028-029 » the winds of change

[villagemod]

WHO: Everyone.
WHERE: Eastern/Central Mathias.
WHEN: Days 028-029
WHAT: A town meeting is called.
WARNINGS: Will update as necessary. PM this account to have a warning added!
NOTES: Plotting post over here!

RECOMMENDED ♫ Deadly Avenger "Ikiryo"

DAY 028
SOMETHING ON THE WIND
Another day dawns in the fair town of Mathias. The sky is a blanket of light grey, tiny specks of snow lightly falling as the hours pass. It makes the town feel almost quaint, the scenery quite peaceful in its winter garb. But beneath the veneer of peace there is a pervasive dread of something approaching. Something inevitable is on the wind, something that has come before and will come again...

Throughout the day, residents will consistently experience feelings of deja vu, that sense of having done or seen or said something before that can never be fully recalled. It happens again and again, tugging at the back of their minds, the memories just frustratingly out of reach.

Residents will also notice a note pinned around town:




The note can be found on the town hall's bulletin board and the front doors of many town establishments, including the Grey Gull, the library, and the boarding house. At the bottom of the note it is specified that the meeting will take place "tomorrow, when the sun is over the town square."


NEW ARRIVALs
The newest arrivals to Mathias will wake on the frozen lawn of the town hall atop a snowdrift. They had best hurry inside and get warmed up before hypothermia sets in.

DAY 029
A GATHERING OF MINDS
In the late afternoon when the sun hangs over the town square, residents will converge upon the Town Hall, where a larger meeting room has been filled with rows of chairs. After most people arrive, John Constantine stands and addresses the room... and then sits again. A grand introduction, truly.

Residents are encouraged to share their experiences and information they have gathered in the town while holding questions until the end. Rather than getting tangled in the intricacies of each person's tale, it seems better to absorb the broad strokes and try to connect the puzzle pieces to get a look at the bigger picture that is the mystery of Mathias Township.


THE INEVITABLE
As the meeting comes to an end and residents begin to converse among themselves, the feeling of something approaching and sense of deja vu begin to build, becoming almost oppressive as night falls. An hour after nightfall, residents learn the reason for these sensations that cease immediately as the earth begins to rumble. The buildings shake, furniture tumbles, and breakables crash to the floor as the earthquake sets in without warning.

The tremors last around a minute, far longer than a normal earthquake, and then the town settles again. There are no aftershocks, which many may note is quite unusual. Residents will find quite a bit of mess in their homes and other locations around town, but there is no structural damage to be found despite the intense shaking.

---

CONDITIONS UPDATE

— THE WEATHER is fairly typical of a northern winter. The sky is grey, the temperature hovers just below freezing during the day (colder at night), and a light snow falls during both days. Residents should bundle up when going outside and not venture too far into the dark night...

— THE FOG remains blocking the paths in the forest, urging residents to stay huddled within the town proper, and it also now blocks the northern section of town, beginning just before where residents know the chasm in the earth to be. Venturing into the fog is ill-advised.

— DISAPPEARANCES continue with Sherlock Holmes being the latest victim of the town's unsettling whims.

---

OOC NOTES

— TOWN MEETING STRUCTURE The town meeting section of the log is designed for characters to share any information they would like to with the other residents in attendance. ICly, characters should "hold questions until the end" with the intent that they can get the Big Picture first and connect any dots they see. OOCly, this means players should post their character's information sharing tag in the Meeting section, but the actual conversation about whatever they share happens after the meeting proper in the Mingle section. That way, these conversations can happen however players prefer, be that one-on-one or in small or large groups.

— HOUSING Please be sure your character's housing arrangements are up to date on our list. We're missing a few people and it really helps to know where everyone is for planning. Frequent updates for wandering characters are perfectly acceptable.

— THE BULLETIN BOARD has been updated. Players should note there is a change to the wall near the board that may be of great interest to some residents.

navigation | faq | setting | mod contact

Comments

Re: post-dinner

[tinstar]

Raylan grinned at the wave off of it all. It was nice to see the people of his house busy.

"I keep threatenin' to make fried chicken, if you can handle such a low rent meal. Not sure what to make with it aside from cornbread, we've got a reclaimed skillet, but we should do this again just to break it out. Where'd you learn to cook like that?

[conning]

“No such thing as a low rent meal when you’re making it yourself.” He toasted Raylan with his half-full glass.

“I learned all over. Spain, Italy, France, some in Russia. And some in the States. Still learn where I can. Harder when I can only go two miles from my apartment without a government escort, but I guess that’s what cook books are for.”

[tinstar]

He toasted back and took a shallow drink, never one to leave a toast unfulfilled in such a way, face pinching as Neal listed out his travels.

"I thought you said you lived in New York.. You mean people can just fly through there?" Was that a dig on the city? Hell yes it was. "What made you get around so much, that's a hellva flight log."

[conning]

“Only with helicopters and a special license,” Neal retorted. He swished his moonshine in its glass. “Before I started working with the FBI, I traveled all over.”

The implied before I got arrested is, he thinks, fairly clear. “Always came back to New York, though. She’s a hard city to leave.”

[tinstar]

"Don't really need the licence, but I suppose that makes it easier," he granted with a lift of his features, since he couldn't move one without moving the others somehow.

"I've seen more of South American than I have of Europe but I did stop in Paris during a prisoner transfer once. Always wanted to go see her on the spare time and free money I don't have. Got a favorite place?"

[conning]

Neal made a thoughtful little noise. "Ravello. It's hard to beat France, but Ravello..."

His eyes went distant. A little smile tugged at the corner of his mouth. "It's a little town on the Amalfi Coast, above the Tyrrhenian Sea in Southern Italy. The population can't be more than three thousand people. It's a little artist's enclave, with buildings straight out of the pre-Renaissance. The villas there have their gardens open to the public, and the views from those cliffs are indescribable. I spent hours at the Villa Cimbrone, on the Terrazzo dell'lnfinito, the Terrace of Infinity, just watching water and the coastline. History breathes, there."

He took a drink. "Food's not bad either."

[tinstar]

It would be a surprise to no one in the house that Raylan did not know where or what that place was without elaboration. His travel had been largely work only but he didn't begrudge those that had. That kind of petty jealousy was suited for a hollar he wasn't in and wasn't stuck in anymore; he was glad to be free of it.

Raylan's smile got lazy and wide as Neal told him about it.

"Sounds like the food might not matter, but it's a hellva perk?" He grinned properly. "Sounds beautiful. How long'd you spend there?" He had to have, to have such a good looking fondness on his face about it.

[conning]

"Two months. I would have stayed longer, but... Well, I heard Interpol wanted a word." Never mind that it hadn't turned out to be true. Neal's expression sobered, briefly wistful. It passed, and he shrugged. "But I think I ended up where I need to be."

[tinstar]

"Ah," he said, head tilting back a fraction before nodding. Interpol was a nasty business, generally speaking. If people thought the United States was Rough, and it could be, the USA had nothing on Interpol Officers, especially in Eastern Europe.

Raylan caught the passing look but didn't know what it was, really.

"If they give you somethin' to do that's just as exhilarating as high theft, I might haveta agree." Even if he didn't know most of Neal's story. He had the overview, the general vibe of it, but he felt like he was missing a few pieces of the puzzle. "You think you'll work with them after you're off your leash? Stay on as a consultant? The pay gets better once you're not in a bracelet, I promise."

[conning]

Neal laughed. "It could hardly get worse."

He hummed under his breath, thinking about it. "Yeah. I would if they asked. Maybe work as a securities consultant, help design alarm systems. See if I can beat myself at my own game."

[tinstar]

"Give it a year and you'll be able to charge the federal government a decent penny for it." There was always going to be something satisfying about getting yours from the federal government. Just because Raylan had a star on his hip didn't make him a G-man or a legal hardass. Art had always said he was a better lawman than Marshal. He didn't totally disagree.

"Doesn't sound like you got much of any real plans for afterwards. Once you're outta it, you'll have the time to figure it out. Not exactly easy, changin' course."

[conning]

Neal studies his glass, his smile almost incredulous. "I never thought I would. Change course. I knew Peter would catch me eventually--he's too good at what he does, and..."

He shakes his head. "There were things I cared about more than getting caught. But I never thought I'd want to get out of the life. I never really thought there would be an afterwards."

Neal holds his half-empty glass out toward Raylan, clearly begging for a refill. "Did you think there would be an afterwards, when you were a kid? Before your aunt got you out of Kentucky?"

[tinstar]

"Before Aunt Helen helped me get out, I was convinced I was going to mine until I caught black lung or died in a mine. Harlan's only got a few paths of living and I never fancied myself a farmer," he answered as he reached over with the bottle to pour Neal out a fair helping.

"The Marshal's service saved me, I ain't ashamed to admit. Gave me somethin' to do with my life. If they hadn't.." Well, that was to say Raylan didn't know what would have become of him then.

"Do you? Want to get out of the life?" Or was he just following Peter's lead? That wasn't a bad thing either way, but he had to ask. He wanted to know. Neal was a strange and sharply edged person, like a diamond, like he was hiding something under that veneer Neal showed everyone.

[conning]

Neal's chin lifted in slight surprise. That wasn't a question he expected. Most people just took it as a given. Of course he wanted out. And when Mozzie pressed him, of course he didn't. He could live mostly on the straight and narrow and keep a few side lines open. Keep his hat in the ring, keep his options wide. Best of both worlds. Cappuccino in the clouds. Why not?

The surprise melted into an easy smile. "Why wouldn't I?"

[tinstar]

Yeah, Raylan didn't trust that easy smile. It was far too car-salesman pushing a lemon onto some unsuspecting buyer. Call him particular, but Raylan liked straight up and down yes/no answers when he could get them.

"Why wouldn't you?" Raylan laughed softly. "The money, the goods, the good food, the art, the fun of it." He turned his curled expression back onto Neal. "If you do it right, I can see the draw. Especially if you're smart enough to outstep the rules. Doin' the right thing is often a lot harder than doin' the fun thing. Lot more satisfyin' too."

[conning]

The right thing. Neal's smile faded, and he looked away from Raylan, focusing on his glass. "It doesn't hurt people. Taking a Whistler from an insured gallery. Swapping out a fake Matisse with a private owner who couldn't tell the difference if they cared enough to try."

He took a drink. "I don't hurt people."

[tinstar]

Either someone cared about the right thing or they didn't and Raylan could normally tell. Neal wasn't lying about that. He nodded slowly.

"Doesn't matter that it's a lie so long as no one catches it? Can't say I don't see the logic."

[conning]

Neal didn't answer right away. He felt like he was being tested, somehow, like this was some kind of quiz and he was half-way to failing. He hated that feeling.

"...I want to have a life I know I won't have to run away from if something goes wrong," he said, the words slow, experimental. They held up, voiced aloud. He just wasn't one hundred percent sure what a life like that looked like.

[tinstar]

Raylan didn't push and let the silence linger between them as long as Neal needed. The Right Thing™ wasn't easy to face too, especially when they were talking about whys.

Neal hadn't refuted that it was fun or profit and what that money came with, but he'd focused on something more important. It was hard for a lotta men to make that choice and even if Neal said it now, it was something that his life would test again and again.

"That's a damned good reason," he replied softly, reaching over to drop a gentle hand on Neal's shoulder. "And you're already on your way to it by doin' what you're doin'. It's good." He patted softly and pulled back, unsure how the touch would be taken and already feeling a little awkward. Doc and Malcolm had.. mastered some part of this heartfelt conversation that was still half greek to Raylan. Everyone, except for Doc despite all his good advice, seemed quite a bit more comfortable with themselves than he felt he was.

[conning]

What if I screw it up?

He wants to ask. But it's not a question Raylan can answer. It's not a question anyone can answer, really.

Besides, Neal knows what will happen if he screws it up. He'll go back to prison. Another comma in the story of his life, only this time there's even more left hanging with the pause.

Who knows, maybe next time it will be period, The End.

"What if I don't know how to stop?"

He was his father's son. He knew that. But he was his mother's son, too.

[tinstar]

"Don't know how to stop," Raylan echoed, head pulling back a fraction with the pinch of his brow and a squeeze of his hand before he retracted it to drop it into his lap. "The way you say that makes it sound like an addiction... I suppose, for some people it is." Arlo. Forever a criminal.

"But you're a smart man. Capable of your choices. You wanna stop? You keep that life you want in mind. If you really want it, you'll stop. No one's set on their path forever. Shit, all that makes me a lawman is the fact I ain't been fired yet. Two wrong steps, I coulda been in cuffs myself.. We all make choices." Run or Fight. Shoot or get shot; it all came back down to that.

"You might technically be a criminal, but you're not a bad guy. There's a difference. Now you just get to choose what kinda good guy you are. I think you can do it, if you're serious."

It was the closest to 'I believe in you' Raylan could get.