\ Haven:Mist and Shadow Encounterlogs/Ashs Odd Encounter Sr Elias 240906
Encounterlogs

Ashs Odd Encounter Sr Elias 240906

Ash's encounter begins on a seemingly normal day in Haven, cloaked in the comfort of their pastel-painted guest bedroom, as they muse over their recent romantic tribulations with a sense of ennui, speaking to their plants in a half-hearted attempt to find solace. But their morning takes a surreal turn as they are abruptly darted with what appears to be a tranquilizer, spiraling into unconsciousness only to awaken in a stark, dire setting far removed from the softness of their room. Surrounded by cinder block walls, a steel door, and ominous signs of prior violence, Ash finds themselves kidnapped, their luxuries stripped away, save for their magic-laden jewelry, a mistake their captor will soon regret. Amidst the cold concrete and the faint overhead sound of boots, Ash decides to face what comes, suspecting a test or a misguided attempt at toughness training from their allies.

The appearance of a hulk-like assailant dressed in black tactical gear marks a pivotal moment in Ash's ordeal. The thug's intentions, crudely vocalized as a desire for Ash's fae-blooded kidneys, ignites Ash's defiance, sparking a transformation that reveals their true ethereal prowess. Faced with Ash's sudden display of power—an array of faerie fires, a throne of flames, and a shift to an androgynous, star-kissed form—the captor is momentarily taken aback. Ash, undeterred by the brute's mundane threats and unimpressed with his lack of imagination, uses their abilities to shadowwalk, instantly transporting themselves from the grim captivity back to the sanctuary of their own room. In their escape, Ash leaves a message of their own resilience and the folly of underestimating one so connected to magic and fae trickery, effectively turning the tables on their would-be captor with a mixture of disappointment and a dash of scorn for the lackluster attempt at intimidation.
(Ash's odd encounter(SRElias):SRElias)

[Thu Sep 5 2024]

In a cozy guest bedroom painted in pastels

Awash in soft pastel hues, this guest bedroom is small, but comfortably-sized with all the essentials a guest may require during their stay. The walls are painted a delicate blush pink with accents of lavender, while a plush, pale blue rug covers the wooden floor. The queen-sized bed is set against the eastern wall and dressed in pastel-patterned linens with plentiful pillows available.

Little natural light pervades the room apart from the skylight in the roof; sunlight shines in during the day, centered where the vanity and the armchair rest in the western end of the room, though the place is well-lit by the soft golden glow of the chandelier otherwise. To the south is the entrance to the guest bathroom, a small mat placed before the doorway.

It is after dusk, about 73F(22C) degrees, There is a waxing crescent moon.

(Your target is abducted in their sleep, waking up alone in a locked room. They need to either escape or draw attention to them so their allies can come and provide assistance.
)
Ash was still in bed, lounging after waking up to send a few texts. They look irritable, tired, a bit depressed, as their troubles in romance continue on their rocky, shaky path. Storms and torment, it seems, but they would sail into a hurricane for him any day. C'est la vie, as their father liked to say. They glance over their plants - roses, a faebloom, and a lavender, and ask them with a 'morning' yawn, "Did I really fuck up? I can't even tell anymore... maybe he forgot how most people react to a pile of corpses... I think I dealt with them pretty well. Not my fault that Dean is... Dean."

The plants do not answer. The plants are silent. Even the magical plant is, ultimately, a plant.

The sun settling in the is mild weathered day in September, it is one of the last blasts of a fleeting summer. It could seem like a normal day in Haven.. Whatever normal is in Haven however. Ash, lounging in bed pondering their recent events and what to do about them. Something strange happens. A stinging pain springs up from their neck and when their hand goes to the pain, something has sprouted from their neck. It feels like a glass tube with a feathered end. A dart perhaps? And then Ash's world starts to spin and their pillow rushes up to meet them. Then all there is blackness. After some undetermined time, they find themselves on a concrete floor with a solitary light hanging overhead. Their belongings missing except the clothing on their back... This can't be good....

Ash groans, their cheek rubbing the ground, clearly *unhappy* with the way they've woken up... but then they fall quiet, breathing slowly. Their eyes remain closed, as they try to pretend that the momentary sound was amidst their unconsciousness and tries to roll over a bit. They often toss and turn in their sleep, when they don't have someone's arm to keep them still, and they play on this. The point, however, is to feel if they're bound, feel if their jewelry was still on them, hear if anyone reacts.

Ash's jewelry remains intact, perhaps a mistake for the capture to make due to their ability with magic. Additionally, Ash is left unbound for whatever the reason maybe. It starts to become more obvious as one would look around the holding area. It seems like a cinder block construction and there is only one obvious door on the northern wall and it seems to be reinforced steel. The floor is concrete with a steel drain in the middle of the room. There is a steel drain there which old stains of blood are obvious. Just outside of the central light, there is a steel table that appears to be used for operating with assorted tools next to it. Overhead, the sound of heavy boots can be heard echoing and dust falls down through the floorboards. The smell of blood and mildew dominates your sense of smell.

Ash realizes, then, that they can do their favorite thing - just -bamf-ing out. However... that's boring. And on top of being boring... it means that they can't get any information out of whoever broke into the apartment. Did they *know* whose apartment that was? Or did Korina send them to help 'train' Ash up to be more resilient, tougher? After all, after both incidences with Novel, it's been rubbed into their face how helpless they are when it comes to enforcing their will and making people do things. Especially threatening, violent people. No... this is probably a test... and they probably need to learn how to deal with it directly?

While pathing is often a solution to a scenario, it doesn't always work in every situation since there is ways to prevent pathing such as certain technologies and depending on how skilled they are at pathing, it can take a while too. Not often an instant process to go to places you can not see. Whatever the case may be, the boot seem to start coming down hidden stairs on the other side of the door. Creak, thump, creak, thump, creak, thump the heavy booted feet make as they go down the stairs. The sound of a heavy steel bar being move with a grinding sound of steel and rust grinding against each other. It sounds like any moment, the door is going to open up.

Ash continues to play at being asleep, not particularly worried about pathing or not. They're more interested in who is coming. One pair of boots? Heavy boots, combat... military, or some group that wants to either be seen that way, or requires the equipment for the utility. One hopes for the former... but it remains to be seen. Their breath rises and falls calmly, their eyes occasionally move beneath the lids to replicate REM, and they're curled up in a near fetal sleeping position. It's the best impression of a sleeper that they know how to make.

The door starts to groan as it opens with a large meaty hand pushing it open. He is a towering man of solid muscle, being clad from head to do in black clothing. Black BDU clothing with a black ski mask. As he makes his way in, the boots thud against the concrete he makes his way towards Ash, "This one is going to have some good kidneys market. Fae blooded I think, some will pay high dollar for that." And he reaches down to grab onto Ash arm, but Ash still has time to react to this thug's actions.

Ash cannot believe this. It's entirely unbelievable. It's ridiculous. It's *boring*. This guy broke into that high risk, high security apartment to kidnap them... and it's not for their luck? It's not for their magic? It's not to hold them ransom (which wouldn't really work, if the target was the Hand), it's... to sell their kidneys? Ash's confidence is a work in progress. It's much better than when they came to Haven, but it's still easy to be beaten down at times. But they sure have enough self-worth to understand that they are *far* too valuable to be treated *this* way. No, they have a plan to deal with this man.

Whether or not this man realizes the true value of Ash, it is quite obvious that this thug is likely part of a larger operation. Why they only want his kidneys? That isn't obvious. It is obvious though, that sanctuary is not in effect in this place, so he could very well take Ash's kidneys. But at the same time, it means the kidnapper can be killed as well. When he goes to reach for Ash, there is no contest at all as they roll away from the surprised man. He reaches to his belt and off of it, he pulls a taser, "Alright kid. Just get over here. You have been hogging those kidneys all these years, it is time to share them with someone else."

With a sudden roll, spin, and twist, Ash is on their feet, glowering at the man, absolutely livid. To his eyes, a glamor fades, revealing their gray hair to be a vibrant, vivid, vivacious pink that inspires faebloom petals as much as it does meat under the skin. Their eyes glow a metallic gold, the color of faebark for many of the trees in the Navorost, and around them, faerie fires, will o' wisp flames, flicker into life beyond them, growing into an army. Their skin grows darker, gaining a quality of glass and the night sky, stars twinkling within. Their dreadlocks float lazily around their head. Their feet lift off of the ground, and the will o' wisps move to form a throne of pastel flames behind them. Their clothes fade away... and is not replaces by anything else, showing a nude... and androgynous form. What they have is neither male, nor female... but it, like the rest of their body, glows with an ethereal beauty.

And then... they smile. Softly, sweetly. Their anger is gone, in an instant, and they wave off the will o' wisps. They bob, like a bow, and the throne dissolves back into their army of flames. They rest their feet back on the ground, and clasp their hands together. Looking down at themself, they suck their teeth lightly, and replaces the glamor again, somewhat. The clothes are a bit different this time - the hoodie now patterned with constallations that shift and move, the shorts similar, but of dark, sleepy, dream clouds. Their eyes and hair remain the same, their pierced ears still as long and pointed as they've surreptitiously grown, their face still more elven, sharp, and pointed.

They shake their head at the man, saying, "Silly me - I forget how clumsy your kind are, when it comes to these things. I must be more considerate. You invited me to play, after all... it would be most ungrateful for me to reject that so quickly. Do, try again. But... more passion? Give my role a greater purpose. Maybe ask for information? You'd be surprised how much I've collected while playing around in the Hand." They chuckle, as they try to tailor their expectations to fit this poor man's bland taste in games. "Ooh, or go and get a big, meaty man to come, threaten to break my fingers and toes. Make sure he has tattoos. All over. I love those. And he doesn't talk, only grunts. Get me one of those, and I'll lay back down, yes?"

All the flashy lights, colorful illusions, and swirling fae imagines the hulk of a man grunts lowering the taser at all that is going on. He reaches to his belt and pulls a greande out of one the pouches. It doesn't seem like a typical grenade, but more in the lines of a flash bang, "Do you think this is the first magic user we had?" Largely not responding to Ash's taunts, he pulls the pin on the neutralizer grenade, but not letting go of the spool yet, "Just give me your kidneys and we aren't going to have to do this unpleasant next part. I heard they hurt like a bitch, but you know, I only feel a mild tingle from it, but then I am not a Soup."

Ash sighs, evidently very disappointed by this man's inability to make things fun. They shrug, saying, "Fine, but tryyyy and be creative about it?" They move to grab their hoodie at the shoulders, so that they can slip it over their head - hands out, open, clearly nothing held in them, and reaching for the part of their clothes where there are no pockets or places to grab things - and then they shadowwalk out. It's instant, it forgoes the nightmare, and they've not used it in days. This is the bamph, their ace in the hole. They *did* try to turn the tables, but at the end of the day... they're not a force to be reckoned with, they are a nerd.

Ash hasn't used it since they set it up, either.

The thug of a man, obviously armed with anti-supernatural weaponry approaches Ash, with obvious ill intent on his mind. With the grenade in one hand and taser in the other. He advances on the androgyne, believing himself the one whom has the advantage and maybe, just maybe he does, but he doesn't realize that Ash was prepared for this very event. Perhaps by faeish luck or just experienced in having these kind of events. Either way, Ash slips into the shadows with ease and reappears back where all this started, back in their bedroom. Safe and sound.