Buck’s Tuesday afternoon odd encounter(Lola)
Date: 2025-07-29 15:43
(Buck’s Tuesday afternoon odd encounter(Lola):Lola)
[Tue Jul 29 2025]
In the center of the Mushroom Cafe/span>/spanThe heart of the witch hut thrums with quiet energy. In this circular space, the ceiling domes ever so slightly, low enough to feel intimate but high enough for trailing vines to loop from the rafters like green streamers. The walls are paneled in rich, warm claywood with occasional inlays of mossy hearthstone where shelves are carved directly into the timber- each shelf stacked with stoneware mugs, sugar jars, and tin canisters labeled in soft, handwritten chalk.
Round tables shaped from mushroom caps, complete with dappled gills beneath, dot the space. They range in hue from gentle cream to deep russet, and each holds a candle nestled in a squat wax-dripped jar. Lavender faerie lights hang from threads above like hovering jellyfish, while green moss creeps along the corners of the room, glowing faintly with a heartbeat pulse.
The air smells of roasted chicory, honeyed mushroom broth, and just a hint of cinnamon bark. Somewhere under it all is the earthy tang of wet soil and crushed sage. The floorboards are old, stained dark by generations of spilled tea, and slightly uneven in a way that makes them feel like they have grown, not been laid.
Here is a willowy woman with cloud-white hair pinned in a loose braid and eyes like birch bark. She doesnt speak much, but her long sleeves are always dusted with tea leaves, and her fingers are stained green from grinding herbs.
It is about 80/span>/span26C) degrees. The mist is heaviest At Carnation and Sidney/span>/span“Of course.” Matias steps away from Lola and pulls out the rosary along with a saint minted coin while informing the other investigators “I am just going to see about some privacy.” Unlike many ritualists the circle appears to be the coin itself and so he roams the property while invoking a spanish litany of prayer. To any onlookers it would be akin to watching someone waft smoke to protect only instead of a censur of burning herbs the rosary swings from the same hand that holds the coin.
Luka squints his eyes at the crystal as it starts to show him some kind of story. Not the CCTV recordings of the man at the window like he’d hoped, but it certainly did seem to be the same man. “… By the looks of it you two have met before.” Luka says with a deep sigh as he looks over to Matias interrogating Lola’s memories “She’s certainly had her memory fucked with, that much is for sure. Do you know how much she’s lost?” Luka asks the man, looking to Buck next “What’s your take on this, detective?”
Shiloh spares a glance to Luka at his hype up, managing to cut through the annoyance causing the man to chuckle. A grin splitting his lips before he marches out, Lola’s scream draws his attention back to the shop, he blinks, springing into action as he sees the man standing over her despite his injuries which definitely slow him down. He attempts to launch himself at the man, slashing with his bladed chakram should he manage to reach the man.
Buck watches the crystal with some concern as he pulls out a small notebook and scribbles in it. “Unsure if this is a God, Fae, or Demon, but altering memories is some level of hypnotism or Fate Crafting.” he glances to Lola again and asks, “Tell me about your childhood. Can you give me your parents middle names?”
[Shiloh]: The mist curls around Shiloh’s ankles as he steps out of the shop, the door propped open behind him. All is quiet, no birds singing, no crickets chirping, no cars driving by- it’s the sort of quiet that isn’t even remotely peaceful. Another step out, and like blotted white tendrils, the mist curls almost sensually about his waist, drawing him further and further away from the safety of the shop. “Poor thing…” says a mucky voice, too sweet to be palatable, too uncanny not to bring a shiver to the spine. Now the mist is above his head as he continues out, but the hologram distracts him- breaks that trance. He can hear someone out there give an annoyed hiss of frustration as Shiloh suddenly goes running back into the shop, slashing his weapon out at a hologram and causing it to blink out of existence.
[Buck]:/span>Lola seems to scowl and become confused. “Of course I can- They’re…. They’re uhm…. Their middle names are… Wait, I… I know this…” she insists firmly.
(oh my God color fix) [Shiloh]: The mist curls around Shiloh’s ankles as he steps out of the shop, the door propped open behind him. All is quiet, no birds singing, no crickets chirping, no cars driving by- it’s the sort of quiet that isn’t even remotely peaceful. Another step out, and like blotted white tendrils, the mist curls almost sensually about his waist, drawing him further and further away from the safety of the shop. “Poor thing…” says a mucky voice, too sweet to be palatable, too uncanny not to bring a shiver to the spine. Now the mist is above his head as he continues out, but the hologram distracts him- breaks that trance. He can hear someone out there give an annoyed hiss of frustration as Shiloh suddenly goes running back into the shop, slashing his weapon out at a hologram and causing it to blink out of existence.
[Buck]: “I’ve been to the carnival in the park, yes! But after it was over, sadly. I did design the knife-throwing game myself,” she reveals proudly, though the more Buck questions, the more Lola seems to scowl and become confused. “Of course I can- They’re…. They’re uhm…. Their middle names are… Wait, I… I know this…” she insists firmly.
“Hrmm…holes in the memory belies some level of editing. I’m developing a test for Fate Crafting that involves core memories that most everyone should know, like number of siblings and memories of parents and family. When these are vague and unable to be recalled, there is most likely editing, because a core memory is much more vivid and specific than a written one.” Buck murmurs aside to Luka as he squints at Lola, “Miss Lovelace, do you remember when your mother would give you hugs in your childhood? What did she smell like?”
Shiloh is drawn further into the growing mist, unaware as each step comes naturally, luring him further as he approaches the voice. Then the trance is broken and he swings at the hologram, blinking as the hologram disappears, collapsing against the wall as he huffs, breath pained and labored, sweat clinging to his matted hair. Appearing to be in a much worse state now at the sudden exertion. “Fuck me…” He murmurs beneath his breath as he strains his eyes, blinking, trying to get a hold of himself.
Matias is completing that fifteen minute ritual warding of the property in the hopes it is not a True Power but simply a very scary supernatural outside.
Luka nods his head slowly, folding his arms over his chest “Fatecrafting …” Luka echoes back to Matias, trying to word out for taste in his mouth “I’ve no fucking clue that that is.” Luka tells the man after a second, sighing as it turns out this was above his level of education. “So, she, had her memories changed … A lot?”
Putting his cold brew down and looking at Luka’s mocha, Buck points at the both of them. “Lola gave me the Cold Brew and you the Mocha. Fate Crafting is a way for powerful entities to change the past so that it has always happened.” he swaps the two of the drinks on the counter in front of Luka, “I have always had the mocha, even in the past, Lola gave me the Mocha and nobody knows the time in which I ever had an iced coffee.”
Buck points at both of the coffees, “Lola was something other than a mushroom witch before. This is…whatever she currently is, and can perhaps be something else. Her past has been edited so her memories of it as well. But it’s not always…written accurately because our experiences are far wider than their power. It is difficult to warp all of reality, time, and space and get it spot on accurate.”
a break in the litany Matias confirms, “Ransom is correct in his explanation.”
Shiloh rises to his feet after taking a breather, returning to the group, looking between them and Lola, having been listening to the conversation while he was down. He nods a bit at Buck’s explanation, telling him “And I only order the latte, because I’m not a big coffee fan, but she gave me an espresso.” He seems to be grasping a relative understanding now, brow furrowing as he asks the question “So how do we fix this?”
Matias answers his phone and then frowns looking at it having finally completed the warding rite.
“Well, figure out what the fuck that assclown is, make a deal with it or get it to fuck off by beating it’s ass. We can possibly mindward Lola or just let things happen as they may. She could have entered into this deal willingly if her past was pretty terrible.” he motions to the crystal with the images, “Well, definitely don’t want to leave her to deal with it by herself, so we’re looking at interfering with this entity’s plans and finding out the consequences of that.” Buck says.
[Matias]: Matias manages a protective ritual as he wades throughout the shop, though whether it helps or not does remain to be seen- it takes the monsters trying to get in to prove if the magic can keep them out, after all. “Professor? What is this for?” Lola asks Matias with a huff, her brows furrowing as the men continue to search and dig and rummage for answers. They’ve seen so much already, and yet each clue uncovered seems to reveal that two more have yet to be found.
[Luka]: Something uncovered, though the information isn’t originally from New Haven- it’s someone in Luka’s network from Nebraska originally, giving a bit of information- once upon a time they had made a deal with a True Fae that went by the name Mister Sunshine. He advertised himself as a ‘fixer’ of broken lives. That he could fix anything- bad genes, poor work life, non-existent love life, etc. And all it took in return was a trade- no money charged. It seemed too good to be true, and it was, though only after a while.
[Shiloh]: The pain is searing from those injuries and the sudden lunge towards the hologram. What even is going on? Who is this man? Another blink of those mismatched eyes reveals a pair of mismatched jesters outside of the window, pointing and silently laughing at Shiloh through the window panes. Mocking him. Taunting him. Antagonizing him. But then those creatures, matching in appearance save for one is red and gold, the other is purple and gold, sneer in Buck’s direction. He must be far more than onto something here. But why does the jester continue to wait outside, one wonders?
Bringing up his phone to read the info just given to him, Luka furrows his brow in frustration. “Yup. I think you two got it right” Luka tells Buck and Matias “Fate crafting by the sound of it. It seems our jester guy might be a true Fae.” Luka says before glancing between everyone present “Shiloh might be able to kick some ass but we’re going to need more than just what we got here if we want to take on a true fae. We’re gunna need a small army for this.” Luka tells the group, a dark tone to his voice.
Shiloh has calmed down now that he seems to get what’s going on, his mismatched gaze on the jester’s in the window, exhaling an annoyed sigh but he otherwise ignores them. Though he does pause at their sneer toward Buck. The cogs in his brain beginning to turn as he approaches the other side of the window, lips curling upward into a smirk. “Guys I think it’s working, whatever you did Matias. I don’t think they can enter.” He taps his finger against the glass, pointing at the annoyed jester like a fish in a tank “This one looks especially upset.”
“The center of the mist is a block away.” Matias remarks in a non-answer to Lola as he turns onto her now and says. “Also in August we are doing that mentual manipulation practical campus example… But you are going to be the…” he trails off trying to pick the word. “… Control group!” and then in an aside to the others, “Fatecrafting is not limited to True Fae. I could Fatecraft given the Illusium Court resources or enough time to study. I just cannot fatecraft reality simply memory and physicality.” and then to Lola as he leans against the bar and says, “Look at me for a few minutes Lovelace. I need to ward your mind for the control group.”
Matias says, in an aside pausing mid prayer, “I have claimed to be a True Fae several times in my life. A mask and illusions can get you far. It may be, it may not. It may be a True Fae’s agent and not the fae itself.“
Buck downs the rest of his cold brew coffee and gives a tip of his hat, “Well, if it really is a True Fae, it’s been nice knowing you all. Fuck if I’m not already deep in and it’s mad at me.” he thumbs towards the window at the two jesters, “Now it’s got a number of assclowns dancing on the sidewalk.” he searches in his pockets and furrows his brow, “Looks like I didn’t bring my Fae stuff with me, I’ve got demon and werewolf fighting stuff, but no iron to speak of. Maybe we can cut it a deal and trick it into something that goes against it’s nature.”
Luka nods his head slowly in Matias’s direction “I suppose …” Luka tells him “The sources I have a pretty reliable, but it wouldn’t be the first time someone was wrong about something” Luka says before he looks out the window to the double jesters now “Great …” Luka murmurs under his breath “… There’s two of them.” Luka adds before glancing over to Lola “You remember anything about either of these?”
Fury is replaced by amusement as that silent jester continues to listen and observe and torment the group from outside, in particular Shiloh and Buck seem to be at the ass-end of the creature’s jokes, one twin grabbing its ribcage and pretending to be in pain while the other faux sobs and scrubs at its eyes with balled-up fists. Boohoo! Then Buck. Oh, Buck. He is mimicked and mocked a the twin jesters of red and purple pretend to scribble down books and flip through notes and hold up a singular finger, obviously telling each other nasally ‘uhm, actually-‘.
Meanwhile Lola stares into Matias’s eyes with a soft expression, or she already had been by the time he made his command, a faint smile on her face that starts to fade. She yawns, and her head starts to sag, a true struggle to keep her eyes open now. “Mmm… But I’m tired..” she whispers. Those paying attention, or with acute vision, would notice that a singular blink in unison reveals that now both jesters are gone once again- and the door slowly swings open, mist pouring over the floor like milk… Then there is the sound of a thousand insect legs.
When the door swings open Matias’s attention leaves Lola who is becoming sleepy and the mist enters. “The wards only work… If the door is locked! Close it again!” he insists
“Well, I guess that ward isn’t as warding as it’s supposed to be.” Buck notes as he pulls out his revolver, “Hey you assclowns, show yourself and speak, or you’ve violated the hospitality of this place uninvited.” he doesn’t leave the counter, opting to motion with his gun to Luka to go and shut the door, “Hey, you all don’t know who you’re messing with here. Luka’s the front man of The Howlers and they’re a bunch of badasses.”
Shiloh snickers as he watches the jesters, looking back to Buck “Hey Buck, look- I think they’re calling you a nerd.” He says amused before looking back to see them mocking him, lips turning downward into a frown “Oh come on.” Then they’re gone and mist begins pouring in “Fuck- I thought they couldn’t get in “MATIAS!” He calls out to the man to fix the problem, but he’s already deduced the issue, and the man moves for the door quickly, trying to swing it shut and lock it before the bad shit can get inside.
Shiloh snickers as he watches the jesters, looking back to Buck “Hey Buck, look- I think they’re calling you a nerd.” He says amused before looking back to see them mocking him, lips turning downward into a frown “Oh come on.” Then they’re gone and mist begins pouring in “Fuck- I thought they couldn’t get in.” “MATIAS!” He calls out to the man to fix the problem, but he’s already deduced the issue, and the man moves for the door quickly, trying to swing it shut and lock it before the bad shit can get inside.
Hearing the door opening up and the bugs entering in, Luka groans underneath his breath. Thankfully, Shiloh was already getting the door, so Luka jumps into action himself trying to sort out any of the bugs that were getting into the store! Looking over to Lola as he starts tugging off his clothes he barks at her “Can you see them now!” Luka asks her, desperately as he starts to shift …
Buck ooc: has to go to a dentist appointment, will be back later.
*WHAM!*
The door slams shut and the mist almost seems to squeal and recoil as Shiloh locks it from the inside, slipping back out under the crack as though they had been a living, breathing being that were crushed by the weight of the door.
Then silence- beyond the quiet thud of Lola’s head finally hitting the countertop, unconscious, before her body starts slumping towards the floor after the incident with the door. It’s as though the life, the strength, has been drained out of her, and she hits the ground if no one catches her, eyes spasming behind their lids.
It’s strange… The speed of which it all happens, the lack of warning, the lack of… Context for many things. Is this the way the Fae work, or is this instance a one-off event?
And what, oh, what, is that strange crystal sitting on the counter nearby where Matias had been leaning against it, trying to ward Lola’s mind from the dangers? It’s similar to the surveillance crystals that were placed around the Hut, and yet it is asymmetrical, jagged on one side and blocky on the other, and inside, deep within its core, is the flickering image of Lola’s face, sobbing with makeup streaked down her cheeks- wait, no. That isn’t Lola. Who is that? The two could be twins…
Matias jumps the counter as Lola’s head thunks and slides over to catch her by the back of the pinafore dress before easing her towards the ground and sighing. “Okay…” and then looking at the wolf and Shiloh on the door there is a frown. “So we are trapped… In a witch hut… In the mists… with maybe a Fae outside and Lovelace is asleep.”
Buck runs away and hides in the back, “I bet there’s something back here I can find to deal with it!” he says as he exits the scene while his player is at an appointment hoping to be back soon!
The creature lets out a deep sigh as Shiloh manages to get the door closed just in time, seemingly saving them from whatever horrible fate Mister Sun (Or was it Mister Shine?) Had in store for them. It pads it’s way slowly over to the crystal Matias had discovered, standing up to put it’s front paws awkwardly onto the counter in order to get a better look at the crystal. Luka(wolf) tilts it’s head to the left, then the right, before letting out an angry yap at the crystal. It pokes it with it’s nose, pushing it towards Matias as if telling the man he should probably take the gem that Mister Shine (Or was it Mister Sun?) had placed Lola’s(?) soul into …
Shiloh looks back to the group as the door closes and the mist withdraws, confusion striking his features “Okay. Yeah. I don’t feel like we’ve gotten very far here.” He sighs, back pressed against the door before pulling away, returning to the group “So now that we’re safe in here, how do we get whatever’s out there, and whatever’s bothering Lola, gone?”
Matias looks at the broken crystal which cannot be accessed without repair… which he is unlikely to be able to do probably maybe. Then down at Lola and then out through the window. “Shut up…” he says to no one imparticular and then looks at the crystal again. “Shiloh, did you saw there were two of them out there in the mist? Were they identical or alternating colors?”
Shiloh furrows his brows at Matias’s words before blinking “OH! One with her memories she lost, and the other is this one? So we have to find a way to bring them into one to return Lola to how she was?”
Luka(wolf) watches the interaction between the two with a stern expression. Or, at least, it seems stern. It’s hard to read the face of a wolf. It definitely seemed to be following the conversation, though …
Many things happen slowly but surely over time- the mist becomes just slightly less dense, still wreathing the building, but not as… Dangerous, the sinister nature of the weather no longer palpable in the very air surrounding it. The buzzing of insects ceases, the sun shines just on the edge of the horizon, and clouds, fluffy and white, float through the sky. All is well again, at least for now, and Matias, Shiloh, and Luka(wolf) are left to figure out what the fuck is going on, though perhaps this is only the beginning. A tester. Far grander things must be to come, right? This couldn’t be the end. They still have to fight the bad guy, after all, and rescue the damsel. Where’s the happily ever after? The fairytale ending? Perhaps we will find it next time. There is much to do in the interim.
FIN
Matias picks up the damaged crystal and keeps it for himself simply stating, “Best not to leave this where it can be taken.”
Matias says “I will keep it and coordinate with Ransom. He will keep you both in the loop, agreed?“
Shiloh says “Works for me.“
Luka nods his head as he slowly shifts back to human form. “Try and keep Lola in the loop, too” Luka tells Matias “I’ll try to speak to her as well … Soon as she wakes up, anyway”
While waiting for Luka’s input Matias crouches down behind the counter with the drowsy Lola who did in fact hit her head on the counter. Faeries with concussions, what wild thoughts they might have. He touches the shoulder nudging her, “We can try but it may cause her to act… rashly.”