modmachine: (Default)
Hᴇx - ᴛʜᴇ ᴍᴏᴅ ᴍᴀᴄʜɪɴᴇ ([personal profile] modmachine) wrote in [community profile] cityofhex2016-11-16 10:32 pm

WEEK 02

With Halloween past, the weekend of November 5-6 brings the beginnings of holiday trappings, as businesses begin to put up lights and other decorations for Monday. Residential areas, too, begin to pick up on the trend; throughout the whole month there will be a slow but steady increase in front lawn decorations.

Interestingly, though some are close parallels to the Christmas decorations that those from Earth will be familiar with, many aren't quite right. Locals, if asked, talk about something called the Day of Lights as much as they do Christmas or any other holiday; it's easy to find out that the amber-yellow and blue lights common in shops are for this holiday, and that it takes place on the last night of autumn, before the solstice. Snowflakes and candles are the most common motifs.

Changelings seem especially into the Day of Lights, and it is a near-assurance that they will be picking up blue candles for it as the month goes on.

Weather forecast: In a word: dreary. Small showers through Monday and Tuesday grow into full rain throughout Wednesday, continuing on Thursday and as a light misting on Friday. The weekend looks clear of rain, but is still chilly and cloudy. There is still no frost, though it's expected by the end of the month; gardeners are moving potted plants inside and putting cover over the more fragile ones for winter.

Moon phase: The moon reaches a first quarter on Monday the seventh, and continues to grow throughout the week.

Employment Opportunity: Those who are of adult age in the city can get work collecting holiday donations for charity, or, for those more inclined to physical labor, a park in the residential district is putting up lights for a holiday attraction. Additionally, plenty of shops are hiring for the upcoming retail season.

Free lunch?: Though there doesn't seem to be an equivalent to Thanksgiving in Hex, food banks are brimming with holiday spirit right now, and in addition to their usual offerings, many are handing out warm lunches to those in need, usually soup or hot sandwiches, sometimes pizza. While those at any given food bank will side-eye someone who tries to come in more than once, it's easily possible to make a circuit of them and get quite a bit of food, especially if you're familiar with the bus system.

Photo finish: Hajime gets a mild of small publicity for his candid photos of celebrations throughout the city, and on Friday will get a call about a potential contract for photos of decorations throughout December. He also gets sent an email about a campus-sponsored holiday fashion show at the end of the month - something Ryoji will hear about mostly via various rumours among the students.

Fueling the Art: At a coffee shop on the fringes of the campus, an Art Student can be found most every morning, sipping a latte and working on sketches. The Coffeeshop Manager, a man in his late thirties with a pair of small sunglasses perched on his cheeks in spite of the grey weather, occasionally offers her tips. Those with a keen eye will notice that walls made of gears are a common motif in the art that hangs around the shop.

The Ides of Fall: Out on the Island The Summer Queen is called before her Autumn peer and taken to task for her unauthorized gathering. She leaves his court fuming quietly to herself, and later in the week Makoto will receive a message - "Watch the falling leaves, but don't go chasing them." Several others of the Summer Court get the same message.

Sweet Loot: On the morning of the tenth, Kitty will find a locket and a note in with her stashed clothes. The locket is full of orange glitter that seems to stick to the inside, and the outside is worked with leaves. The note simply says TREAT in letters that are all distinctly different. When Kitty uses a finger to apply the glitter to something, it leaves glowing orange marks that only she can see, unless someone else sees her apply them or she intentionally shows them to someone.

Richter and Corwin, meanwhile, will each find a piece of candy hanging from their doorknobs the same morning, tied on with a ribbon that trails glitter on any surface it touches. The candy is wrapped in clear plastic, and has a strange flavor neither will be able to place.

Right on Schedule: The trains in Hex are going nowhere fast, but they do seem to have changed routes, frequently passing alongside an area of the wall that they used to avoid. New Arrivals, as well as Hajime and anyone else who can see Infrastructure, will note strangely runed plates of metal under this section of track - plates which seem to be directly attached to the Wall via cables. Every time a train passes over them, the plates spark with bright green, though nothing about the train itself seems to change.

Through the Grapevine: Though Network Zero is usually considered a Hunter organization, plenty of supernaturals also make use of it to keep their eyes out for threats - and their eyes on each other. One or two of Hajime's photos of the changeling gathering is making the rounds, with the odd horned skulls in the bonfire circled in Photoshop, but perhaps more relevantly, there's a couple photos of Malin from a distance that have fallen into the grasp of a current meme ("Is this bat ok?") and three photos of men doing construction work on a building in the Sixth that seems innocuous until it's pointed out that most of the men are completely identical.
movingon: (owl)

[personal profile] movingon 2016-11-18 09:20 pm (UTC)(link)
Oh for-

She uses one wing to bat him in the face when he reveals what he thinks to have been that mysterious second animal. Really?

But that's probably not a very conclusive way of telling him that he's looking at that fox right now. She'll have to lead him to a space here they can talk, probably. Hm.
crazycatvampire: (thinking)

[personal profile] crazycatvampire 2016-11-21 09:12 pm (UTC)(link)
Hey, how is he to know she can turn into multiple animals! He cringes back from the wing, startled and apologetic, but certainly confused. "I'm... sorry? Do you not like foxes? I won't mention her again. Only I'm a little worried about her, is all. But we can talk about something else. Or I can, since you're not actually talking."

It turns out he can, in fact, babble a little when the moment hits him.
movingon: (owl)

[personal profile] movingon 2016-11-21 09:23 pm (UTC)(link)
...Worried about her? Should she be worried now, too?

She tilts her head at him. Why is he worried?
crazycatvampire: (lookaside)

[personal profile] crazycatvampire 2016-11-22 09:51 pm (UTC)(link)
Thankfully, that's a pretty obvious show of curiosity, so Corwin can guess at her meaning. He shakes his head a little. He's trusting, but he also understands that this might be dangerous for his maybe-friend. "I don't want to share it with just anyone. It might put her in danger. I'm sorry. I need to keep looking. You can come along, though, if you're curious."
movingon: (owl)

[personal profile] movingon 2016-11-22 09:59 pm (UTC)(link)
Well, maybe she can lead him somewhere where they can talk...

She knows where the safest place would be. Maybe that will tell him who she is, too.

So she chirps at him and then takes off, flying down the street, covering some distance before she sits down on a streetlamp and waits for him.
crazycatvampire: (curious)

[personal profile] crazycatvampire 2016-11-23 09:50 pm (UTC)(link)
While he knows he needs to find Malin, Corwin is still curious-- and besides, maybe the owl knows something! So he perks up and trots after her, coming to a stop under her perch. "Is something here, friend owl?" he asks hopefully.
movingon: (owl)

[personal profile] movingon 2016-11-23 09:55 pm (UTC)(link)
She takes off again, hooting at him and moving down the street until she reaches the next corner. She sits down on one of the cables hanging between the skyscrapers this time. Whatever they are, they are useful observation points and, right now, make for a good seat to wait on.

She can do that all the distance to his house, if he follows her.
Edited 2016-11-23 21:58 (UTC)
crazycatvampire: (working)

[personal profile] crazycatvampire 2016-11-30 05:18 am (UTC)(link)
It takes him about halfway to the house before he realizes where she's leading him, and he stops, squints up at her though his sunglasses, and finally guesses, "Are you the fox...? Because you're taking me back home, and an owl wouldn't know where that is. Unless it's a coincidence and you're taking me somewhere nearby, but I think maybe you're the fox."
movingon: (owl)

[personal profile] movingon 2016-11-30 12:22 pm (UTC)(link)
She hoots at him in reply; perhaps he will take that as a yes. But they still need a private place to talk, where she can turn back without worry, and his house sounds like an excellent choice for that, so she will continue into that direction.
crazycatvampire: (thinking)

[personal profile] crazycatvampire 2016-12-05 09:26 pm (UTC)(link)
"Well. I hope you're the fox," Corwin says with a little sigh, but he does follow, and even will keep walking when she pauses, since the closer they get the more obvious it is they really are going to his house. He climbs the steps at last, and unlocks the door with one arm held out, waiting for her to come land on it so he can bring her inside without her having to shift again.
movingon: (frenzied close)

[personal profile] movingon 2016-12-05 11:25 pm (UTC)(link)
She will land on his arm and, once the door has closed behind them, hop down onto the ground to change into her primary form.

"My name is Malin."

She's not sure if she gave out her name before.
crazycatvampire: (hand)

[personal profile] crazycatvampire 2016-12-07 06:36 am (UTC)(link)
"Malin," he repeats, then nods. "I'll remember that. I told you mine. But I'm glad you found me." His expression of relief turns back into worry. "I found this online... I'm so sorry. It's probably my fault." He holds out his other hand, the one with the folded-- and now rather crumpled-- piece of paper, letting her take it and unfold it.

Printed on it is a black and white picture of her in her current form, grainy and distant and difficult to make out clearly if you don't know what you're seeing, but if you know what Malin actually looks like, it's definitely her.
movingon: (frenzied far)

[personal profile] movingon 2016-12-07 10:50 am (UTC)(link)
She takes the picture from him, and if he ever wanted to hear some really impressive cursing in multiple languages, one of them signing - well, he's in for a treat.

The profanity that she utters courses through Swedish, English and Danish and at times is accompanied by Swedish Sign Language gestures for good measure, emphasizing her sentences or adding things - signing, she has found, is a better stress relief than words at times.

She'll wander a bit further into the house as she does this, careful to stay away from windows, and finally stop and look back at him.

"Where online?" She isn't sure if it even matters, but perhaps...
crazycatvampire: (glare)

[personal profile] crazycatvampire 2016-12-08 10:08 pm (UTC)(link)
"I can show you," Corwin answers, eager to help in any way he can, having spent a lot of her tirade of swearing cringing and sure she's furious at him, too, in all that. The windows are safe-- they're all covered in heavy curtains. You'd have to come right up to the windows themselves to peer in to take advantage of any slivers between or around them. The house is cluttered and slightly awkward in layout, but not dirty in any way.

He hustles over to a battered but sturdy looking laptop on an unevenly balanced coffee table, flipping it open to boot it up. "I watch a few sites that traffic in supernatural things. It's really useful. I never expected to see you on it, though."
movingon: (frenzied close)

[personal profile] movingon 2016-12-09 09:41 pm (UTC)(link)
She didn't notice his cringing, too preoccupied with trying to find an outlet for what isn't rage, not really, but ice cold fear gripping her heart. This is exactly what she was trying to avoid.

Well, one of a few things, but it was very high up on the list, maybe even item #1.

"What kind of sites?"

She'll pull over a chair and sit down close enough see the screen and far enough to not sit right by his side.