Encounterlogs
Williams Odd Encounter Sr Illyana 241228
In Haven, a tranquil yet supernaturally veiled town, William finds his mundane morning disrupted by a task from the Knights of the Silver Dragon. A person, unaware of the supernatural world's existence, has caused a commotion at the Elm Street apartment complex, risking exposure of the hidden realm. William, still clad in the clothes he napped in, sluggishly answers the call to duty, his thoughts muddied by a recent spat with his sister and plagued by a sense of boredom from the lack of action. Despite his grogginess, William sets out towards the parking lot of the described location, mentally preparing himself to manage yet another potential breach of the supernatural secrecy.
Upon reaching the scene, William encounters not just the distressed woman he was warned about but a chaotic disaster; a vintage Chevrolet Camaro destroyed with what appears to be a demon tangled within its wreckage. As he assesses the situation, William decides to employ his expertise in illusions to manage the woman, shifting his appearance to better interact with her without revealing his identity. However, the scenario spirals further out of control when the supposed demon regains consciousness, disentangling itself from the car's remains and departing with a flippant goodbye, leaving William and the irate, video-recording woman behind. Faced with the complication of the woman's recording equipment, William cleverly summons a spirit-inhabited owl to confiscate the device, planning to erase the woman’s memories of the supernatural encounter. His attempt at handling the situation with subtlety and care underlines his struggle between his mundane desires and the supernatural responsibilities that constantly pull him back into the fray of the hidden world's dramas.
(William's odd encounter(SRIllyana):SRIllyana)
[Fri Dec 27 2024]
In a combination of kitchen and living room
A space dominated by the presence of mahogany woods, the floor covered in planks of different tones, from lighter to darker colors of the same kind of wood not seeming to follow any kind of pattern of color or placement regarding their shape. The same kind of planks covering the walls, vertically oriented, and ending up in a pretty contrasting pastel color, between white and brown, but leaning far more to the previous, with a long spread of small circular lights that provide the room some dim lighting to lean into the whole cozy atmosphere.
The eastern side of the room displays two tall inside lamps with a soft brown colored fabric to dim out the light coming from them. A dark wood table of low height positioned relatively towards the center, surrounded from north, east and south by long white leather sofas, able to fit between two or three people each.
As one moves towards the western side though the room seemlessly transitions into a wall-less kitchen, starting with an isle topped with a black polished quartz countertop that works both as dining table and cooking space. Against the wall, a big counter, topped with the same stone slab as the isle, and presenting different utilities like a sink, a fridge, a diswasher and several cabinets and drawers to store both food and cutlery.
It is morning, about 15F(-9C) degrees, and there are a few dark grey stormclouds in the sky.
(Someone in Haven has found out about the supernatural and is freaking out about it. They're at risk of exposing the secret, hurting themselves, or hurting others. Your target and their allies are tasked with containing the situation.
)
William slowly wakes up from a little nap on his couch. It was early in the morning, so why was he there and napping in the first place? Well, let's just say, after waking up way too early and getting dressed, just to later be found with an incredible amount of nothing to do and a suffocating boredom, he did end up laying down on the couch - And early hours combined with a general sleep deprivation led the pale man to simply fall asleep on his sofa earlier in the morning, only starting to wake up now, sluggish, slow, eyes taking their time to even focus on things, and his brain trying to get past this daze-y sensation, to no avail so far
William reaches to pick up his phone, still half asleep, not even fully incorporated, simply patting around the table while still laid down until finding the device, and bringing it closer to his face with a sigh. A blast of light hitting his sensitive eyes while they still were adjusting to the brightness levels of the room, prompting him to darken the screen in order to check whatever he's doing. But another sigh follows, no messages or news from anyone there, just some evidence of his argument with his sister last night, which he's still kind of bitter about "She's so stubborn... Why can't she see it's the same thing she tried to teach me? Just this time she's in the side of the equation she doesn't like..." Then there's a groan, and the phone goes back to the table, shaking his head as he slowly brings himself to sit up "Well... I guess another day of hunting and training... Maybe I should take a closer look into the whole minions thing... I could bind that one, but I still don't know much about them"
It is the morning of the twenty seventh of December. Christmas has just passed, and with it, the destruction of the draconic fey eidolon Gonthorian. The day of christmas was productive, and that left William able to relax on boxing day, the twenty sixth offering no great calamity or contrived carnage to which William was forced to respond. Socializing then and reflection within Haven. That in and of itself is rare; William usually finds himself involved in various supernatural escapades, from spirit banishments, to escaped vampire thralls, to crazy cultists, wild animals, werewolf rampages, monsterious criminals and more, but today was... Calm? Or at least, more than it has been. For William, that means bordom and a morning nap-- How pleasant, for outside, where the winds bluster and the snow cascades, the inclemency of the weather enshrouds the world in a blanketing shroud of white. Almost ironic with the nature of Haven and its proximity to the gates; Other, Wilds, Hell, GuardRealm-- And the fansiful freaks that emerge through the rising mists, where the gloaming draws things closer to our world for the betterment or worse. Those mists then, an abrupt counterpointing; A book end to the snows, bracket the mystery. That curious causality created by the proximity of the fae to situations that might otherwise go unnoticed. Yet, fae William is, and so his innate luck changing does take effect here; Which is very much why William receives a text from the Knights of the Silver Dragon's automated intranet. Though Selina and her group, including William banished Gonthorian, the Firestarter, and his cult, the Scions of the Inferno thusly began to disband with the furious nature of rats on a sinking ship, there are still tasks to be performed, and William seemingly cannot escape that. The phone, which William reaches for buzzes, and a notification makes itself known: Someone unaware to the supernatural has been spotted, noted as an endangerment to the accords, and Venice needs them quieted. William is to find this person in the parking lot of the Elm Street apartment complex-- Which is why William was chosen; GPS likely alerted the systom.
With a sigh, William reaches for the buzzing phone again, starting the day already with a downer train of thought, so very characteristic of him. Checking the notification, he blinks a couple times - Sigh following, like it was expected of him - And then slowly stands from the sofa, patting and straightening his own clothes, given he had fallen asleep while wearing them. "They are still going... I thought they'd be dissolved by now- I stabbed the dragon, Selina ate it- Why are the Knights still- And whatever, this is Venice asking, not them..." He murmurs more to himself than to anyone else, seemingly calm with speaking alone in the confines of his apartment, having had several checks for cameras or mics given his paranoia, and knowing his nightmare shield is still untouched - The only incident that might disrupt his sense of safety, he was unable to remember, courtesy of a memory potion - So with that, he heads towards the door, a hand lazily rubbing at his face as he tries to still fight how recently he had woke up, heading into the hallways, and, eventually, exiting through the alleyway, walking over to glance over at the parking lot, looking around to try and spot someone who was likely causing a ruckus, most of these people were noisy when having to deal with them
William huffs a bit at his own train of thought, shaking his head and rubbing at both of his eyes, taking a deep breath to try and forget about those things for a little while, for now just resuming on trying to spot the individual to deal with
As William exits his apartment, the door to one hundred and six closes; At this time of day, the hall is quiet, and there is no one-- Nothing to interupt him as he locks the door and heads further through the building. There are muffled sounds coming from far off, likely outside the apartment itself, and pausing, William can note that the voice is high: It's likely a woman. Still, no one appears to have addressed this problem. They are all likely already out, having returned to the rigma of their working lives, or sleeping off a bender, or fucking like rabbits, or the supernatural has consumed them-- In Haven, there is simply no knowing-- Though some of those are more likely than the others. William's foot falls are quiet; They echo in the emptyness. The floors are freshly cleaned, and no rubbish, no dirt-- No surprises obstruct William's way. The janitorial staff have likely been around this morning, it is friday after all.@william passes apartment one hundred and seven-- No sounds from within, so at least someone wont cause William any issues this morning. One hundred and eight, one hundred and nine, then he is at the alley door. It sticks. Of course it sticks; It's winter, and the jam has likely expanded in the cold and damp, the water condensation from the frost worming its way in. It's only to be expected, after all. William is able to open it though, and as he does, a gust of frigid, soothing air blusters past William. In situations like this, an affinity for cold is instrumental to a functioning sense of well being. The alley though is less well kept; The wind has blown over a trash can, and the dumpster is over flowing. A stray dog-- At least, William assumes it to be a dog skitters away-- It did look a lot like a wolf though, which wouldn't be that unusual for Haven. There are vehicles here, too. someone, yes, Novels and Sam's, but no unusual ones that could be unexpected. But from here, that voice is louder: It is most certainly a woman, and an irate one at that. She's raving, and as William rounds the apartment building, William can see why. There is a corpse on her car. The vehicle itself might have been just any other if it were in working condition, but unfortunately, it's a heaping pile of garbage now. It was likely a Chevrolet Camaro. The surviving plate suggests a nineteen seventy eight model, though if it were, it's now a pile of debris. And worse, the detritus has what is likely a demon tambourined through it.
As William exits his apartment, the door to one hundred and six closes; At this time of day, the hall is quiet, and there is no one-- Nothing to interupt him as he locks the door and heads further through the building. There are muffled sounds coming from far off, likely outside the apartment itself, and pausing, William can note that the voice is high: It's likely a woman. Still, no one appears to have addressed this problem. They are all likely already out, having returned to the rigma of their working lives, or sleeping off a bender, or fucking like rabbits, or the supernatural has consumed them-- In Haven, there is simply no knowing-- Though some of those are more likely than the others. William's foot falls are quiet; They echo in the emptyness. The floors are freshly cleaned, and no rubbish, no dirt-- No surprises obstruct William's way. The janitorial staff have likely been around this morning, it is friday after all.@william passes apartment one hundred and seven-- No sounds from within, so at least Novel wont cause William any issues this morning. One hundred and eight, one hundred and nine, then he is at the alley door. It sticks. Of course it sticks; It's winter, and the jam has likely expanded in the cold and damp, the water condensation from the frost worming its way in. It's only to be expected, after all. William is able to open it though, and as he does, a gust of frigid, soothing air blusters past William. In situations like this, an affinity for cold is instrumental to a functioning sense of well being. The alley though is less well kept; The wind has blown over a trash can, and the dumpster is over flowing. A stray dog-- At least, William assumes it to be a dog skitters away-- It did look a lot like a wolf though, which wouldn't be that unusual for Haven. There are vehicles here, too. someone, yes, Novels and Sam's, but no unusual ones that could be unexpected. But from here, that voice is louder: It is most certainly a woman, and an irate one at that. She's raving, and as William rounds the apartment building, William can see why. There is a corpse on her car. The vehicle itself might have been just any other if it were in working condition, but unfortunately, it's a heaping pile of garbage now. It was likely a Chevrolet Camaro. The surviving plate suggests a nineteen seventy eight model, though if it were, it's now a pile of debris. And worse, the detritus has what is likely a demon tambourined through it.
As William exits his apartment, the door to one hundred and six closes; At this time of day, the hall is quiet, and there is no one-- Nothing to interupt him as he locks the door and heads further through the building. There are muffled sounds coming from far off, likely outside the apartment itself, and pausing, William can note that the voice is high: It's likely a woman. Still, no one appears to have addressed this problem. They are all likely already out, having returned to the rigma of their working lives, or sleeping off a bender, or fucking like rabbits, or the supernatural has consumed them-- In Haven, there is simply no knowing-- Though some of those are more likely than the others. William's foot falls are quiet; They echo in the emptyness. The floors are freshly cleaned, and no rubbish, no dirt-- No surprises obstruct William's way. The janitorial staff have likely been around this morning, it is friday after all.@william passes apartment one hundred and seven-- No sounds from within, so at least Novel wont cause William any issues this morning. One hundred and eight, one hundred and nine, then he is at the alley door. It sticks. Of course it sticks; It's winter, and the jam has likely expanded in the cold and damp, the water condensation from the frost worming its way in. It's only to be expected, after all. William is able to open it though, and as he does, a gust of frigid, soothing air blusters past William. In situations like this, an affinity for cold is instrumental to a functioning sense of well being. The alley though is less well kept; The wind has blown over a trash can, and the dumpster is over flowing. A stray dog-- At least, William assumes it to be a dog skitters away-- It did look a lot like a wolf though, which wouldn't be that unusual for Haven. There are vehicles here, too. William's, yes, Novels and Sam's, but no unusual ones that could be unexpected. But from here, that voice is louder: It is most certainly a woman, and an irate one at that. She's raving, and as William rounds the apartment building, William can see why. There is a corpse on her car. The vehicle itself might have been just any other if it were in working condition, but unfortunately, it's a heaping pile of garbage now. It was likely a Chevrolet Camaro. The surviving plate suggests a nineteen seventy eight model, though if it were, it's now a pile of debris. And worse, the detritus has what is likely a demon tambourined through it.
On his way out of the apartment and towards the street, William has plenty of time to think, to calm down and focus on the task at hand. His thoughts probably a mystery to anyone that might be observing him, after all, some of them rarely even touched his face even in more stressful situations, this was no different. A face of indifference as he walks out, despite whatever dark thoughts he might be having about how to turn this situation into a game to at least make it somewhat enjoyable. Despite the the fact that he is almost fantasizing about the very same thing he was warning people about just a couple months back, and waiting just to be able to do something that his previous weak human self would be so critical and scared of. None of it seems to reach his face. Maybe it's just the annoyance at whatever happened the previous night. Maybe it's just a coping mechanism. Maybe the human was truly gone, buried under layers of negativity and abuse.
But none of that was for anyone else but for him to reflect upon, if he ever even came to that conclusion himself. For now though, he only saw the woman, and the corpse. And double checking his phone, he makes sure the target was there - He could pretty easily just go about this completely in the shadows, acting without even knowing what was happening. But he needed to know what memories to get rid of. So he needed to at least know what the woman knew before involving her in whatever sick fae game he had in mind, if it even was a game to begin with.
But he isn't going to play nice, no, he's good at illusions, he doesn't like to be seen - Good enough to deceive the woman even to get information from her - He couldn't trick her sense of hearing, but he could trick her sight. So as he walks towards the cause of the disturbance, he uses his magic to tap into the innocent gal's mind, creating the illusion of a much different guy walking towards her and stopping in front, someone taller, blonde hair, green eyes, clearly with more muscle than William, someone that upon been seen wouldn't be tied to him - Even if this woman was likely to never see him again - And then he just, walks over the illusion, occupying its same space, having it superpose him, a nice trick, just like he can't make something vanish from view but he can put a curtain in front of your eyes, he simply allows the visual to cloak him in a less direct way, then softening his accent to try and sound at least a little more american than he truly is "What seems to be the issue here, ma'am?" He asks, almost as if he truly couldn't see what was the issue, he clearly could, but he wanted to get the full picture at least
William can tell that it's a demon through a series of indicative facts; Firstly, the red skin is a huge give away. It's also at least eight foot tall, which is, though not impossible, then unlikely for a human-- Very much so, in fact. Its teeth are sharp, and from its lower jaw, large tusks protrude: It almost resembles an orc from Lord of the Rings, if not for a number of other qualities that make it evidently hellish in origin. Intimidating caprine horns break from the corners of its brow, long, lank hair has been gathered into dreads, and yellow eyes are other signs of its hellish nature, along with the large set of chiroptrin wings that lay around it, the crumpled bat-like apendages snapped and broken in a number of places. It's also as naked as the day it was born, and that lets William note that its tackle is emasculatingly impressive. But also, that its knees bend the wrong way, and that it has hooves and a serpent-like tail projecting from its rear. Bad enough at the best of times; Monsters don't usually get this far into Haven, especially with the scouts, but this one has. And it looks as though it were dropped from a great height-- Likely the cause of death, for its limbs are twisted out of joint-- Or at least, William assumes it to be dead before it blinks, and it slowly begins to nit itself back together ponderously slowly, its bed of a vintage sports car serving as a curiously apathetic backdrop-- If not for the unaware woman who's having a panic attack and flailing her arms at the sight of the infernal aberation that has obliterated her mode of transportation. Amidst cries of "What the hell is that?" and "Oh my fucking god!" and such obvious americanisms as "Who's going to pay for this?" and "I'm going to put your ass through litigation." William can see that this woman is growing steadily more and more irate. Her phone is out, and the camera is recording. William's disguise likely works. The woman of course doesn't recognize William, but it's up in the air if her phone camera would see the same. Then, without preamble, the woman launches into another diatribe-- Fortunately, it's everything William likely needs to know. "Jesus Christ, are you another one of these winged bastards? I'm getting sick of this crap." She might not be entirely happy. It might be the car-- Or the demon-- Or what ever else she's seen? "First the giant bird man taking his shirt off, then Bret growing half a foot taller."
"then this what ever the fuck is going on-- Fucking swords. And they smashed my fucking car. Someone's going to pay for this. Fucking angels and demons crap. And don't tell me it's cinima crap, or a movie. I don't see any cameras, and I saw that other guy turn into a fucking dog by the alley." The woman really isn't happy. Then the demon, apparently named Bret has to make things worse by having his limbs snap back into place. He blinks, looks between the woman and William and tells them both, "I'll just be going... You two look busy." Before he rentches himself from the smashed car, wings spreading to take flight-- Another breach of the accords, but why would a demon care?
Wouldn't you know it, of course there were swords. There's a longsword snapped in two within the center of the sports car's hood. It seems to taunt William and the woman, though she doesn't appear to notice. "Get the fuck back here." she bellows, a fist raised to the sky, phone camera still recording as the demon, Bret gives William a two-fingered salute, blowing a kiss to the woman before he's up- Up- And away! William noting that ripple of air as he enters the nightmare... Far too late. What even has William walked into now?
William can't help but blink and widen his eyes at everything that seems to be informed within an instant. He was ready to do his thing, but it still is a lot to process at once when normally people were in the realm of 'I have a picture of something weird' or 'I think I saw a rare beast', but for this woman... She seemed to have the whole deal, demons, angels, wolves... She needed a full wipe.
Not much thought is given to the departing demon, he wasn't adamant in retaining him, in fact, it was probably for the best if he left, so that he wouldn't disrupt any illusory tricks he tried that the hellspawn wouldn't be aware of. There is a loud sigh from the man, it seems his thoughts were justified in the end, he did need to deep a strong cleansing of her head, scaring her didn't seem so monstrous all of a sudden, and more growingly necessary the more he thinks about it - Scare her to then later make it a nightmare - Just a nightmare, not reality, amnesia her in her terror to make her more effective.
But that was only his plan, not any action is taken yet, but he frowns at the phone, he knew that thing could see through his illusions, they were projected on people's minds after all, so leaving the wise of the blond man behind, William slowly walks to take cover behind some car, hoping to hide from the woman, and, glancing around the street, he uses his magic to cloak himself entirely from anyone's view for a couple seconds. Then he reaches to press both palms together, closing his eyes and letting out a deep breath, his shadow seems to disengage from his figure, and crawl around the ground like some sort of snaky being into the distance, into nothingness, a call to somewhere- A summoning of his newly acquired minion- For as he returns to visibility again a couple seconds later, his shadow is still with him. Magic shenanigans not ever making sense if explained in mundane terms.
And it takes a little while, for sure it does, but soon enough it arrives. An owl, flying on top of the wrecked car. Size indicating its probably a female, with colors of brown and gray. The only disturbing quality, the lack of yellow in its eyes, instead replaced by a ghostly cyan colored flame-like effect. It wasn't an owl, it was a spirit using an owl flesh puppet of a body. Carrying out its first non spoken command, it opens its wings and flies down towards the woman, aiming to snatch the phone from her hands, to take it hostage but not break it, aiming to retrieve it to the sneaky fae
This really is something the Order should be dealing with. It's telling that they arn't, but William, in his blond haired, green eyed disguise does have a plan, even if it is to play a game. The woman's car is observably flattened-- More pancaked than a Michael Bay film's property damage numbers could account for, and Bret, the demon did just run off. The woman is still recording everything on her phone, and she apparently saw either another monster, an angel, or some other avian abomination on top of all of this. Oh sure, a cleanup crew could deal with the car. It can likely be repaired-- Totaled and an excuse made, or any number of other outcomes, but first the elephant in the room. The irate woman and her evidence. "I'm going to tell every-fucking-one." she tells William brazenly. "And if you're one of them, I'll get you, too. You'll be hearing from my lawyers. I'm with Inigo. They hold a lot of water in this town." -- Then William is gone. The woman glances around, raves some more and continues to record. It's quite pathetic, though William has to admire the utter recklessness of it all. Tehe shadow flickers and vanishes, as much as William, then the woman has an owl to deal with. An owl that wasn't on her car before: An Owl that has flaming unnatural eyes. Then, the bird moves. But the woman is only human, and in the process of raising a hand to protect her face from the avian assault, her phone, as though via bad luck, or luck bending fae abilities slips from her grip. She screams in blended rage and fear, and that phone, still recording lands in the owl's out-stretched claw. It really is a good job no one is around to see. That is, except for the cameras on the apartment building, though they are controled by the Hand, if not also Emmanuel's Temple recording devices. Still, the Temple and Hand both wish to hide the existance of the supernatural, so that's not even the issue. -- William's owl seems surprised when the woman's phone lands in its claw, and it fumbles, but with luck, it maintains the grip and it flutters over to where William is hiding, the device passed over.
There is a choice behind summoning his minion for this game- For this task. William understands his illusions are easy to break, just a device recording could do it... And he could only manage to trick sight, sound and touch are things he simply couldn't fake with them. That's why the minion is so important. Something that can act for him, that can at least make up for some of that.
William knew way too well what those nasty things could do. He hated spirits, mostly out of his personal suffering of them- But they were admittedly something that could be weaponized. That wasn't a normal owl, it was a spirit inhabiting an owl. He had seen how spirits were able of doing incredible things, both in combat and outside of it. He almost even died frozen while trapped into a nightmare by the same nasty thing that now inhabits his sister's pet.
His wasn't as dangerous, clearly. It couldn't try and freeze someone to dead. It couldn't possess people. It was highly limited by being trapped into a body to begin with. But there is one thing it could do to aid him. And so the owl shouts. It is not a bird sound, but that of a woman instead. A wail of pain and suffering, with some echoes of its etheral condition rippling the ears of the unaware lady. Lust, has he had named his new pet following the convention set by his sister, was able to cover the sound department. It wasn't much, but with his visuals and disturbing noises, he thought it enough to terrify a person.
But now, William has the phone, and a dumb smile on his face, he pauses the recording, and pockets the device. He of course isn't going to destroy it- He thinks he's smarter than that, and will have the cleanup crew inspect it and make sure everything is wiped whenever they arrive. He's not going to trash something that could be transmitting somewhere else, and lose the chance to track it. So with that dealt with, it is time to deal with the woman, and her pesky memories.
And as Lust flies back to peer at the woman with those otherwordly eyes. The illusions of William take hold again on the woman's head, making everything go darker, the surroundings of the apartment turning pitch black, like it was the middle of the night, making it unable for her to see to far away from herself, leaving her with just the trashed car, the feathery puppet, and a series of sprouting glowing eyes in the surrounding darkness.
William is mildly amused at the thought, without a camera, it could be terrible unnerving to be on her spot, but those seeing the whole thing, would only see a man hiding behind a car, and a woman angrily shouting at a bird. But he tries to put on a more serious voice now, he wants to scare the woman after all, he can't just dilly dally all day long, but he's mildly worried at the prospect of this target to be american enough, and just the right amount of stupid to be unable to be scared by what's happening "That's if you manage to tell them... What makes you think you're not going to end up like your car?"
A clever woman would pause to think. She would process the situation, tell herself that this is a dream and perhapse slap herself to try to wake. She might close her eyes and count to ten. But this woman is a modern american. She's the physical embodyment of a Karen, and so what she does, is continue to bellow at the bird. That inevitably causes its own issues. She's blinded by the illusion; The eyes in the darkness, the spirit bird, the trashed car and the little circle of light she has. So in true american Karen style, she rushes for where she saw the bird deposit the phone. She cant see William, of course. He's too well hidden.But she sees where the location was-- Or thinks she does. Unfortunately then, she finds her next obstical; It's in her way quite literally, and looking (at least to her own recording) like a mad woman, she runs full force into the street light that was only five foot away from her... And hasn't moved. Her fingers set into claws, she irately impacts it like a bat out of hell. She's spitting with an incandescent rage, and that is likely why her stream of invectives is abruptly cut off with a rather pleasing 'bong!' as she collides, blinks, then falls backwards insensate from the street light, likewise as tambaurined as her car was some time ago. ...... Oh well. That makes William's job that bit easier.
takes a couple seconds to peek from behind his hiding spot to look at the woman after he listens to the clash. Blinking a couple times, and sighing to himself as he watches own the woman probably caused herself a concussion, letting out a heavy sigh at this, this time it's not even his thoughts that are occupied with his inner monologue, but it actually pours out into words as he comes from behind the car, walking towards the target.
"Why can't I have nice things? Is it so hard to ask... To play a game for once in a while... To have someone actually use their brains and be scared... But no- No one has common sense around here" William complains out loud, rubbing at his own eyes as if getting ready for what he's about to do.
"If she was a monster, I'd at least understand it, but she's fucking human... She sees a werewolf, and demon and she tries to sue... She sees the ghost owl and wants to fight it- She cares more about her phone and her car than her fucking life" He continues with a shake of his head. Lust slowly flying to perch on his shoulder as he walks to the woman. Still not dispelling any of the odd visuals, the darkened street. He even tricks her mind into seeing a wolf, monstrous looking, the size of a cow, standing right next to her, followed by a growl coming from his owl's insides, not even seeming like a noise that comes out through the mouth- Or beak in this case.
"No, people here don't feel- People aren't scared... They are always too horny, or too powerful for it... Or too fucking stupid..." He says upon reaching the woman, kneeling down for a moment and peering into her eyes with his own brown ones, looking to snag her gaze to proceed with the memory wiping, though instead of opting for fear, going the route of anger to clean her brain up. His own anger starting to pour out in the form of reaching for her hair and pulling from it in order to bring her face just a bit closer, her eyes likely closed after the impact, but he keeps his gaze on them, almost waiting for the moment she opens them again to complain or to cause some trouble "Look at me" He almost growls out the command to the innocent lady who just happened to witness beasts running around
(Your target is approached by an old friend or family member who has recently joined the ranks of The Sapphire Martyrs. They try to recruit the target to their cause, claiming it to be the only way to save the other worlds from Earth's inevitable destruction. The target's task would be to either convince the old friend or family member of the fallacy of the Sapphire Martyrs' cause, infiltrate the group to gather information, or outright reject the recruitment and deal with the consequences. The encounter could involve psychological and emotional manipulation, as well as potential combat if the target's rejection is not well-received.)
The dorm, bereft of volume until the passing class period of the local college, is unremarkable quiet in the holiday season. The supernatural small town funk plays only like the casual high-hat in the back of the mind, the memories of poor alley encounters with would-be werewolves, the monotony of casual bloodletting in Aware private bathrooms, and, perhaps, with a knock on the door.
A quit, rapping knock taps in a triplet, and is followed by an extended silence.
Kathlynn gets off the lower bunk where she was reading a book on witchcraft. Moving to the door, Kathlynn opens it and peeks through to see who it is.
An old woman with thick eyeglasses that magnify her eyes like a fishbowl slowly looks up to the subject of her inquiry with an expression that is only mostly lost. She wears a simple cardigan over a pastel blouse, unwrinkled and faintly unscented with a sensitive perfume that matches the light touches of makeup. She's worn her best bowler, the prime decoration of her own youth, and hefts a leather shoulder bagworn but polished. It's packed with notebooks and a pen case, frazzled and frightened by contents threatening to spill.
"Oh-oh my, Hello yooung laddyy." she smiles shyly, "I- I am Lenore? I.. I couldn't help but see that my name was already written on the sign just down the stairs there..." She trails off, turning about as if to indicate exactly where that sign is.
Kathlynn looks confused at the older woman. "Um? Hi... You are Lenore... the college student?" She looks very puzzled, having vaguely met Lenore once or twice previously... but never meeting her once she started rooming with her. Putting the book down on her bunk, Kat gets another thought. Opening the door, she pointedly does not invite her in but instead steps back to see what the older woman will do.
"Why yes!" The old woman says sweetly to the stair case, then slowly hobbles back around. "Are we schoolmates? Yes I believe we are." She takes a breath from the short movement, finally looking properly to someone. "I am Lenore Davis, it is so nice to meet you." She introduces, fumbling both hands in her bag. The papers crumble in complaint as she continues to speak,"I tell you, these campuses get bigger every year.. Why.. Why this nice young woman asked me to head to the chapel.." She produces a letter, its top cut open crudely with what was likely a pair of scissors. It's.. Not an envelope, it unfolds. She does so revealing the faint inlay of a fractured, tear-shaped sapphire embellished slightly transparent to the page.
"I.. Was invited to a lecture near the chapel, but I just don't know where it is." With consternation and a furrow, she hands the letter over.
"Why yes!" The old woman says sweetly to the stair case, then slowly hobbles back around. "Are we schoolmates? Yes I believe we are." She takes a breath from the short movement, finally looking properly to Kathlynn. "I am Lenore Davis, it is so nice to meet you." She introduces, fumbling both hands in her bag. The papers crumble in complaint as she continues to speak,"I tell you, these campuses get bigger every year.. Why.. Why this nice young woman asked me to head to the chapel.." She produces a letter, its top cut open crudely with what was likely a pair of scissors. It's.. Not an envelope, it unfolds. She does so revealing the faint inlay of a fractured, tear-shaped sapphire embellished slightly transparent to the page.
"I.. Was invited to a lecture near the chapel, but I just don't know where it is." With consternation and a furrow, she hands the letter over.
Kathlynn looks at her with a bit more warmth. "Well, ive never been to the chapel here yet... but I am sure we can find it. I still get lost here myself" Kathlynn confides in her dorm mate. "Why don't we go and find it together?"
Kathlynn changes into a few things quickly, before she smiles to Lenore
Dear Miss Davis,@line.
We hope this letter finds you well. We are pleased to extend an invitation to an enlightening and thought-provoking lecture that will be held on 12/27 at 4:00pm, at the [White Oak Chapel.
The topic of discussion will focus on "The Ever-Present Ties That Bind: Dear Miss Davis,@line.
We hope this letter finds you well. We are pleased to extend an invitation to an enlightening and thought-provoking lecture that will be held on 12/27 at 4:00pm, at the [White Oak Chapel.
someone The topic of discussion will focus on "The Ever-Present Ties That Bind: Understanding Our Relationship with the Cosmos and Our Role in Its Cycle." This lecture will explore a wide range of philosophical and metaphysical conce pts, shedding light on the inevitable nature of existence and the destiny we all share.
Our speaker, a scholar with years of experience in matters of existential philosophy, will guide the audience through a journey that questions the very fabric of our connections with other worlds. The lecture promises to offer profound insights into the inherent nature of sacrifice, love, and the cyclical existence that governs us all.@line.
We encourage all interested parties to attend this open event, where we believe a diverse exchange of thoughts and perspectives will benefit all who seek a deeper understanding of their place in the universe.@line.
Should you ha ve any questions or require further information, feel free to reach out to us at [contact information]. We look forward to your presence and participation in what promises to be a truly eye-opening experience.@line. Warm regards.
"Oh why thank you- say.. What was your name?" The hallways, fifteen minutes before the turn of the class period, are only filled with the common insidious two-person couples who smirk and muse and lounge in strange places. The small boston-adjacent town is filled with beautiful people with angelic features, looking like a satire of college commercials."
Kathlynn smiles ans says to her
"I always like to meet new people. Oh, I'm Kathlynn... you can call me kat if you would like."
As we wander through the mostly deserted halls during the holidays she bundles into her coat as they follow the signs, and her online campus map to the seminar. Not being the most navigationally expert, the two of them arrive within a few minutes of the start.
"Kat!" SRIsolde repeats cheerily. "Oh, why Diana would always say the same thing god bless her." She quickly signs to the Holy spirit for the woman. "H'why her lovely Mister Morby- She was Diane Morby you understand? Well he was just a delightful immortal bachelor- always taken her an' introducing her to new people at those parties in New York."
The chapel is just west and north from the dorms. The unsigned speakers with no filled in means of contact have chosen a fairly conspicuous place, all things considered. Forced to pass the structure whenever commuting to and from the dorms, the church is a brushed relic of an religious age that has always lived and still walks in a not nearly as humble stride. Miss Davis casually waves at everyone she passes, becoming the 'old friend' until the church looms like a forgotten parent overhead. The doors are open, and afternoon lighting paint a small ten-some audience in the pews to someone further at the pulpit.
Kathlynn glances at Lenore. "Immortal bachelor you say?" She watches her reaction very closely, wondering if she knows about the secrets of this town. As we arrive a the chapel, Kathlynn zips up her coat, more aware of her outfit... and feeling a little bit self conscious about it. She looks at all of the people there, but allows Lenore to choose a seat before sitting down next to her.
's eyes round as she nods, turning over with a judging whisper, "Just so! Mister Morby never did age proper, an until poor Diane went estranged with herself into the Moore woods in ninety-seven, neither did she! Those gods-darned godlings.." She shakes her head as she waddles forward into the pews, whispering a 'hi there-' to each comparably young face
The crowd it notably motley, and more discernibly reserved within themselves. They give only resigned smiles to Miss Davis, and the woman standing by the pulpit has the most-most inspiring depression. As she steps down to sit on the elevated surface of the quaint portion of the stage, itt gives the air of something between an AA meeting. She holds her hands out in a loose, ploppy gesture of welcome.
"Hi." The woman says with thin lips, her voice somewhat stagnant, brows turning confused between Kathlynn and Miss Davis. "We have new listeners? I'm Taylor?"
Kathlynn looks at the group circle, starting to remind her of therapy groups she was forced to attend when people all told her she was crazy for seeing things. Things which everyone else assured her wasn't actually there. "Um... hi Taylor... im kat." Her hand slide into her coat pocket and start nervously fingering the inner pocket liner.
An awkward, "Sup." from a man dressed for the nuclear winter, coats on coats on coats and still shivering every so minute.
"Ah, so this must be Lenore.." the woman named Taylor nods, brows leveling into conclusion. "Well it's always nice to bring friends."
She settles her palms onto the stage and leans forward, solemnly looking across the audience before returning to the newcomers.
"Are you both freshmen? Have you been lectured on destiny yet? What do you think of it?"
"Oh-ho-ho," Miss Davis chortles, the only source of levity, with healthy lungs, "h-well I think I'm not ready to meet him yet."
Kathlynn looks up at Taylor, "Um... no... not really... I just arrived about a week ago... I'm in gen ed classes. Is that a band or something?" she says, mostly the truth... but trying to follow the rules and not discuss the supernatural in front of the unaware. Watching each of the others to determine who might know what... and why Taylor is speaking about Destiny.
The woman, scoffing, slowly shakes her head. "No. Not a band."
"Destiny is a tangible force that can be written, read, and erased by actions and their resulting consequences. I'm.. Ahah.." She laughs painfully, "not sure if both of you read the letter? White Oak is an institution for the aware, and this is at least a Sensitive conversation?"
Miss Morby shuffles, looking from left to right. "I'm aware." She bridles slightly.
Kathlynn hackles get raised as Taylor reminds her of some of the doctors and administrators she has had to deal with. Watching her with slightly narrowed eyes Kathlynn nods at the description of Destiny.
Upon reaching the scene, William encounters not just the distressed woman he was warned about but a chaotic disaster; a vintage Chevrolet Camaro destroyed with what appears to be a demon tangled within its wreckage. As he assesses the situation, William decides to employ his expertise in illusions to manage the woman, shifting his appearance to better interact with her without revealing his identity. However, the scenario spirals further out of control when the supposed demon regains consciousness, disentangling itself from the car's remains and departing with a flippant goodbye, leaving William and the irate, video-recording woman behind. Faced with the complication of the woman's recording equipment, William cleverly summons a spirit-inhabited owl to confiscate the device, planning to erase the woman’s memories of the supernatural encounter. His attempt at handling the situation with subtlety and care underlines his struggle between his mundane desires and the supernatural responsibilities that constantly pull him back into the fray of the hidden world's dramas.
(William's odd encounter(SRIllyana):SRIllyana)
[Fri Dec 27 2024]
In a combination of kitchen and living room
A space dominated by the presence of mahogany woods, the floor covered in planks of different tones, from lighter to darker colors of the same kind of wood not seeming to follow any kind of pattern of color or placement regarding their shape. The same kind of planks covering the walls, vertically oriented, and ending up in a pretty contrasting pastel color, between white and brown, but leaning far more to the previous, with a long spread of small circular lights that provide the room some dim lighting to lean into the whole cozy atmosphere.
The eastern side of the room displays two tall inside lamps with a soft brown colored fabric to dim out the light coming from them. A dark wood table of low height positioned relatively towards the center, surrounded from north, east and south by long white leather sofas, able to fit between two or three people each.
As one moves towards the western side though the room seemlessly transitions into a wall-less kitchen, starting with an isle topped with a black polished quartz countertop that works both as dining table and cooking space. Against the wall, a big counter, topped with the same stone slab as the isle, and presenting different utilities like a sink, a fridge, a diswasher and several cabinets and drawers to store both food and cutlery.
It is morning, about 15F(-9C) degrees, and there are a few dark grey stormclouds in the sky.
(Someone in Haven has found out about the supernatural and is freaking out about it. They're at risk of exposing the secret, hurting themselves, or hurting others. Your target and their allies are tasked with containing the situation.
)
William slowly wakes up from a little nap on his couch. It was early in the morning, so why was he there and napping in the first place? Well, let's just say, after waking up way too early and getting dressed, just to later be found with an incredible amount of nothing to do and a suffocating boredom, he did end up laying down on the couch - And early hours combined with a general sleep deprivation led the pale man to simply fall asleep on his sofa earlier in the morning, only starting to wake up now, sluggish, slow, eyes taking their time to even focus on things, and his brain trying to get past this daze-y sensation, to no avail so far
William reaches to pick up his phone, still half asleep, not even fully incorporated, simply patting around the table while still laid down until finding the device, and bringing it closer to his face with a sigh. A blast of light hitting his sensitive eyes while they still were adjusting to the brightness levels of the room, prompting him to darken the screen in order to check whatever he's doing. But another sigh follows, no messages or news from anyone there, just some evidence of his argument with his sister last night, which he's still kind of bitter about "She's so stubborn... Why can't she see it's the same thing she tried to teach me? Just this time she's in the side of the equation she doesn't like..." Then there's a groan, and the phone goes back to the table, shaking his head as he slowly brings himself to sit up "Well... I guess another day of hunting and training... Maybe I should take a closer look into the whole minions thing... I could bind that one, but I still don't know much about them"
It is the morning of the twenty seventh of December. Christmas has just passed, and with it, the destruction of the draconic fey eidolon Gonthorian. The day of christmas was productive, and that left William able to relax on boxing day, the twenty sixth offering no great calamity or contrived carnage to which William was forced to respond. Socializing then and reflection within Haven. That in and of itself is rare; William usually finds himself involved in various supernatural escapades, from spirit banishments, to escaped vampire thralls, to crazy cultists, wild animals, werewolf rampages, monsterious criminals and more, but today was... Calm? Or at least, more than it has been. For William, that means bordom and a morning nap-- How pleasant, for outside, where the winds bluster and the snow cascades, the inclemency of the weather enshrouds the world in a blanketing shroud of white. Almost ironic with the nature of Haven and its proximity to the gates; Other, Wilds, Hell, GuardRealm-- And the fansiful freaks that emerge through the rising mists, where the gloaming draws things closer to our world for the betterment or worse. Those mists then, an abrupt counterpointing; A book end to the snows, bracket the mystery. That curious causality created by the proximity of the fae to situations that might otherwise go unnoticed. Yet, fae William is, and so his innate luck changing does take effect here; Which is very much why William receives a text from the Knights of the Silver Dragon's automated intranet. Though Selina and her group, including William banished Gonthorian, the Firestarter, and his cult, the Scions of the Inferno thusly began to disband with the furious nature of rats on a sinking ship, there are still tasks to be performed, and William seemingly cannot escape that. The phone, which William reaches for buzzes, and a notification makes itself known: Someone unaware to the supernatural has been spotted, noted as an endangerment to the accords, and Venice needs them quieted. William is to find this person in the parking lot of the Elm Street apartment complex-- Which is why William was chosen; GPS likely alerted the systom.
With a sigh, William reaches for the buzzing phone again, starting the day already with a downer train of thought, so very characteristic of him. Checking the notification, he blinks a couple times - Sigh following, like it was expected of him - And then slowly stands from the sofa, patting and straightening his own clothes, given he had fallen asleep while wearing them. "They are still going... I thought they'd be dissolved by now- I stabbed the dragon, Selina ate it- Why are the Knights still- And whatever, this is Venice asking, not them..." He murmurs more to himself than to anyone else, seemingly calm with speaking alone in the confines of his apartment, having had several checks for cameras or mics given his paranoia, and knowing his nightmare shield is still untouched - The only incident that might disrupt his sense of safety, he was unable to remember, courtesy of a memory potion - So with that, he heads towards the door, a hand lazily rubbing at his face as he tries to still fight how recently he had woke up, heading into the hallways, and, eventually, exiting through the alleyway, walking over to glance over at the parking lot, looking around to try and spot someone who was likely causing a ruckus, most of these people were noisy when having to deal with them
William huffs a bit at his own train of thought, shaking his head and rubbing at both of his eyes, taking a deep breath to try and forget about those things for a little while, for now just resuming on trying to spot the individual to deal with
As William exits his apartment, the door to one hundred and six closes; At this time of day, the hall is quiet, and there is no one-- Nothing to interupt him as he locks the door and heads further through the building. There are muffled sounds coming from far off, likely outside the apartment itself, and pausing, William can note that the voice is high: It's likely a woman. Still, no one appears to have addressed this problem. They are all likely already out, having returned to the rigma of their working lives, or sleeping off a bender, or fucking like rabbits, or the supernatural has consumed them-- In Haven, there is simply no knowing-- Though some of those are more likely than the others. William's foot falls are quiet; They echo in the emptyness. The floors are freshly cleaned, and no rubbish, no dirt-- No surprises obstruct William's way. The janitorial staff have likely been around this morning, it is friday after all.@william passes apartment one hundred and seven-- No sounds from within, so at least someone wont cause William any issues this morning. One hundred and eight, one hundred and nine, then he is at the alley door. It sticks. Of course it sticks; It's winter, and the jam has likely expanded in the cold and damp, the water condensation from the frost worming its way in. It's only to be expected, after all. William is able to open it though, and as he does, a gust of frigid, soothing air blusters past William. In situations like this, an affinity for cold is instrumental to a functioning sense of well being. The alley though is less well kept; The wind has blown over a trash can, and the dumpster is over flowing. A stray dog-- At least, William assumes it to be a dog skitters away-- It did look a lot like a wolf though, which wouldn't be that unusual for Haven. There are vehicles here, too. someone, yes, Novels and Sam's, but no unusual ones that could be unexpected. But from here, that voice is louder: It is most certainly a woman, and an irate one at that. She's raving, and as William rounds the apartment building, William can see why. There is a corpse on her car. The vehicle itself might have been just any other if it were in working condition, but unfortunately, it's a heaping pile of garbage now. It was likely a Chevrolet Camaro. The surviving plate suggests a nineteen seventy eight model, though if it were, it's now a pile of debris. And worse, the detritus has what is likely a demon tambourined through it.
As William exits his apartment, the door to one hundred and six closes; At this time of day, the hall is quiet, and there is no one-- Nothing to interupt him as he locks the door and heads further through the building. There are muffled sounds coming from far off, likely outside the apartment itself, and pausing, William can note that the voice is high: It's likely a woman. Still, no one appears to have addressed this problem. They are all likely already out, having returned to the rigma of their working lives, or sleeping off a bender, or fucking like rabbits, or the supernatural has consumed them-- In Haven, there is simply no knowing-- Though some of those are more likely than the others. William's foot falls are quiet; They echo in the emptyness. The floors are freshly cleaned, and no rubbish, no dirt-- No surprises obstruct William's way. The janitorial staff have likely been around this morning, it is friday after all.@william passes apartment one hundred and seven-- No sounds from within, so at least Novel wont cause William any issues this morning. One hundred and eight, one hundred and nine, then he is at the alley door. It sticks. Of course it sticks; It's winter, and the jam has likely expanded in the cold and damp, the water condensation from the frost worming its way in. It's only to be expected, after all. William is able to open it though, and as he does, a gust of frigid, soothing air blusters past William. In situations like this, an affinity for cold is instrumental to a functioning sense of well being. The alley though is less well kept; The wind has blown over a trash can, and the dumpster is over flowing. A stray dog-- At least, William assumes it to be a dog skitters away-- It did look a lot like a wolf though, which wouldn't be that unusual for Haven. There are vehicles here, too. someone, yes, Novels and Sam's, but no unusual ones that could be unexpected. But from here, that voice is louder: It is most certainly a woman, and an irate one at that. She's raving, and as William rounds the apartment building, William can see why. There is a corpse on her car. The vehicle itself might have been just any other if it were in working condition, but unfortunately, it's a heaping pile of garbage now. It was likely a Chevrolet Camaro. The surviving plate suggests a nineteen seventy eight model, though if it were, it's now a pile of debris. And worse, the detritus has what is likely a demon tambourined through it.
As William exits his apartment, the door to one hundred and six closes; At this time of day, the hall is quiet, and there is no one-- Nothing to interupt him as he locks the door and heads further through the building. There are muffled sounds coming from far off, likely outside the apartment itself, and pausing, William can note that the voice is high: It's likely a woman. Still, no one appears to have addressed this problem. They are all likely already out, having returned to the rigma of their working lives, or sleeping off a bender, or fucking like rabbits, or the supernatural has consumed them-- In Haven, there is simply no knowing-- Though some of those are more likely than the others. William's foot falls are quiet; They echo in the emptyness. The floors are freshly cleaned, and no rubbish, no dirt-- No surprises obstruct William's way. The janitorial staff have likely been around this morning, it is friday after all.@william passes apartment one hundred and seven-- No sounds from within, so at least Novel wont cause William any issues this morning. One hundred and eight, one hundred and nine, then he is at the alley door. It sticks. Of course it sticks; It's winter, and the jam has likely expanded in the cold and damp, the water condensation from the frost worming its way in. It's only to be expected, after all. William is able to open it though, and as he does, a gust of frigid, soothing air blusters past William. In situations like this, an affinity for cold is instrumental to a functioning sense of well being. The alley though is less well kept; The wind has blown over a trash can, and the dumpster is over flowing. A stray dog-- At least, William assumes it to be a dog skitters away-- It did look a lot like a wolf though, which wouldn't be that unusual for Haven. There are vehicles here, too. William's, yes, Novels and Sam's, but no unusual ones that could be unexpected. But from here, that voice is louder: It is most certainly a woman, and an irate one at that. She's raving, and as William rounds the apartment building, William can see why. There is a corpse on her car. The vehicle itself might have been just any other if it were in working condition, but unfortunately, it's a heaping pile of garbage now. It was likely a Chevrolet Camaro. The surviving plate suggests a nineteen seventy eight model, though if it were, it's now a pile of debris. And worse, the detritus has what is likely a demon tambourined through it.
On his way out of the apartment and towards the street, William has plenty of time to think, to calm down and focus on the task at hand. His thoughts probably a mystery to anyone that might be observing him, after all, some of them rarely even touched his face even in more stressful situations, this was no different. A face of indifference as he walks out, despite whatever dark thoughts he might be having about how to turn this situation into a game to at least make it somewhat enjoyable. Despite the the fact that he is almost fantasizing about the very same thing he was warning people about just a couple months back, and waiting just to be able to do something that his previous weak human self would be so critical and scared of. None of it seems to reach his face. Maybe it's just the annoyance at whatever happened the previous night. Maybe it's just a coping mechanism. Maybe the human was truly gone, buried under layers of negativity and abuse.
But none of that was for anyone else but for him to reflect upon, if he ever even came to that conclusion himself. For now though, he only saw the woman, and the corpse. And double checking his phone, he makes sure the target was there - He could pretty easily just go about this completely in the shadows, acting without even knowing what was happening. But he needed to know what memories to get rid of. So he needed to at least know what the woman knew before involving her in whatever sick fae game he had in mind, if it even was a game to begin with.
But he isn't going to play nice, no, he's good at illusions, he doesn't like to be seen - Good enough to deceive the woman even to get information from her - He couldn't trick her sense of hearing, but he could trick her sight. So as he walks towards the cause of the disturbance, he uses his magic to tap into the innocent gal's mind, creating the illusion of a much different guy walking towards her and stopping in front, someone taller, blonde hair, green eyes, clearly with more muscle than William, someone that upon been seen wouldn't be tied to him - Even if this woman was likely to never see him again - And then he just, walks over the illusion, occupying its same space, having it superpose him, a nice trick, just like he can't make something vanish from view but he can put a curtain in front of your eyes, he simply allows the visual to cloak him in a less direct way, then softening his accent to try and sound at least a little more american than he truly is "What seems to be the issue here, ma'am?" He asks, almost as if he truly couldn't see what was the issue, he clearly could, but he wanted to get the full picture at least
William can tell that it's a demon through a series of indicative facts; Firstly, the red skin is a huge give away. It's also at least eight foot tall, which is, though not impossible, then unlikely for a human-- Very much so, in fact. Its teeth are sharp, and from its lower jaw, large tusks protrude: It almost resembles an orc from Lord of the Rings, if not for a number of other qualities that make it evidently hellish in origin. Intimidating caprine horns break from the corners of its brow, long, lank hair has been gathered into dreads, and yellow eyes are other signs of its hellish nature, along with the large set of chiroptrin wings that lay around it, the crumpled bat-like apendages snapped and broken in a number of places. It's also as naked as the day it was born, and that lets William note that its tackle is emasculatingly impressive. But also, that its knees bend the wrong way, and that it has hooves and a serpent-like tail projecting from its rear. Bad enough at the best of times; Monsters don't usually get this far into Haven, especially with the scouts, but this one has. And it looks as though it were dropped from a great height-- Likely the cause of death, for its limbs are twisted out of joint-- Or at least, William assumes it to be dead before it blinks, and it slowly begins to nit itself back together ponderously slowly, its bed of a vintage sports car serving as a curiously apathetic backdrop-- If not for the unaware woman who's having a panic attack and flailing her arms at the sight of the infernal aberation that has obliterated her mode of transportation. Amidst cries of "What the hell is that?" and "Oh my fucking god!" and such obvious americanisms as "Who's going to pay for this?" and "I'm going to put your ass through litigation." William can see that this woman is growing steadily more and more irate. Her phone is out, and the camera is recording. William's disguise likely works. The woman of course doesn't recognize William, but it's up in the air if her phone camera would see the same. Then, without preamble, the woman launches into another diatribe-- Fortunately, it's everything William likely needs to know. "Jesus Christ, are you another one of these winged bastards? I'm getting sick of this crap." She might not be entirely happy. It might be the car-- Or the demon-- Or what ever else she's seen? "First the giant bird man taking his shirt off, then Bret growing half a foot taller."
"then this what ever the fuck is going on-- Fucking swords. And they smashed my fucking car. Someone's going to pay for this. Fucking angels and demons crap. And don't tell me it's cinima crap, or a movie. I don't see any cameras, and I saw that other guy turn into a fucking dog by the alley." The woman really isn't happy. Then the demon, apparently named Bret has to make things worse by having his limbs snap back into place. He blinks, looks between the woman and William and tells them both, "I'll just be going... You two look busy." Before he rentches himself from the smashed car, wings spreading to take flight-- Another breach of the accords, but why would a demon care?
Wouldn't you know it, of course there were swords. There's a longsword snapped in two within the center of the sports car's hood. It seems to taunt William and the woman, though she doesn't appear to notice. "Get the fuck back here." she bellows, a fist raised to the sky, phone camera still recording as the demon, Bret gives William a two-fingered salute, blowing a kiss to the woman before he's up- Up- And away! William noting that ripple of air as he enters the nightmare... Far too late. What even has William walked into now?
William can't help but blink and widen his eyes at everything that seems to be informed within an instant. He was ready to do his thing, but it still is a lot to process at once when normally people were in the realm of 'I have a picture of something weird' or 'I think I saw a rare beast', but for this woman... She seemed to have the whole deal, demons, angels, wolves... She needed a full wipe.
Not much thought is given to the departing demon, he wasn't adamant in retaining him, in fact, it was probably for the best if he left, so that he wouldn't disrupt any illusory tricks he tried that the hellspawn wouldn't be aware of. There is a loud sigh from the man, it seems his thoughts were justified in the end, he did need to deep a strong cleansing of her head, scaring her didn't seem so monstrous all of a sudden, and more growingly necessary the more he thinks about it - Scare her to then later make it a nightmare - Just a nightmare, not reality, amnesia her in her terror to make her more effective.
But that was only his plan, not any action is taken yet, but he frowns at the phone, he knew that thing could see through his illusions, they were projected on people's minds after all, so leaving the wise of the blond man behind, William slowly walks to take cover behind some car, hoping to hide from the woman, and, glancing around the street, he uses his magic to cloak himself entirely from anyone's view for a couple seconds. Then he reaches to press both palms together, closing his eyes and letting out a deep breath, his shadow seems to disengage from his figure, and crawl around the ground like some sort of snaky being into the distance, into nothingness, a call to somewhere- A summoning of his newly acquired minion- For as he returns to visibility again a couple seconds later, his shadow is still with him. Magic shenanigans not ever making sense if explained in mundane terms.
And it takes a little while, for sure it does, but soon enough it arrives. An owl, flying on top of the wrecked car. Size indicating its probably a female, with colors of brown and gray. The only disturbing quality, the lack of yellow in its eyes, instead replaced by a ghostly cyan colored flame-like effect. It wasn't an owl, it was a spirit using an owl flesh puppet of a body. Carrying out its first non spoken command, it opens its wings and flies down towards the woman, aiming to snatch the phone from her hands, to take it hostage but not break it, aiming to retrieve it to the sneaky fae
This really is something the Order should be dealing with. It's telling that they arn't, but William, in his blond haired, green eyed disguise does have a plan, even if it is to play a game. The woman's car is observably flattened-- More pancaked than a Michael Bay film's property damage numbers could account for, and Bret, the demon did just run off. The woman is still recording everything on her phone, and she apparently saw either another monster, an angel, or some other avian abomination on top of all of this. Oh sure, a cleanup crew could deal with the car. It can likely be repaired-- Totaled and an excuse made, or any number of other outcomes, but first the elephant in the room. The irate woman and her evidence. "I'm going to tell every-fucking-one." she tells William brazenly. "And if you're one of them, I'll get you, too. You'll be hearing from my lawyers. I'm with Inigo. They hold a lot of water in this town." -- Then William is gone. The woman glances around, raves some more and continues to record. It's quite pathetic, though William has to admire the utter recklessness of it all. Tehe shadow flickers and vanishes, as much as William, then the woman has an owl to deal with. An owl that wasn't on her car before: An Owl that has flaming unnatural eyes. Then, the bird moves. But the woman is only human, and in the process of raising a hand to protect her face from the avian assault, her phone, as though via bad luck, or luck bending fae abilities slips from her grip. She screams in blended rage and fear, and that phone, still recording lands in the owl's out-stretched claw. It really is a good job no one is around to see. That is, except for the cameras on the apartment building, though they are controled by the Hand, if not also Emmanuel's Temple recording devices. Still, the Temple and Hand both wish to hide the existance of the supernatural, so that's not even the issue. -- William's owl seems surprised when the woman's phone lands in its claw, and it fumbles, but with luck, it maintains the grip and it flutters over to where William is hiding, the device passed over.
There is a choice behind summoning his minion for this game- For this task. William understands his illusions are easy to break, just a device recording could do it... And he could only manage to trick sight, sound and touch are things he simply couldn't fake with them. That's why the minion is so important. Something that can act for him, that can at least make up for some of that.
William knew way too well what those nasty things could do. He hated spirits, mostly out of his personal suffering of them- But they were admittedly something that could be weaponized. That wasn't a normal owl, it was a spirit inhabiting an owl. He had seen how spirits were able of doing incredible things, both in combat and outside of it. He almost even died frozen while trapped into a nightmare by the same nasty thing that now inhabits his sister's pet.
His wasn't as dangerous, clearly. It couldn't try and freeze someone to dead. It couldn't possess people. It was highly limited by being trapped into a body to begin with. But there is one thing it could do to aid him. And so the owl shouts. It is not a bird sound, but that of a woman instead. A wail of pain and suffering, with some echoes of its etheral condition rippling the ears of the unaware lady. Lust, has he had named his new pet following the convention set by his sister, was able to cover the sound department. It wasn't much, but with his visuals and disturbing noises, he thought it enough to terrify a person.
But now, William has the phone, and a dumb smile on his face, he pauses the recording, and pockets the device. He of course isn't going to destroy it- He thinks he's smarter than that, and will have the cleanup crew inspect it and make sure everything is wiped whenever they arrive. He's not going to trash something that could be transmitting somewhere else, and lose the chance to track it. So with that dealt with, it is time to deal with the woman, and her pesky memories.
And as Lust flies back to peer at the woman with those otherwordly eyes. The illusions of William take hold again on the woman's head, making everything go darker, the surroundings of the apartment turning pitch black, like it was the middle of the night, making it unable for her to see to far away from herself, leaving her with just the trashed car, the feathery puppet, and a series of sprouting glowing eyes in the surrounding darkness.
William is mildly amused at the thought, without a camera, it could be terrible unnerving to be on her spot, but those seeing the whole thing, would only see a man hiding behind a car, and a woman angrily shouting at a bird. But he tries to put on a more serious voice now, he wants to scare the woman after all, he can't just dilly dally all day long, but he's mildly worried at the prospect of this target to be american enough, and just the right amount of stupid to be unable to be scared by what's happening "That's if you manage to tell them... What makes you think you're not going to end up like your car?"
A clever woman would pause to think. She would process the situation, tell herself that this is a dream and perhapse slap herself to try to wake. She might close her eyes and count to ten. But this woman is a modern american. She's the physical embodyment of a Karen, and so what she does, is continue to bellow at the bird. That inevitably causes its own issues. She's blinded by the illusion; The eyes in the darkness, the spirit bird, the trashed car and the little circle of light she has. So in true american Karen style, she rushes for where she saw the bird deposit the phone. She cant see William, of course. He's too well hidden.But she sees where the location was-- Or thinks she does. Unfortunately then, she finds her next obstical; It's in her way quite literally, and looking (at least to her own recording) like a mad woman, she runs full force into the street light that was only five foot away from her... And hasn't moved. Her fingers set into claws, she irately impacts it like a bat out of hell. She's spitting with an incandescent rage, and that is likely why her stream of invectives is abruptly cut off with a rather pleasing 'bong!' as she collides, blinks, then falls backwards insensate from the street light, likewise as tambaurined as her car was some time ago. ...... Oh well. That makes William's job that bit easier.
takes a couple seconds to peek from behind his hiding spot to look at the woman after he listens to the clash. Blinking a couple times, and sighing to himself as he watches own the woman probably caused herself a concussion, letting out a heavy sigh at this, this time it's not even his thoughts that are occupied with his inner monologue, but it actually pours out into words as he comes from behind the car, walking towards the target.
"Why can't I have nice things? Is it so hard to ask... To play a game for once in a while... To have someone actually use their brains and be scared... But no- No one has common sense around here" William complains out loud, rubbing at his own eyes as if getting ready for what he's about to do.
"If she was a monster, I'd at least understand it, but she's fucking human... She sees a werewolf, and demon and she tries to sue... She sees the ghost owl and wants to fight it- She cares more about her phone and her car than her fucking life" He continues with a shake of his head. Lust slowly flying to perch on his shoulder as he walks to the woman. Still not dispelling any of the odd visuals, the darkened street. He even tricks her mind into seeing a wolf, monstrous looking, the size of a cow, standing right next to her, followed by a growl coming from his owl's insides, not even seeming like a noise that comes out through the mouth- Or beak in this case.
"No, people here don't feel- People aren't scared... They are always too horny, or too powerful for it... Or too fucking stupid..." He says upon reaching the woman, kneeling down for a moment and peering into her eyes with his own brown ones, looking to snag her gaze to proceed with the memory wiping, though instead of opting for fear, going the route of anger to clean her brain up. His own anger starting to pour out in the form of reaching for her hair and pulling from it in order to bring her face just a bit closer, her eyes likely closed after the impact, but he keeps his gaze on them, almost waiting for the moment she opens them again to complain or to cause some trouble "Look at me" He almost growls out the command to the innocent lady who just happened to witness beasts running around
(Your target is approached by an old friend or family member who has recently joined the ranks of The Sapphire Martyrs. They try to recruit the target to their cause, claiming it to be the only way to save the other worlds from Earth's inevitable destruction. The target's task would be to either convince the old friend or family member of the fallacy of the Sapphire Martyrs' cause, infiltrate the group to gather information, or outright reject the recruitment and deal with the consequences. The encounter could involve psychological and emotional manipulation, as well as potential combat if the target's rejection is not well-received.)
The dorm, bereft of volume until the passing class period of the local college, is unremarkable quiet in the holiday season. The supernatural small town funk plays only like the casual high-hat in the back of the mind, the memories of poor alley encounters with would-be werewolves, the monotony of casual bloodletting in Aware private bathrooms, and, perhaps, with a knock on the door.
A quit, rapping knock taps in a triplet, and is followed by an extended silence.
Kathlynn gets off the lower bunk where she was reading a book on witchcraft. Moving to the door, Kathlynn opens it and peeks through to see who it is.
An old woman with thick eyeglasses that magnify her eyes like a fishbowl slowly looks up to the subject of her inquiry with an expression that is only mostly lost. She wears a simple cardigan over a pastel blouse, unwrinkled and faintly unscented with a sensitive perfume that matches the light touches of makeup. She's worn her best bowler, the prime decoration of her own youth, and hefts a leather shoulder bagworn but polished. It's packed with notebooks and a pen case, frazzled and frightened by contents threatening to spill.
"Oh-oh my, Hello yooung laddyy." she smiles shyly, "I- I am Lenore? I.. I couldn't help but see that my name was already written on the sign just down the stairs there..." She trails off, turning about as if to indicate exactly where that sign is.
Kathlynn looks confused at the older woman. "Um? Hi... You are Lenore... the college student?" She looks very puzzled, having vaguely met Lenore once or twice previously... but never meeting her once she started rooming with her. Putting the book down on her bunk, Kat gets another thought. Opening the door, she pointedly does not invite her in but instead steps back to see what the older woman will do.
"Why yes!" The old woman says sweetly to the stair case, then slowly hobbles back around. "Are we schoolmates? Yes I believe we are." She takes a breath from the short movement, finally looking properly to someone. "I am Lenore Davis, it is so nice to meet you." She introduces, fumbling both hands in her bag. The papers crumble in complaint as she continues to speak,"I tell you, these campuses get bigger every year.. Why.. Why this nice young woman asked me to head to the chapel.." She produces a letter, its top cut open crudely with what was likely a pair of scissors. It's.. Not an envelope, it unfolds. She does so revealing the faint inlay of a fractured, tear-shaped sapphire embellished slightly transparent to the page.
"I.. Was invited to a lecture near the chapel, but I just don't know where it is." With consternation and a furrow, she hands the letter over.
"Why yes!" The old woman says sweetly to the stair case, then slowly hobbles back around. "Are we schoolmates? Yes I believe we are." She takes a breath from the short movement, finally looking properly to Kathlynn. "I am Lenore Davis, it is so nice to meet you." She introduces, fumbling both hands in her bag. The papers crumble in complaint as she continues to speak,"I tell you, these campuses get bigger every year.. Why.. Why this nice young woman asked me to head to the chapel.." She produces a letter, its top cut open crudely with what was likely a pair of scissors. It's.. Not an envelope, it unfolds. She does so revealing the faint inlay of a fractured, tear-shaped sapphire embellished slightly transparent to the page.
"I.. Was invited to a lecture near the chapel, but I just don't know where it is." With consternation and a furrow, she hands the letter over.
Kathlynn looks at her with a bit more warmth. "Well, ive never been to the chapel here yet... but I am sure we can find it. I still get lost here myself" Kathlynn confides in her dorm mate. "Why don't we go and find it together?"
Kathlynn changes into a few things quickly, before she smiles to Lenore
Dear Miss Davis,@line.
We hope this letter finds you well. We are pleased to extend an invitation to an enlightening and thought-provoking lecture that will be held on 12/27 at 4:00pm, at the [White Oak Chapel.
The topic of discussion will focus on "The Ever-Present Ties That Bind: Dear Miss Davis,@line.
We hope this letter finds you well. We are pleased to extend an invitation to an enlightening and thought-provoking lecture that will be held on 12/27 at 4:00pm, at the [White Oak Chapel.
someone The topic of discussion will focus on "The Ever-Present Ties That Bind: Understanding Our Relationship with the Cosmos and Our Role in Its Cycle." This lecture will explore a wide range of philosophical and metaphysical conce pts, shedding light on the inevitable nature of existence and the destiny we all share.
Our speaker, a scholar with years of experience in matters of existential philosophy, will guide the audience through a journey that questions the very fabric of our connections with other worlds. The lecture promises to offer profound insights into the inherent nature of sacrifice, love, and the cyclical existence that governs us all.@line.
We encourage all interested parties to attend this open event, where we believe a diverse exchange of thoughts and perspectives will benefit all who seek a deeper understanding of their place in the universe.@line.
Should you ha ve any questions or require further information, feel free to reach out to us at [contact information]. We look forward to your presence and participation in what promises to be a truly eye-opening experience.@line. Warm regards.
"Oh why thank you- say.. What was your name?" The hallways, fifteen minutes before the turn of the class period, are only filled with the common insidious two-person couples who smirk and muse and lounge in strange places. The small boston-adjacent town is filled with beautiful people with angelic features, looking like a satire of college commercials."
Kathlynn smiles ans says to her
"I always like to meet new people. Oh, I'm Kathlynn... you can call me kat if you would like."
As we wander through the mostly deserted halls during the holidays she bundles into her coat as they follow the signs, and her online campus map to the seminar. Not being the most navigationally expert, the two of them arrive within a few minutes of the start.
"Kat!" SRIsolde repeats cheerily. "Oh, why Diana would always say the same thing god bless her." She quickly signs to the Holy spirit for the woman. "H'why her lovely Mister Morby- She was Diane Morby you understand? Well he was just a delightful immortal bachelor- always taken her an' introducing her to new people at those parties in New York."
The chapel is just west and north from the dorms. The unsigned speakers with no filled in means of contact have chosen a fairly conspicuous place, all things considered. Forced to pass the structure whenever commuting to and from the dorms, the church is a brushed relic of an religious age that has always lived and still walks in a not nearly as humble stride. Miss Davis casually waves at everyone she passes, becoming the 'old friend' until the church looms like a forgotten parent overhead. The doors are open, and afternoon lighting paint a small ten-some audience in the pews to someone further at the pulpit.
Kathlynn glances at Lenore. "Immortal bachelor you say?" She watches her reaction very closely, wondering if she knows about the secrets of this town. As we arrive a the chapel, Kathlynn zips up her coat, more aware of her outfit... and feeling a little bit self conscious about it. She looks at all of the people there, but allows Lenore to choose a seat before sitting down next to her.
's eyes round as she nods, turning over with a judging whisper, "Just so! Mister Morby never did age proper, an until poor Diane went estranged with herself into the Moore woods in ninety-seven, neither did she! Those gods-darned godlings.." She shakes her head as she waddles forward into the pews, whispering a 'hi there-' to each comparably young face
The crowd it notably motley, and more discernibly reserved within themselves. They give only resigned smiles to Miss Davis, and the woman standing by the pulpit has the most-most inspiring depression. As she steps down to sit on the elevated surface of the quaint portion of the stage, itt gives the air of something between an AA meeting. She holds her hands out in a loose, ploppy gesture of welcome.
"Hi." The woman says with thin lips, her voice somewhat stagnant, brows turning confused between Kathlynn and Miss Davis. "We have new listeners? I'm Taylor?"
Kathlynn looks at the group circle, starting to remind her of therapy groups she was forced to attend when people all told her she was crazy for seeing things. Things which everyone else assured her wasn't actually there. "Um... hi Taylor... im kat." Her hand slide into her coat pocket and start nervously fingering the inner pocket liner.
An awkward, "Sup." from a man dressed for the nuclear winter, coats on coats on coats and still shivering every so minute.
"Ah, so this must be Lenore.." the woman named Taylor nods, brows leveling into conclusion. "Well it's always nice to bring friends."
She settles her palms onto the stage and leans forward, solemnly looking across the audience before returning to the newcomers.
"Are you both freshmen? Have you been lectured on destiny yet? What do you think of it?"
"Oh-ho-ho," Miss Davis chortles, the only source of levity, with healthy lungs, "h-well I think I'm not ready to meet him yet."
Kathlynn looks up at Taylor, "Um... no... not really... I just arrived about a week ago... I'm in gen ed classes. Is that a band or something?" she says, mostly the truth... but trying to follow the rules and not discuss the supernatural in front of the unaware. Watching each of the others to determine who might know what... and why Taylor is speaking about Destiny.
The woman, scoffing, slowly shakes her head. "No. Not a band."
"Destiny is a tangible force that can be written, read, and erased by actions and their resulting consequences. I'm.. Ahah.." She laughs painfully, "not sure if both of you read the letter? White Oak is an institution for the aware, and this is at least a Sensitive conversation?"
Miss Morby shuffles, looking from left to right. "I'm aware." She bridles slightly.
Kathlynn hackles get raised as Taylor reminds her of some of the doctors and administrators she has had to deal with. Watching her with slightly narrowed eyes Kathlynn nods at the description of Destiny.