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

[notachickenhawk]

He growls softly, making a note of the tracks so he'll be able to draw them later n the physical world, but right now his Horror is angry at the intrusion. He follows along, carefully, tasting and sniffing the air to try and follow it. He pushes, willing and pushing at the Dream to open up a pathway toward what he's tracking, but doesn't get much response.

The smell makes his stomach churn, remembering the different yet similar scent of old beer his uncle used to drink. Shoving the memory aside, along with the question of if he's still around, he pushes forward, doing his best to follow the scent. The stronger it gets, the closer he has to be.

[modmachine]

The path is twisty and keeps to the edges of the cliffs for the most part, but he'll eventually be able to make out the shape of whatever is lurking, looking oddly top-heavy pressed against the cliffside.

[notachickenhawk]

Fortunately for Tobias, the intruder doesn't have a way to deal with the wind unless he says so. And it doesn't bother him any, so he growls low, a warning and a question. Don't try anything funny, it says in the growl. Who are you, and why are you here?

[modmachine]

Alarm. Sounds like branches shifting in the wind, leaves rustling where before they had been quiet. LosthungryjustlookingforHUNGRY -

[notachickenhawk]

He lurches towards the sound's source, growling some more, though it's less severe. Lost and hungry, he can understand. He's still irritated about the intrusion - anyone would be, really! - but if this is a new Child... Where? What sort do you hunt?

[modmachine]

The response isn't in words, but in a spiked feeling of abandonment - people who leave, that's what.

[notachickenhawk]

... Oh. I hunt those who forget to be grateful for their safety and what they have. He can't help with the abandonment part, but... he knows how hard it is to feel abandoned, even if he's in some way guilty of it himself. You're new, aren't you? I'm not going to hurt you unless you make me. If they harm those in his... very odd brood... well. That's a personal matter. Otherwise... unless the new kid threatens to bring in danger, there's no reason to.