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

[dangerouslyinlove]

Ryoji's still not sure he understands, but... he tries to give Tobias a reassuring smile. "I think you've earned it," he says, "And even if you come into my dreams again, I don't really mind. It's not like I remember a lot from the first time. I'd rather you be somewhere safe and warm."

[notachickenhawk]

"... You..." He hunches his shoulders. "You're too nice for your own good, Ryoji."

[dangerouslyinlove]

"It's not the first time I've heard that." Ryoji grins at him. He likes being nice!

I did not see this comment oops.

[notachickenhawk]

"Yeah, I imagine not. ... I'm... okay. I know how to deal with the cold, if it gets too bad." It's not like his uncle's house was ever particularly warm when he was there.

[dangerouslyinlove]

Ryoji is clearly not convinced, and it shows on his face, but... he'll relent, for the moment. "...Ok, if you're sure. But the offer is always open, and if you wind up needing it and don't ask because you're being stubborn I'm going to be mad!" The way he says it makes it seems like it would be a playful scolding and nothing else, but he is kind of serious.

[notachickenhawk]

"... Thanks." It's... odd. People like Ryoji aren't properly Children, but it's not like he hasn't had other weird people in his Brood before. Ax was definitely not from the Dark Mother. And aside from that... there's such a thing as having actual friends, too. It's a strange concept for him, but it exists. After three years of survival and diving deep into weirdness, it's hard to think of things in a normal human way again.

He thinks for a bit, and tries to push forward. A normal human subject. "... What sort of classes are you taking right now?"

[dangerouslyinlove]

Meanwhile, you're probably not supposed to have non-Sin-Eaters as part of a krewe, but the rules are kind of wishy-washy for them anyway and even if they weren't Ryoji wouldn't care. Friendship is the important part!

"Still pretty basic gen ed stuff. There are certain types of classes we have to take before we can do stuff with a major, so this semester I'm doing the history, math, communication, and literature requirements. And I'm taking an art class for fun!" He's not very good, but bless him he's trying.

[notachickenhawk]

It's not like Beasts as a whole don't think of most of the supernatural world as their family, so it's totally fine.

"Literature... maybe you could show me what you're reading? I miss English classes. That and art were always my favorite." And maybe he can help out, somehow. But if he tried to go back to school there'd be too many questions at this point.

[dangerouslyinlove]

Ryoji perks up a little, if him being any perkier is even possible. "Yeah, sure! I've got the books back at my dorm, if you want." You know you want to hang out in his dorm where it's warm, Tobias.

[notachickenhawk]

"I'd like to see it... I mean... I've been trying to get into reading again. I've kept my library card around since before... everything, so I've been checking out some books." Nothing that's in too great of a condition, though. He doesn't want it to get dirty from all of his jumping around.

[dangerouslyinlove]

"Sure!" Ryoji doesn't mind at all. "Come on, let's go!" Yup, right now. Books!

[notachickenhawk]

"I -" You know what, sure. He'll follow along. He's not used to someone quite as energetic as Ryoji. How does he even respond?

[dangerouslyinlove]

Don't fight it, Tobias, it's not worth the effort. Ryoji will cheerfully lead the way back to his dorm, still keeping up chatter with Tobias. "Have you been drawing any?"

[notachickenhawk]

"A little bit. I keep thinking I should get into painting or something - people buy paintings more than pencil sketches, right?" It's hard not to think of it as money, even when he's trying not to.

[dangerouslyinlove]

"I'm not sure!" Ryoji muses, thinking about it. "Do you like painting more?"

[notachickenhawk]

"... No. But pencil smudges, and if someone buys something they want it to keep, don't they?" That's generally the idea, isn't it?

[dangerouslyinlove]

"Mm, I guess so. But I thought you mostly wanted to draw because that's what you like doing." You got kind of mad at him the first time he suggested you sell things, after all.

[notachickenhawk]

He's rethought things, okay. "Yeah. But I mean... the winter's going to be long. We can't stay in your room the whole time. You might get in trouble. So we need money for generator fuel."

[dangerouslyinlove]

Ryoji would like to argue that you can, but that's kind of retreading old territory. "I guess... I have a friend who's an art student, I can see if she's got anything she doesn't use..." He's not at all sure she does, but he can ask.

[notachickenhawk]

"I... sure. Thanks." He's not going to get to say 'no' here, so why even bother arguing at this point? "... Don't if it's going to be too awkward to ask, though."

[dangerouslyinlove]

"I'm sure it'll be fine!" Ryoji is a master of avoiding awkward. Somehow. No one really knows how.

[notachickenhawk]

It's magic, clearly. "Maybe there'll be some stuff around at the end of the semester I can get. People will be selling the stuff they're not going to need for the next one, right?"

[dangerouslyinlove]

Ryoji nods. "A lot of them will probably be just giving stuff away." If it's too much effort to sell.

[notachickenhawk]

"Sounds good to me. It's not too long now..." And maybe there'll be interesting books to get for cheap. ... He could always use more books.

[dangerouslyinlove]

"Yeah. I'll definitely keep an eye out for you!" It wasn't a long way to his dorm, so they were almost there. And the buildings are heated, the cold beginning to retreat as soon as the door opens. "I'm up on the second floor."