind of upbeat tone that suggests she might actual own the store and cares about it, rather than simply being an employee paid to pretend to.

Mercedes peers around the antique shop, an eager fascination on her face, “Only if we’re lucky. If the Hand deliver’s a tip to me, I expect it to be quite-” she then blinks at the slender blonde and clears her throat, “Y-yes! In fact I’m looking for a mirror,” she smiles warmly, putting on the appearance of a savvy antique shopper rather than an archaeologist. She smooths out her skirt.

As soon as Mercedes mentions the mirror, the young, watery-blue eyed woman‘s expression changes and she asks, “You know about the mirror?” she sighs, realizing she’s answered her own question and moves to the counter, reaches behind it for a purse she had stowed there and withdraws the hand mirror from within. She keeps it turned away from her as she rejoins the pair, though she twists it in her hand so neither Mercedes nor Kai are forced to enter into the reflecting surface.

“Does it show your true self or something? You seem kinda scared of it,” Kai asks.

the young, watery-blue eyed woman runs her fingers up through her hair and, upon being closer, it’s clear to see her eyes are darkly circled from lack of sleep, “I was looking for pieces from a rival… and this one, well, it followed me home. Literally. Everytime I look in it… well, last time it showed me hanging from a tree with my neck broken. There’ve been others, of other people.”

Mercedes’s eyes dart to the mirror and with the accompanied warning, she avoids her own reflection with a shuffling of her feet, “Well… Perhaps we can rid you of it,” she smiles warmly at the blonde as her savvy shopper facade falls away, “I’m Sister Merci from the University and a member of Coretech. The mirror you hold is of particular interest to my employer,” her eyes glance at the mirror again, “I’m more than happy to help cover the expenses,” she adds cautiously, “But it would be careless of me not to ask what exactly you have discovered about this mirror.”

With the suggestion she could be rid of the mirror, the young, watery-blue eyed woman immediately offers it out to Mercedes, eager to be rid of it, “Please, nothing. Just… just take it.” she asked, relief in her eyes as she gazes between Mercedes and Kai. At Mercedes’s question she replies, “It literally appeared in my bedroom after I handled it at my rival’s store,” she begins, then wets her lips and goes on, hesitating, “It’s… it’s just awful. It showed my husband’s body after being run down and dragged by a pickup truck. The way his eyes were…” she shudders, eyes becoming more watery, “When I looked into it again, I saw my parents house, some kind of a fire and they weren’t able to get out. I watched them…,” she almost breaks, “I watched them burn… it was like I couldn’t look away,” she murmurs, tears flowing down her cheeks.

Kai‘s eyes are bright and there’s a little grin on his face, “Based.” he utters despite the mood.

Mercedes squints aside at Kai with a following smirk before she looks back towards the mirror being pushed her way. But her hands drift away from directly touching it. She notes the distress in the blonde with her own curious cat-like amber eyes, perhaps looking for any deception, “Thank you, I’d happily take it from you. But I can hardly walk around the street with a dangerous mirror. Would you please put it in a box for me? If you can manage,” she suggests, “I will ensure this thing is appropriately analyzed and then disposed of,” her eyes flit around the counter of antiques for any blunt objects, “I suspect your rival may have put a terrible curse on you. Trying to addle your mind and thus your business. I would not pay the visions any heed miss.”
/span