021-023 » the ghosts of fallen leaves

[villagemod]

WHO: Everyone.
WHERE: Eastern/Central/Western Mathias.
WHEN: Days 021-023
WHAT: A cold storm approaches.
WARNINGS: Will update as necessary. PM this account to have a warning added!
NOTES: Plotting post over here!

RECOMMENDED ♫ Emily Kinney & Lauren Cohan "The Parting Glass"

DAYS 021-023
THE WORLD TURNS WHITE
“Are ye the ghosts of fallen leaves, O flakes of snow,
For which, through naked trees, the winds A-mourning go?”
— John Banister Tabb
The howling wind is what wakes the residents of Mathias each day now as the world turns slowly into a bleak stretch of white. Snow continues to fall in thick curtains of flakes that accumulate on trees and rooftops, swirling sideways in the gusts of wind that bow trees and whistle through any crack they can find. The drifts of snow grow taller against the buildings and the wind makes the already freezing temperatures feel bitterly cold.

By day 022, the far ends of streets begin to resemble the hazardous fog with how little becomes visible as the winds pick up. Buildings can still be discerned as dark shapes but the weather's warning becomes clear — a storm is coming. And by day 023, the storm arrives properly, the wind still screaming through the streets like a winter banshee announcing so many deaths to come. These conditions are far from hospitable and only the truly mad would be foolish enough to venture outside in weather such as this.


THE NEWLY ARRIVED
With an embrace of wintery white, Mathias offers a chilly welcome to its newest residents. They awake along the southern treeline bordering Mathias, near the small makeshift cemetery containing a handful of wooden markers erected without names or signifiers of those buried within. And not far from them is the schoolhouse, where in a snowdrift they will the frozen corpse of a young woman named Rey.

LIGHTS IN THE DARKNESS
“A lantern can give you light only when you light it”
— Munia Khan
When residents wake on the morning of day 021, they will find outside in the snow the abandoned lanterns of those shadowy spectres who have moved so silently through Mathias. Each nestled in a patch of frozen white outside their door, the lanterns are now cold to the touch, the half-burned candle within each one seeming to have been lit so very long ago. Inside the glass encasement is a small rolled piece of paper, upon which is written:

keep it lit
There is nothing more, and the prior owners of these lanterns will not return within these days.

There is one lantern waiting outside the building for each resident wherever they are sleeping — the exception for this is those who may have already claimed a lantern as their own. Removing a lantern from its resting place results in no apparent reaction, nor does lighting or not lighting it. However, whatever residents ultimately choose to do with these lanterns should be reported.

---

CONDITIONS UPDATE

— SNOW continues to fall, resulting over the three days in upwards of a foot of accumulation. The winds blow in gusts over 35 mph.

— VOICES are not openly haunting our residents, though they may still be occasionally encountered in the more heavily decayed buildings where some rooms seem to almost swallow whatever light tries to enter them.

— THE FOG has still receded from the town proper and much of the eastern and northern beach, with the path through the northern forest to the lighthouse still clear on day 021. On day 022, however, as the storm worsens, the fog returns to the paths in the forest, urging residents to stay huddled within the town proper or else.

— DISAPPEARANCES continue to plague the town. While Zed Martin has returned, Rey's corpse will be found in a snowdrift near the Schoolhouse; she disappeared on day 018.

— THE STRANGER is gone.

— THE SPECTRES are gone.

OOC UPDATES

— DISCOVERIES have been collected and collated for your review. Please note that this is OOC information only, put together for the purpose of helping you as players see connections and possibilities for CR and your own character's potential avenues of exploration and investigation. (If we are missing something, please report it so we can add it to the list.)

— AP REWARDS have a new option now — Ideas may be requested if you find yourself stuck. You may now claim up to 2 rewards per log: (1) idea and (1) other reward.

— SANITY may be regained in two ways: self-medication and treatment. In Mathias, this means such coping mechanisms as drinking or drugging oneself into a stupor that allows them to face their fears and issues, or talking to someone about those fears and issues. Since both of these will take some time, best get started. (A form will be added to the Sanity page.)

— REMINDERS — Don't forget about the bulletin board. Please continue reporting your updates to locations, plots, and discoveries. The map of Mathias has been added to the locations page for ease of reference. Make sure your character's sanity level is kept updated. Prospective players are still joining the TDM, so it's recommended to track new top-levels so you don't miss them.

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Comments

[prevenance]

( perhaps telling this man that he makes sure his brother doesn't go all homicidal psychopath on people isn't really the best.

that's more of an over dinner conversation. so, he shrugs one shoulder. )

I own a few businesses, mostly. My employees do the difficult work and I reap the benefits. Capitalism is a marvelous but unfair thing.

( he glances over at neal, eyes flicking down to his neck quickly. he exhales slowly. )

And yourself? Are you an overachieving architect or are those just hobbies of yours?

[conning]

[ Yeah, probably best that Elijah keeps that part to himself for the time being. ]

At the moment? Consultation work for the FBI. [ When he smiles this time it’s soft and real. ] Not exactly the career path I envisioned, but it’s rewarding.

[ Things he will never say in front of Peter ever. Neal pauses, instincts telling him something off, but he can’t pin down what. ]

You okay?

[prevenance]

Consultation work for the FBI? Interesting. I wasn't aware they were very fond of hiring consultants but I also tend to stay far away from that side of things.

( the authorities left them alone and they let the authorities think they were in charge. it was a mutually beneficial arrangement. )

And yes, I'm fine. Do I not appear to be fine to you? Might have a touch of a cold, I suppose.

[conning]

[ An interesting answer. Neal tilts his head, a smile edging across his face. ] It's my relationship with the other side of things that interested them most, actually.

[ Neal shrugs, wondering if he's just suspicious of everything right now. He could hardly blame himself for it. He's so far out of his depth that it's pretty well ridiculous.

He ducks a little deeper into his coat at a blast of snow, misstepping and bumping into Elijah. ]

[prevenance]

Careful.

( elijah grabs him, grip much firmer than it maybe should be but if neal asks, he's going to attribute it to wanting to make sure poor dear neal doesn't end up in the snow.

he's just being helpful. but once neal is steady, he still doesn't let go. instead, there's a smile on his face, placid with an undercurrent of something darker. )

Your relationship with the other side? Are you a criminal of some sort?

[conning]

[ The continued grip on his arm, even after he's back solidly on two feet, makes Neal's scalp prickle with ill-ease. There's definitely something off here, but he has no idea what. ]

I never said criminal. Let's just say I used to stay far away from the FBI side of things.

[prevenance]

You never said criminal, did you? But you also didn't deny it?

( elijah doesn't let go, arching an eyebrow and contemplating the use of compulsion to make neal tell him what he wants to know.

but, it's really not that important, is it? he doesn't care what neal is, he wants neal for something else all together. )

Is this your denial?

[conning]

[ Neal tugs lightly against Elijah's hold, the alarm bells turning into sirens. He has no idea what he's up against, of course, no defenses to speak of should Elijah decide to employ his abilities-- but that doesn't mean he can't sense a predator when one is staring him in the face. ]

You know what, maybe I'll make a trip to the Grey Gull before I head back to the boarding house. Thanks again for the assist.

[prevenance]

Leaving so soon? And here I thought we were just getting to know you.

( elijah doesn't let go, tightening his grip and trying to shove neal behind a nearby building. he doesn't mind doing this out in the open but he does have some measure of manners. he wouldn't want to offend anyone who might be out for a walk. )

No, please. Stay for awhile. I need a favor.

( he needs a snack. )

[conning]

[ Okay, now he's a little past nervous and a little more scared. He's not weak. Never has been. But he's definitely not strong enough to resist the shove, and once they're out of sight of main drag Neal's adrenaline goes into overdrive. ]

I tend to reserve favors for my friends, and this doesn't seem particularly friendly to me.

[prevenance]

Oh, are we not friends? I thought we were having quite the enjoyable bonding experience.

( he manages to wrangle neal behind one of the buildings before he shoves him against the wall and steps closer. )

I need a favor from you. You wouldn't deny me that, would you? I'm asking very nicely.

( he's going to take it no matter what neal says. )

[conning]

[ God, this guy is strong. The breath slams out of Neal's lungs as he hits the wall, but he stays put, not particularly relishing the idea of trying to move and getting thrown around again. ]

What do you want? [ In any other context, Neal knows what would be expected of him. A job, a con, access to the FBI's offices--something. Here, though? He has no idea. ] Anything I can give you is quite possibly a literal world away.

[prevenance]

( elijah keeps a hand on his shoulder, making sure he doesn't move and puts a finger to his lips. shhh, neal, shh. )

Do you know what I am?

( he starts talking immediately after the question, giving neal no time to answer. )

You don't. But, I will tell you that I'm someone who needs something you have. So, if you just quiet down, I will take it and I won't kill you?

[conning]

[ He's terrified.

There's no two ways about it. The question Do you know what I am? could mean a lot more now than it did two days ago.

No one here knows where he is right now. He's made sure to keep his distance enough that even if someone were to notice him missing, they'd have no indication of where he might be. He doesn't even have the kinds of connections Rey apparently had, and no one knew she was gone until her body was found in the snow.

He doesn't want to be another body found in the snow.

So Neal goes quiet. Swallows around the knot in his throat. He has no guarantee that Elijah means what he says, that he won't kill Neal, but what other choice is there? ]

Whatever you do to me, there's a very limited pool of suspects here. Just remember that.

[prevenance]

( that does give him pause. it makes him wonder what will happen to him if he does this. he knows he could compel the memory from neal and make him forget but he's still going to have a wound and he'll need to heal.

it's a risk. his jaw works back and forth, thinking it over. and then he makes his decision. )

I think I'll take the risk.

( and that's when his face changes, eyes darkening, veins rising underneath his eyes and fangs appearing. he wastes no time in lunging forward and digging his teeth in neal's neck.

he has no intention of killing the man. he just wants a little drink. )

[conning]

[ Neal goes rigid as Elijah's face shifts, shock pinning him as effectively as anything else could. Then the man is on him, teeth sinking into Neal's neck, and Neal makes a tiny noise that to his shame can only be classified as a whimper.

And then he struggles. Shoves against Elijah's chest. Tries to pull his head away, even while logic tells him to stay still and not make the bite any worse.

The bite. He's being attacked by a vampire. ]

[prevenance]

( elijah, even feeling like he does, is careful. he know how much to take without killing the man and that's what he intends to do. he needs to live too so isn't this all right?

so, he takes and takes until he knows he's tiptoeing the line and then he steps back, blood smearing his chin. with a hum of pleasure, he reaches for his handkerchief and dabs at the mess. )

Thank you.

( see, he's polite. neal's probably not going to want to talk or even stand up but he's going to live. )