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

[conning]

"He didn't kill me." Neal's not sure how to handle the wall of both kindness and command. So he does what he does when he's not sure how to handle something: barrels on regardless, ignoring his feelings and their decrees both.

He tries to sit up for a second, and decides almost immediately that it won't help his argument or his ego. He flops back, glaring at the ceiling for a moment, ignoring the way his whole body trembles. "And he didn't kill this other girl, either."

Neal can't bring himself to look at any of them, and he's not sure why. "It would have made his life a lot simpler if he had."

[tinstar]

Raylan didn't back down from the direct eye contact as Doc explained his stance but whatever disagreement he might have, of which there were a few, were kept to himself. They had time aplenty - he and Doc could chew it out over one of their drinking sessions. It was one of the few things Raylan could count on here and no matter what they were talking about, he was glad for it.

He also knew he didn't need to say that. The tension in his eyes and jaw would do that talking for him.

Raylan glanced over at Malcolm with a nod to affirm his statement before looking back at Doc. "You can take my room if need be. I've got my chair."

His attention turned to Neal. "It would have made his life significantly more difficult if he had. The fact that he didn't shows restraint. Not somethin' to be discounted."

Raylan looked back to Malcolm then. "Could you make some coffee? I got a feelin' we're gonna have a long couple of hours."

[abrightboy]

Coffee. He could manage that. He glanced at Neal and then Doc, then gave Raylan a nod of confirmation and headed to the kitchen.

He wasn’t sure lethal force was the answer, either, but they also couldn’t have someone running around freely preying on anyone he liked.

[thering]

Doc straightens up and starts to shift away from the fireplace mantle when Neal tries to sit up, pausing when he lies back down again. He watches their stubborn patient like a hawk and breathes out slowly through his nose when it looks like Neal has settled back down. Only then does he resume his casualesque lean against the shelf.

"The fact that you are both still alive is the only reason he still is." Doc is used to being the one who cleans up the mess, takes out the trash. He had sinned so Wyatt did not have to, on numerous occasions. He will sin again, if need be.

"We can work tonight out later." He would not impose on Raylan to be rushing up the stairs to check in on Malcolm tonight. They are flexible on these things though and he is confident it will work itself out.

"You survived, Mister Caffrey, and you are with us now." That is what it means to be in this house. It is a safe, protected space. One that both Raylan and Doc are willing to go to extraordinary lengths to maintain that way.

"Get some rest. We'll take care of it."

[conning]

Neal has no idea what to say to that. He's looking at all three of these men, at this point, like a cornered dog waiting to be hit. They'll help, Malcolm had said. No strings attached.

He certainly feels like strings are attached. He feels like he's being roped into a job with unequal shares, and he can't figure out who's getting cheated.

A NEW CHALLENGER APPROACHES

[tinstar]

If Neal or the girl had been killed, they would be having a distinctly different tone of conversation. As it was, Raylan wasn't looking to jump the guns they didn't have but Malcolm was right. They couldn't have people being attacked like this. It would eventually lead to a death.

Raylan nodded at Doc - they'd sort that out later once they'd gotten the New Yorkers settled - and looked at Neal with another nod meant to echo and agree with Doc's statement. They took having a safe protected space seriously, in no small part because they needed it themselves.

Without saying anything else, Raylan stepped out of the living room to call Dean, only to step back in a moment later and ask Neal if he was okay with someone with some knowhow coming over to take a look at him. A man had a right to say no to being poked at by a fourth set of eyes, if he wanted, but with Neal's okay, Raylan went back to his call.

A few minutes later, a knock came at the door, followed by Dean's snowbitten face. Raylan lifted his chin and his eyebrows in a faint greeting in reply to his last name. Seemed some couldn't quite settle on what to call him. That pleased him, for some reason. "Winchester.. We got some coffee goin' for your trouble."

Re: A NEW CHALLENGER APPROACHES

[cholesterol]

"Never say no to coffee," he replies, stepping further inside. "Where is he?" He thought about it on the way, about a vampire being in town. Is it one big effort to confuse and scare people while picking them off one by one. Is it really a vampire? Or, do they now get to think a vampire is running around.

Vampire, spores, fog. Ringing phones. Now, maybe, vampires.

If it's the house, is it Doc or Bright who fell prey to fangs?

[abrightboy]

Malcolm was his usual self, appearing at the kitchen island holding a mug of coffee out to Raylan, then looked over at Dean. "Cream and sugar, right?"

Was it rude to say his coffee preferences in front of other men?

Malcolm shrugged it off and poured a cup. Unless perkiness that edged on mania was a symptom of vampire bite, it wasn't him. He brought it around the counter and held it out for Dean.

[thering]

Doc's head snaps up at the sound and instinctively he reaches for a weapon he doesn't have, rubbing his hand casually down his thigh when he realises it's Dean. He had known to expect him of course since it seems, according to the phone call, Dean was braving the storm and coming over, but in that moment anyone could have come through that door.

"Over here," Doc gestures towards the couch once Dean has picked up his coffee. He's still lingering around the fireplace, close enough to Neal to be by his side in a second but giving Dean enough space to do what he needs to.

At some point they'll tidy up the first aid kits and the bloodied water from the coffee table but for now Doc just moves everything off to one side.

"Thank you for coming on such short notice. And in this weather, too."

[conning]

Neal pushes the blankets back as Dean arrives, sitting a little more upright and gripping the couch tightly to keep himself from falling over again. The last thing he wants to do is look helpless in front of Raylan, Doc, Malcolm, and Dean Winchester. He's already embarrassed enough.

"Hey. You look... sober."

[tinstar]

Raylan didn't even bother nodding at Neal, letting the natural state of this many souls explain itself in its own order. If Dean missed who it was, he'd be deeply surprised. He did give a passing look to Malcolm and his seemingly innate knowledge of Dean's coffee preferences.

Managing to keep from huffing out a breath of amusement at Neal's quip, Raylan headed towards the kitchen to refill his own cup of coffee while Dean did an initial check. He'd be back in time for the Q&A with Dean Winchester.

[cholesterol]

"Thanks," he says to Malcolm, first. Bright is right in thinking his assumption does bring about a silent reaction. What it means, Dean doesn't know, but Dean also doesn't have the time. He's not here to be shrunk. But, he leaves the coffee for the time being. If someone brings it to him, cool, but his focus is on...

"Neal," he says, sitting on the edge of the couch.

Dean does take in his surroundings, the kitchen, the fireplace, Doc Doc Holliday - no, keep cool, and his hangover partner.

"I'm not," he replies simply, but seriously. To know Dean Winchester is to witness him buzzed. He is not to the point he reached with Neal the night before, but he was on his way. He didn't think he'd see Raylan twice in one day, but that's this town. Surprises. And, apparently, vampire bites.

"Tell me what happened." Leaning forward, he tries to get a good look at where Neal might've been bitten. Neck, shoulder, gaping wound, something covered, or bandaged.

[abrightboy]

Malcolm lingered near Raylan with his own cup, his attention on the livingroom, but staying well back. He watched Dean for a moment, then looked at Raylan.

"You're not going after the vampire tonight, right?"

[thering]

"You are welcome to peel the gauze off to take a closer look, but don't leave it uncovered for too long." Doc had done a quick but decent and neat job at washing out the puncture wounds and covering it up prior to Dean's arrival. They cannot be risking an infection in a place like this, with no proper modern equipment.

He would rather Neal be getting some rest but since he insists on sitting up and putting on a brave front, he does appreciate that the young man (they are all young men here. Except maybe Raylan who is close to being as old and cranky as Doc is) has been patient and answering all their questions so far. Doc has a few questions of his own - no doubt they all do - but they can wait until Dean's finished with Neal.

[conning]

Neal puts a hand to his neck with a weird twinge of self-consciousness, then lets his hand drop. If Dean wants to take a look, Neal will let him. Not happily, but he'll let him.

"Man followed me out of Town Hall, we were both heading for the boarding house--said he lived there--we got part way, he yanked me into an alley and..." A broad gesture indicating his neck. His heart is pounding, and he can't tell how much of it is blood loss and how much is the memory of the way the vampire's eyes went dark when he attacked. He takes a deep, quiet breath, determined to be as okay as possible in spite of everything. "Before he bit me he said he needed a favor."

[tinstar]

If you wanted to know a person, you stick them in front of someone who is injured and needs help. Raylan may have heard some of Dean's stories over breakfast and records, but he was curious as to how the inspection would go.

He glance over at Malcolm at the question and shook his head softly. "No, not tonight. Possibly not even tomorrow. We won't be doin' much of anythin' until this storm passes. And even then, it'll depend on what we can do. Last thing we wanna do is go pissing this thing off with no way to defend ourselves. Maybe we can get away with not pissin' it off in all this."

Another gift, another parlay, another bottle of moonshine.

[cholesterol]

Dean does, peeling the gauze away enough. It's a vampire bite, (or it resembles one). He knits his brow with a sigh, setting the patch back down and running fingers along it to keep it sticking.

"Vampire McGruff," he says. Taking a bite out of a criminal, instead.

"And after, he drop you in the snow and -- have you seen him before?" Immediately, he sees Elijah in his mind, Elijah a man. But, he doesn't forget that reality can be altered, and maybe it has. It's more complicated than storming the boarding house. Especially in these conditions.