WEEK 05

[modmachine]

Weather: The temperature has dropped another notch, enough to start being seriously uncomfortable for those who sleep outside with no cover. Tuesday and Wednesday will have freezing rain at night, though it’s not snowing as of yet. Some of the kids wish it would, though, the closer it gets to the Festival of Lights.

Moon Phase: Monday brings the new moon, not that most people will be able to see it through the gathering clouds. If you look, though, it's possible to see the waxing crescent in the early morning late in the week.

School's Out: This week is finals at the college, and as a result, Friday through Sunday see a large number of the students moving out for the winter holidays. Most of those who opt to remain are shuffled around in order to leave two buildings - the senior hall used by students in the sciences and one of the freshmen halls - completely empty. The official explanation is building maintenence. On Wednesday, Ryoji will get a text from Ci asking if he's staying over for the holiday.

Winter bluster, winter blow: Things are starting to get a little messy in the Winter Court as their season approaches. For most of the last year, the Court has been run by committee, after the last Winter King inexplicably vanished. No successor was named, and with the seasonal coronation less than a month away, the court's usual plots and intrigues are starting to spill into the open. As of now, things seem to be divided between three factions - a group of diehard supporters of the previous King, certain he'll return; a group supporting the former brother-at-arms of said King, who may have been involved in the disappearance; and a third group supporting the King's protege, clearly hoping that the youth's relative inexperience will make him an easy puppet. Business as usual in the Winter Court, but it has the potential to spill into the others and turn nasty.

Day Zero: Network Zero’s been alight with chatter for those who follow it. There’s been clear footage of something that appears to be a man with a knife on fire in one of the warehouses - and yet none of the fire seems to catch anything around him. There’s also a report that the person who took this footage is in the hospital for a broken bone, though there haven’t been any updates yet. The local Sin-Eaters aren’t thrilled about this either, and on Friday night two teenagers are spotted around the area, along with a trio of younger boys armed with a camera.

A Strange Guest: Casper's new... ahem, roommate, is causing a few side effects. Most prominent will be the small patches of black and dark blue scales - they start tiny, like freckles, but grow in over the course of a few days to something better called patches before they stop. And the entire time they're growing in, they itch like the bejeebus. On the bright side, after some adjustment, the new addition is alert and willing to communicate... as long as Casper doesn't mind that he's going to have a near-encyclopedic knowledge of astronomy before the week is out.

Words for the Wicked: In the park where the hunt took place last weekend, something is writing on the trees. It starts out with just scratch marks, but before long it's scraps of the sorts of conversation you might overhear in the park, people talking to their children or dogs, that sort of thing. On Friday night, however, the words start to take a darker turn - KILL IT is repeated in numerous places, sometimes accompanied by the words TROPHY and MONSTER. And on Sunday, all the words are gone, except for a single phrase written under the hole made by a stray bullet during the hunt - i'll hunt you back.

Frostgrowth: The entrance to the Hedge used by the recent Goblin Market is continually frosty this week, as is the Underworld entrance used by Ryoji and Casper. The changelings in particular are wary about the change, though none of them seem to have put it together with the other strange patch of frost. Lingering at either location too long will draw the attention of the Frostiron Guardian more quickly than usual.

Trains keep on rolling: Construction on the building in the Sixth has progressed far enough that watching the building is pointless even for the thickly built man, who has instead resumed his trainspotting ways.

Weekly service: The nighttime bell-ringing at St. Madeline's church occurs again on Sunday night, this time drawing a bit more of a crowd. In hushed voices, a few people approach the Acolyte responsible for the bells about organizing a regular service of the church of the dead. She seems uncertain, and no formal plans are made that night.

Put Yourself Back Where You Came From Or So Help Me: On Thursday night, Tobias will have a brief visit to his lair through the Primordial Dream - another, weaker Horror, still wary and apparently checking things out. It's hard to tell exactly what the creature is, but the impression is of something shadowed and low-to-the-ground that leaves behind a smell of soured wine.

Comments

[runs]

She just can't not hiss at Tobias and give him the most offended look, sorry Tobias.

That was a lot less fun than what hearing the concept would have made it sound like.

[notachickenhawk]

"I said I'm sorry!" Geez. He pulls his hand away and just starts jogging down the street towards their hideout. "It's actually a lot of fun..."

[runs]

No, she'll be sulking for a bit longer.

Until they're at their hideout and she can shift and actually say something.

[notachickenhawk]

They finally get there, and Tobias sits down, poking through his bag. She can crawl out on her own, if she wants.

[runs]

She does want to.

And even remembers to only shift once she's found her clothes, and get dressed quickly. Though to be fair, heating or not it's a lot colder than in Ryoji's place.

"It's a lot less fun when you're in the pocket of someone doing it."

[notachickenhawk]

"Sorry about that." He smiles a little bit. "Maybe next time you can just hold onto my back or something?" He'd have to adjust for the weight, but it should be fine. "I can teach you a little, if you want."

[runs]

"Next time I want to do it myself." So no to the former and back to the latter. She just doesn't want to risk him forgetting that she's there and accidentally roll over her.

And it looks way more fun to do yourself. So he should definitely teach her.

[notachickenhawk]

"Okay. We can do that. You'd probably be really good at it. Except you can't levitate anything. That's cheating." No cheating on this test, Kitty. He will totally bust you on it.

[runs]

"Only when I'm falling from up too high."

She's not going to risk her life for the coolness factor (she's seen Tobias land badly a few times too often now).

[notachickenhawk]

"Yeah, okay. Just don't let other people see you." He just doesn't want someone to see her and go running for a hunter. Or worse, a hero.

[runs]

"Of course I won't."

Or she will try at least. Sometimes you can't help it. But not at least trying to hide the use of magic seems like an even worse idea here than back home.

[notachickenhawk]

"... All right." She sure didn't try when they first met... but then again, he'd kind of had her backed into a corner. "Wall running is easy enough to teach you, anyway, and it's kind of the first skill I learned. Other than 'how to fall'."

[runs]

She also wasn't intent on letting him notice that it was her, then, and then things just kept happening.

"I can fall well." She grins at that. Hey, if anyone knows how to fall, it will be cats.

[notachickenhawk]

Things keep happening so much, it's true. "I guess so. That's why I didn't suggest it. You've got an advantage."

[runs]

"I do."

Cats are cooler than hawks, sometimes, even if they can't fly. Which, in a way, this one can.

[notachickenhawk]

Totally not cooler, Kitty.

"We'll start soon. First... you been doing okay?"

[runs]

Absolutely cooler.

"I have." She considers what she should tell him about and what not. "I went into a different place where there was a plant kitten. It was very nice, but it couldn't move around at all."

[notachickenhawk]

Nuh uh.

"... A... uh. Plant kitten?" That's. That's different, and not anything he really knows... anything about.

[runs]

Duh uh.

"It looked like a kitten but it was growing from a plant. And I couldn't really talk to it but we could play. And I think there was another kitten growing nearby. They start just as an ear and then more and more of them grows out of the plant."

[notachickenhawk]

... well then. "Where did you find it?" At least she's safe. Maybe she's safer because she's a cat? He has no idea.

[runs]

"In a garden in a hole in the hedge maze behind a door leading out from where the market was." She has no idea what that was past what Nitou told her, but that seems to be the best description.

[notachickenhawk]

Hmm... "As long as you were careful. I don't want you getting into too much trouble..." Because as much as he hates to admit it, he's fond of Kitty. He doesn't want her to get hurt.

[runs]

"I never get into too much trouble, or I wouldn't be here anymore."

Too much trouble to escape from, one way or the other, that is.

[notachickenhawk]

"I know. still..." He's looking after her. So he's responsible for her, isn't he? He has no idea how to even explain it.

[runs]

"...Are you trying to be an adult for me?"

She's seen this kind of behaviour before.