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

[cholesterol]

Well, I did it.

( So there?

Cas wants him closer, but he takes a shaky step back, almost tripping over the corner of the bed, but holding himself upright. )

We should -- ( He tries clearing his throat, peers into the hallway to see if Claire passed by, see if this isn't just between him and Cas. ) -- hang more up. Finish... ( Hanging. ) I know, I know you didn't - think anything, didn't think I'd do it. You made that clear.

[aprofoundbond]

[Castiel watches Dean, starts forward, reaching out as he sees Dean almost trip over the corner of his bed. But Dean manages to right himself, and so, Castiel steps back.

He feels like he wants to crawl out of his own skin; he feels like he has so much he wants, needs, to say to Dean, and no idea as to how to put any of it into words.]

Dean.

[His name comes out strangled, a combination of everything Castiel wants to say.]

I'd kiss you again. If you let me.

[He hates how desperate he sounds; he hates how unsteady he feels, seemingly having ventured out onto the shakiest of grounds with that kiss from Dean.]

[cholesterol]

( As much as Dean might want to kiss Cas again, kiss anyone when kissing shouldn't even be a priority, he doesn't let himself. He doesn't move, can't look Cas in the eye. Cas should kiss someone else. He should love someone else. Dean is the one who dies in the end. Cas has his own second chance, why waste it with Dean Winchester. Why waste it with a wasted heart. )

Cas, I -

( He turns away, head down, fingers running along the fabric of the comforter. )

I can't.

[aprofoundbond]

[Cas nods, turning away as he lets his eyes fall closed for a moment. He lets out a long, low breath as he opens his eyes again. He distracts himself by picking up the nearest shirt, folding and unfolding it, telling himself he's just trying to avoid wrinkling it before hanging it up again. He moves on to the next piece of clothing, deliberately methodical in his movements.

Still, he can't help but look back at Dean. If nothing else, Castiel is here. He's going to try and help as best he can, to help them all make it through whatever particular nightmare this Mathias happens to be.]

Dean, do you need anything? Water, perhaps?

[It's the most subtle way Castiel can think of to ask after Dean's drinking.]

[cholesterol]

( Somehow, Dean's body finds itself lowering and leaning as his lower back touches the end of the bed. He's reached the point where alcohol has overtaken his embarrassment, and he won't accomplish more than he'd planned.

He nods to Cas' question, only because whatever he asked went up in inflection. Sure. Yes.

Technically, he drank for a day straight, begged off and then drank again with Neal and then - yeah, all day today.

When Cas retreats to bring Dean water, he pushes himself fully onto his bed and stretches out, clutching the pillow under his head. By the time Cas returns, he's snoring, well into the next day's hangover. )

[aprofoundbond]

[Castiel nods in turn, and makes his way out of the room to fetch that glass of water, his concern obvious in the expression on his face, though he does his best to try and not let it show too much.

Worry gnaws at him the entire time he takes getting that water for Dean; worry for Dean's liver, for Dean's state of mind, and, of course, worry for the inevitable aftermath of their kissing, whenever that happens to be.

By the time he makes his way back to the room, Dean is sprawled out on the bed, snoring. Castiel shakes his head, but he's also glad to see Dean sleeping. He places the water on the table next to the bed, for whenever Dean decides to wake up. He grabs the blanket and tucks it over Dean, hoping it will help and provide comfort in some way.

Carefully, he works on keeping quiet as he continues to gather and organize what remains of the laundry in the room.]