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Post by Krakenbox on Nov 14, 2021 20:04:22 GMT -8
Fools may rise - all fall in their time, Burning with the forest fires, And all we want is to feel like all we got, Didn't cost us everything,
Even if we never win. "How can I have let this happen?"
Cinder was pacing outside her house, swallowing tears as her phone continuously vibrate—being one of the few Dream Combatants in the Freehold, she was being drawn and quartered with the infection rate. The call for Dream Pledges had cooled after Summer's warnings, with most of the population reluctant to swear in with stranger. The Iron Spear did not hold the numbers, nor influence to move the other courts with any true consequence. The Knight of Scales and his Squire had trained a large contingent of new Summer Mantles to take on the task of social networking, securing a large chunk of the most populated court with watch words and purified Bastions, but the Title had flourished in the Skein. Nightmares, anxiety, and antisocial behaviour had been soothed; regarded as a quiet blessing for a dark year rather than a warning of a bleak promise. A happy Freehold had helped them forget their Fear. Several motleys had been placed in quarantine as the She-Wolf worked with Solomon, with Oren providing the siren song to be disseminated through the Freehold. Strong emotional bonds and close proximity were the largest trackers from patient zero, whose identity had remained buried and secure. In the waking world, the infected were frustratingly normal, with a heightened state of emotional resiliency and a care-free nature normally reserved for adherents of the Emerald Court. Only those higher in the Wyrd appear to be capable of self-identifying, as their Bastions had been influenced and altered to a degree that noticeably clashed with their perception of Arcadia. Mandatory testing has since been sanctioned by Baron Samedi, thanks to the early warning provided by the Ashen Hunt. Given the population and the culture clash between the courts, and fear of being persecuted as a Loyalist, the process was currently chaotic and being overseen by the Order of Eternal Echoes to reduce paperwork. Tanner was one of those Echo members, though Cinder gave the gathered a rundown of the situation, shuffling aside her screaming motley pledge to do the job that was demanded of the Sun's Tongue. Chunhua had been digging for the solution to the Hag's Riddle since the team had returned from their encounter in the Hedge, with Witnesses on rotation to dig through their wealth of information. The process was taxing on the mind, unfortunately, and slow. His trance was coming up on day three, where the the rest of Dawn Catcher were beginning to grow alarmed for his physical health, and had apparently chosen to disrupt it by entering his Dreams. Cinder herself had effectively been in an induced coma for the week, directing teams on the Skein to clear the tide of mortal minds to keep the Strip a safe zone for clean glamour harvest. Her pledge had allowed her to detect something had gone wrong, and a Fall team had pulled Aello and Golden Boy from a psychic trap. Tanner was nowhere to be seen. There was a deep concern if he had been Taken, accosted by a Huntsman, or was now in danger of becoming a Loyalist himself. Dame Chunhua had pulled resources to demand for her vassal's recovery, citing a security risk that took high precedent. The other question of high agitation was if the Twilit Page had found the answer they desperately needed to combat She-of-the-Sanctuary.
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Post by Krakenbox on Nov 14, 2021 20:09:05 GMT -8
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Post by Gavin Graves on Nov 21, 2021 17:02:09 GMT -8
The thrill of the Ashen Hunt had left the Beast on a long smooth high emotional track. He had faced his deepest fear and came out on top. He felt like he could do anything. The Freehold was in a state of worry, but for once, he wasn't. He was riding a wave of calm freedom in the eye of a tumultuous storm.
He was aloof of the concerned edge coming from Dame Chunhua over the missing status of her vassal, but the task was clear enough: find Tanner as soon as possible.
The young man was part of the Dawn Catcher motley and simultaneously a member of an Entitlement Gavin had recently become aware of through a cloistered conversation with Sir Icarus and the infamous Grendel: The Order of Eternal Echoes. Chunhua was the head of the local contingent of that Entitlement on top of being Liege to the missing Beast.
An order of changelings dedicated to remembering things might be useful for getting a list of usual haunts and project spaces he might have been working. Though, since Chunhua is concerned about him, he likely isn't at any of the top of list locations. She would have had the obvious places checked first before sounding the alarm. The woman was usually cool, collected, and very patient. She was none of those now, but Gavin knew she wanted to be.
"Right, so we should probably start with the obvious and talk to Aello and Golden Boy and see what they know." He smiled at Aster, eager to get started, presuming she would be right there along with him on the first step. Gavin had it in his mind to find out the particulars of what Tanner was working on, how Golden Boy and Aello were trapped, where he might go, what access he had to special locations or capabilities to travel alternate realms, which animal forms could he imitate, and the like. Even people who were overcome with otherworldly powers or directives were usually still limited by their knowledge and capabilities. Beasts in particular when pressed fall back on instinct and paths well trodden. Run and hide were the classic go to responses. They'd keep you alive.
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Post by Aster Blau on Nov 22, 2021 11:37:35 GMT -8
To say Aster was surprised to be tapped to help find the Twilit Page was an understatement. She'd be thrilled if she didn't think it might mean the resources of Summer were wearing thin. Aster was not a Summer of note, all told, and yet they needed her. She would answer the call, of course. It was a matter of duty and young Tanner was a fellow unwilling child of the Greenman. It would have felt wrong to abandon him without attempting to bring him home.
Following the Ashen Hunt, Aster, like so many other had been infected in the Dreaming, leaving Aster in wanting. The normally reserved and aloof courtier has indulged heavily in these recent days, imbibing in alcohol and enjoying the company of others, including many she would otherwise keep at arms length. Such were the effects of this curse, even if Aster herself did not see it as such at this time.
"Hey!" she offered, her tone uncharacteristically nonchalant as she and Gavin met. She had been daydreaming as he came, staring off in the distance before his words broke her from her reverie.
Nonetheless, it seemed Aster was at the very least capable of some focus.
"That's a fair choice," she said, "Cinder is part of that crew, but she's a little busy right now. Seems likely whatever trapped Aello and Golden is involved anyhow. We'll need to get their details, but we should probably make moves soon. Don't know what will happen if we sit on this and I don't like that."
Aster's eagerness, it seemed, matched Gavin's own.
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Post by Aello on Nov 23, 2021 13:15:57 GMT -8
Aello offered some coffee from the massive thermos one would pack for a camping trip. Both her and Golden were pale with some bruising around the eyes; physical exertion triggered a cold sweat, as if they had recently been hit with a major fever.
The Dragon's Winter Mantle was unusually intense in the living room as he helplessly fiddled with his phone, punching the environment with hoar frost and glaring flashes as the Beasts passed. His scales had turned silvery a few months ago, but he only seemed to be ramping in the Season's attention for God knows what reasons.
Aello admitted that Tanner had warned them about disrupting his Entitlement's blessing. She described the Gate like force of nature that tore their sense of self into a river of energy that threatened to stretch them like a black hole. Snapshots and memories had torn through them, with the sensory overload not allowing them to recall or process what they had saw.
Golden quietly offered that it was the memory web the Eternal Echoes tapped.
It had destroyed them in the Dream, for what felt like forever, and where they weren't sure when they had woken up as their minds continuously tried to fire off the loaded information--an overheated computer that they didn't have the hardware to support. They were still clearly rattled and heightened from the near death experience, on top of knowing their motleymate was in danger.
Golden eventually admitted that he was pretty sure Tanner learned a Bane, pulling meaning from the cacophony of a thousand personalities and experiences.
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Post by Gavin Graves on Nov 23, 2021 17:27:30 GMT -8
Gavin took a cup of the offered brew and let it warm his hands against the chill in the room.
"Dragon," was all the courtesy he could muster against his instincts with Golden Boy. Aello he met with greater warmth and by name. Half-remembered feelings--all of them unpleasant--swam beneath the surface while Gavin shared a space with any Dragonic Lost. It was not something he knew why. Instinct always set him on edge when they were around.
The Bird listened to the details conveyed by each of them with the intensity of a bird of prey scanning an open field looking for a meal.
"So he was here physically, mentally trancing out, doing his thing before you intervened, yes? And then when you were rescued, he was not here?" He followed up with questions about how long Tanner had been in his trance, what they did exactly to intervene, what they did that pushed it over the edge, how long had passed between their intervention and when they were aware again. It was important to know how long Tanner had been out of pocket. It was important to know whether or not they might have known anything that indicated where this 'Gate' they mentioned might have led.
He had a retinue of more mundane questions in the case there was a chance he might not have been pushed into some other world. A mind connected to a network of memories could lead to a lot of places. A man who forgot himself and was wandering around trying to find something he recognized would be another kind of problem. They had to know which variety of missing they were looking at.
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Post by Golden Boy on Nov 24, 2021 20:17:56 GMT -8
Golden Boy cocked an eyebrow at Gavin's attitude, but chalked it up to his 'stellar reputation' among the Freeholders. His movements were supernaturally lithe and his mien features starting to lean towards the feminine side with the amount of power that had emerged this year, even though the kid was supposedly cursed with being dragged off by ghosts on the regular. He clarified that those who had arrived under Cinderella's behest to find him and Aello similarly trapped and unconscious, and Tanner distinctly AWOL. How long had Tanner been in the trance? Three days. How did they intervene? Breached his Bastion. That seemed to trigger the psychic tidal wave as they pried upon the symbolic gate. They had been found approximately seventeen hours later after Cinderella sensed they were in danger, with another three or four, give or take, to wake them up. After a beat, Aello nudged him as if to ask for permission, before Golden Boy admitted that Tanner had not been well for a long time. "He was hospitalized for a suicide attempt last fall. Since he joined the Eternal Echoes, he's had some...bleed...with the other memories. He managed it by only performing the ritual when he felt he had to?"
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Post by Aster Blau on Nov 24, 2021 22:09:44 GMT -8
Aster had a rudimentary knowledge of the Occult, but no one in their right mind would ever call her a scholar. Alongside with her stunted education due to her long tenure in Arcadia, the Serpent seemed a little lost as Gavin and Dawn Catcher spoke of Bastions, Gates, and the like. She understood the basic concepts, but the reality was a lot of this sounded way out of her league of understanding. So, she listened, politely declining the beverage as she worked to focus on what was being said. Gavin took the lead for some time before the Beast piped up once she figured she had gotten the gist of it.
"Cool, so, to be clear," Aster began, "Tanner was doing work with his Entitlement to uncover things about the threat against the Freehold, with the sanction of the Autumn King. You two decided to breach his dreams to try to break his trance because you were concerned for his well being. I'm gonna go ahead and guess Dame Chunhua or another member of the Entitlement wasn't told or was unavailable to consult given the experience you two had in there if it's related to what Tanner warned you about."
Kinda sounds like you two fucked around and found out.
The proclamation of Tanner's mental health deteriorating softened the Beast's expression.
"That's... heavy," she admitted, not entirely sure what to say, "I... uh, gotta ask, given the context. Do you think the ritual was a contributing factor? And what do you mean by bleed? Like... was he experiencing glimpses from the other memories in the web or was it more a confusion of identity? I'll admit I'm the layman here, but seems to me a ritual involving an increasing field of witnesses probably comes along with that sort of risk?"
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Post by Gavin Graves on Nov 25, 2021 12:31:22 GMT -8
The personal revelation about Tanner's mental health was weighty in nature. Gavin allowed the emotional wave that came with it to take its course, becoming sad for the young man who had lost something so deep that it had come to that. The Beast allowed that frame of reference to sink in. That kind of wound he imagined came with a cornucopia of baggage. Did he lose someone? Did he do something he regretted? Was there no hope for things to get better?
A sympathetic pain expression crossed his face as he considered. The wave of emotion he was riding had a current to it. The thought of drifting off on it to see all its various aspects, to explore its depths, was somehow alluring. The darkness of it was welcoming and familiar.
"Yeah, sorry to hear things have been tough for him." He paused for a beat to separate the empathy from the task at hand.
"In that case, we need to know if he disappeared from here to 'places strange and otherworldly,' or if he might have gone off somewhere maybe having forgot himself. Are his shoes here, if you have the same size are yours missing, maybe a backpack, a coat, or perhaps his phone was left charging? Anything that he wasn't wearing when you popped into his head, is it missing?" He picked the things that would indicate something supernatural had swallowed him up before he could do anything. If a bunch of things he had come here with were still present, especially those that no person would leave without--presumably even someone who had forgotten who they were would likely still have enough sense to put on shoes that fit before leaving. Gavin may be an aspiring expert to the Occult, often looking for hints of the occult behind the mundane, but today he had the good sense to check for a mundane explanation before running off toward the glaring occult answers.
Tanner was channeling his Entitlement at the time of the incident. That Entitlement is a magic seemingly largely focused on memories, at least from the small window Gavin had been given into the subject that was his understanding. Tanner's Motley had breached his Bastion introducing Dream and their presence to the 'memory network.' They ended up either overwhelmed by the experience of suddenly and completely unpreparedly connecting to a torrent of unbidden memories or there was in fact a psychic trap in play.
To the Razorhand's thinking, with the suicidal ideation at work, Tanner getting lost in his own troubles on a vividly remembered loop would create its own form of 'trap.' The Lost needed to sort out fact from any imagined causes for their plights. It would be much more productive for them to build from the bedrock foundation of fact than to rush off across the shifting sands of intuition. Gavin could do both, but experience had taught him to try the former before the latter.
While the others looked for signs he might have departed with physical things, Gavin considered what he knew of Dream and the principles he figured might feed into the legacy of the Eternal Echoes. If the name was any indication, they stored memories. With the mention of a network, they likely shared memories with each other. That they were working collectively to sift through memories looking for answers to the Hag's riddle, implied some kind of repository or connection for sharing as well.
Gavin thought about texting one of the other Eternal Echoes, but realized they are all likely continuing their work or resting. For the time being, he decided to leave them be.
The Courser talked out his thoughts and reflected with the other Occultists to get their takes to help inform his opinion as new information or evidence came to light to identify where he might have gone in the case of such a breach. Could he have fallen into one of their Dreams? Could he have been shunted into a memory within the Network since memory and dream are so closely related? Could he have been tempted by the offer of yet greater secrets once the necessary one was learned--what better way to keep a secret than to drown a hungry seeker in more than he could handle?
"If he didn't like doing this work and found it taxing. Perhaps he didn't always use it to keep things perfectly up to date. Did he keep a journal or notebook? Or, um perhaps his phone handled that."
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Post by Krakenbox on Nov 26, 2021 18:10:16 GMT -8
"A contributing factor to him fucking off? Yeah, if he was addled. He wouldn't have left us like that without calling someone, or trying to fix it somehow," Golden stated to Aster with a clear-cut assurance that was hard to question.
"Bleed like he was someone completely different," Aello clarified, hugging one of her knees to her chest as her freehand fluttered and emphasized her agitated statements. "He didn't like to talk about it, but he described it like reliving a moment in time—fully, where you're in their head and experiencing their thoughts and feelings—you're the person in the memory while you're looking at it. He seemed to have a problem shaking it off whenever he came out of it."
The question about the shoes seemed to capture Golden's attention while Aello blinked with a questioning frown. He wobbled a bit with the speed of standing, forearm catching the wall as he tipped and hauled ass to the house's entrance and booting the closet open. The dragon called out to his friend to check the room again, while the harpy slouched into the couch, insisting that she wasn't screwing around and tapping her contacts as she held up her phone to check it for the umpteenth time.
"He took his jacket and phone, but that's it," Aello explained to Gavin. "...Joey's asking why Sage's car is pulling up," she growled after Golden, "Dude's been harassing for-"
"Yeah. The money," Golden snapped from the front of the house. On the surface, they appeared to be bickering, but both Beasts didn't sense aggressive posturing with the harpy; they were likely just scared, eager, and ravaged by a psychic hex.
"Nah, it ain't like that," she insisted, "Joey's spooked-"
"He took my sandals," Golden interrupted, "For the Contract you think, yeah?"
It took Gavin a moment to process the Fairest was talking to him now, instead of his motleymate. Aello snorted silently, going back to furiously texting as the occultists traded theories.
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Post by Aster Blau on Nov 26, 2021 19:31:21 GMT -8
Shit.
The idea that the Twilit Page could be influenced by a memory to the point of returning to the waking world different, even if temporarily, added a lot of variables that Aster frankly didn't like. And it appeared the usefulness of question his addled motley mates may be swiftly drawing to a close.
"Sounds like we need to learn whose memories he's been looking into, yeah?" she mused as she glanced to Gavin, "If he's got enough sense to take something for a Contract that seems to suggest he has enough of a grasp on who he is, but I don't know if we can discount the contents of someone else's memory influencing his action. It'd be useful to know who he was looking into at the time of the Breach. If that mark had something they needed to be doing it might give us an idea of where he's gone, especially if he felt it would be useful in tracking down an answer to the riddle."
The Echoes were an Autumn Entitlement as far as Aster could tell and she had an Autumn right in front of her. If there was a way to get in touch with the Echo members, hopefully Gavin would know.
Or maybe he went to the Market... that's where I'd go if I was addled out of mind and wanted to fix it on the sly. Track down a Bargain or a Token to help with the strain...
These were just ideas, but Aster knew she was far from an expert here. There was little sense in speaking about it here in front of Golden and Aello. The pair have already broken protocol to try and save Tanner before, it wouldn't be far fetched for the pair to try and track Tanner down if Aster voiced her opinion. Frankly, she didn't need two weakened courtiers mobbing around the Market without support to worry about too.
"Can I take a look in his room? Maybe see if I can't get an idea of where he's gone?" Aster asked, "I know you both have looked already, but it might be helpful for a fresh pair of eyes to take a gander."
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Post by Gavin Graves on Nov 26, 2021 20:49:53 GMT -8
"Blurred lines between there and here." He said to himself incorporating the idea he hadn't considered. "He could have brought back a passenger, either from the Memory Network imprinting on him, or maybe something entered the conduit through the breach in the Bastion."
Tanner could have been particularly receptive to something convincing him he was already dead or that it would just be easier to give in. A trick playing on his vulnerability. A thought he decided he would share when the Beasts were away from Tanner's Motley-mates.
"If he's possessed or dissociating somehow, whatever it is or version of him this is knows his magics or has similar capabilities. The Contracts of Steed are intrinsic to our shared Seeming. Among them is Seven League Leap, which I expect is what you are referring to. If that is the one you think he knows, and he was trying to meet the Loophole for it, whomever it is considers you an enemy." The Beast faces Golden Boy to make sure he knew to whom he was speaking. "It requires the footwear of an enemy to evade the price." He wanted to gauge the Dragon's reaction, not condescend with his knowledge.
The Beast got lost in his instincts when looking at Golden and reflexively clicked the claws of his thumb and ring finger off each other nervously, forgetting to watch the body language for social cues and instead looked for an immediate threat assessment. Gavin's different coloured eyes flitting about the figure examining his stance instead of face.
It had become apparent they might need to know who or what they were up against in case his magics were being used to evade them, or to identify a dramatic change in his capabilities, thus narrowing the possibilities further. "Do you happen to know if he's learned Nevertread? It's the Common trick to cover tracks like a Photoshop stamp brush. What else do you know he can do? Animal shapes?"
He followed up with further questions about Tanner's capabilities, looking for the more nuanced magics. "The way you seemed out of sorts, disoriented, and like time had lost meaning for you. That could have been a Royal Steed Contract. You ever know of him to do anything like that, pushing people or objects forward in time or numbing them with an impossible riddle? Can he walk through mirrors or hang out in Mirror-space?" Their mere presence in their Dream forms within his mind would have been all he needed to meet the Loophole for that costly Contract. The questions continued until he figured they'd revealed all they knew or were willing to impart.
The middling sorcerer and awkward person that he was did not know of a way to be gentle about these necessary inquiries, "I know this might be a bit blunt. I'm sorry, but I have to ask. If we find him, say he is dissociating or possessed, how do we best reach out to him or talk him off a ledge?" They would know him far better than Gavin--and as far as he knew Aster as well. That was the easier of the questions.
"What do you know of his Taboos or Banes that might be used to contain him in case he is possessed?" This was the sort of thing that was usually a closely guarded secret. They might not even know. Even if they did, they would be taking a risk sharing it with the pair of Beasts.
When Aster asks to check out his room, it is suggested that she look for any kind of note, or odd marker that might indicate a strange type of signature of someone's passage. The sorcerer surmised that if he were not possessed Tanner would hide the Nevertread signature among his own belongings where it would be least likely to be seen as out of sorts. If it was not Tanner, the Signature would probably be found elsewhere, but would then be indicative of the possessing entity's identity. It was a long shot detail he did not expect much traction from.
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Post by Aello on Nov 28, 2021 20:14:24 GMT -8
Aello nodded, slowly following Aster up the stairs as she took small breaks to catch her breath, and seemed more glued to her device than watching the Venombite.
The room was messy, but not impossible to navigate. Golden Boy had mirror-hopped to unlock it from the inside earlier that day. The missing Autumn had mostly textbooks related to his academia, and folklore collections with some tabletop gaming books. There was a locked cabinet that Aello mentioned has some rare editions that were worth a chunk, and probably belonged in a museum somewhere over Tanner's bedroom. At the obvious question of how he had access to them, the harpy's eyes slowly drifted in the direction of Golden Boy answering Gavin's questions downstairs, snorting to herself with a guilty smirk and a shrug. There was a photo of an older man who was probably Tanner's father on his work desk with some older cards in the drawer, and his laptop next to a heavily notated textbook. He had an ensuite bathroom that had also been conveniently unlocked with several sticky notes of important times and dates, but they all appeared job and course-related from the short hand on first glance. A few were old, indicating Tanner's disorganization. The medicine cabinet was locked, with a few runes aggressively carved into the glass from a razor.
Aello frowned in confusion as her phone continued to buzz, staying out of the way as she answered it.
"I'm a little busy, dude- oh, what? You all right? Call the cops- are you fucking serious? ...Paisley? I have no fucking clue- I know she's some junkie- No, he's not here right now, and he forgot his charger, so..." she bit her lip as she fed the lie, glancing back downstairs as she weighed her options.
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Post by Aster Blau on Nov 28, 2021 20:53:15 GMT -8
Gavin seemed to ignore Aster’s suggestion to speak with members of Tanner’s Entitlement, neither referencing it nor seeming to acknowledge the Serpent’s presence at all. The only thing her words seem to have been met with is silence. Maybe it was the Razorhand’s investment or maybe it was a silent statement regarding the value of her opinion. In either case it did little for the Venombite’s confidence, she already felt the matter was above her pay grade. The investigation was already proving to be another reminder that other Beasts had faired better in the development of their knowledge and education following their painful Returns. Even Gavin, an avian Lost bristling with claws and menace proved himself to be beyond his shape. The reality that Aster had not left a bitter taste in her mouth. And it showed. The agitation crept across her face despite her best efforts to keep her cool. When Aster gets her approval to look into Tanner’s belongings, the Scholar likewise spoke up, finally granting his fellow Beast an ounce of recognition, even if only to give her a task. The Serpent almost sneered, but she’d see to Gavin’s request. Finding Tanner was a bigger priority than seeing to her wounded pride. “Yeah, let me see what I can fetch for ya,” she added, unable to resist the embittered dig. She’d be a good little Hound and try to find clues for the real investigator Dame Chunhua had meant to dispatch. For now. With that Aster left upstairs following the harpy to Tanner’s room. She’d sift through in silence, rummaging through delicately as she searched through the items in order to find some clue, if any, of where the rabbit had gone. Given the fact that he had over seventeen hours ahead of Aster and Gavin, she wasn’t liking their odds, but they had to try. Their success also depended on Aster being of use and thus she prayed her eyes would make up for a blunted mind. The search done, Aster’s eyes look to Aello, concern cracking into her features as the harpy fought to keep the Lie. She’d stand nearby and mouth the words ‘What’s going on?’
Even if the matter Aello was discussing was not associated directly with Tanner, it sounded as if it could be a road block. Whoever was on the other line was clearly looking for him as well and, with Aello’s deflection, it seemed clear the man was not among those who could peer into the truth of the Freehold. Aster had a feeling that things were about to get a lot more complicated. Stray-Aster Blau — Today at 9:41 PM The Cure: I Spy with my Snake-y Eyes - Wits+Investigation+WP @dicecord-CoD roll 7 Dicecord-CoD BOT — Today at 9:41 PM stray-Aster Blau rolled 7 dice and got 2 successes. 5 2 7 8 7 8 5
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Post by Golden Boy on Nov 28, 2021 22:46:55 GMT -8
Golden Boy said nothing to Gavin to indicate that the Beast was spelling out his own innate Regalia, the ghost of a cocky smirk twitching on the edge of his lips as he nodded along.
"The sandals are mine now," he offered. Well, Tanner's now. "Used to belong to a mundie I didn't like." He seemed like he was going to continue, but the Hunterheart's serpentine gaze contracted as he tracked the Razorhand's clicking talons. As Gavin watched closely, he realized that he hadn't seen the Fairest blink yet, and what little eye contact he made while he conversed was a quick sweep.
The answer as to why became apparent as Golden slid in closer, flawless scaled armour bent as smooth as liquid with the suggestion that Tanner might have thrown them into Nightfall. His vision flashed with his Mantle, casting the Dragon in a brief silhouette as the citrine held its own light, pupils narrowing to painful slits as the Gavin felt the brief instinct of being pinned and drawn in.
"He wouldn't do that."
The blink broke the sensation as Golden looked away again, chewing an onyx nail. It wasn't a Contract, apparently—the little shit was just swimming in a lot of Wyrd magic. There was a long, awkward pause, as Gavin suspected the statement was meant to address more than one of his questions.
"...He doesn't shapeshift. That's one we didn't swap."
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