[Major Plot] The Cure

Other Side

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 Lost to forget their Fear.

As infection rates spread, and motleys started being placed in quarantine. Strong emotional bonds and close proximity were identified as the most consistent trend for passing on the dream sickness. 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 appeared 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 had 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 chaotic and being overseen by the Order of Eternal Echoes to reduce paperwork.

Tanner was one of those Echo members. Dame Chunhua had been digging for the solution to the Hag's Riddle since the team had returned from their encounter in the Hedge [See: On The Horizon], with Witnesses on rotation to dig through their wealth of information. The process was taxing on the mind, unfortunately, and slow. Upon day three of Tanner's trance, the rest of Dawn Catcher had grown alarmed with his physical health, and chose to disrupt the ritual 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. That was when Dame Chunhua noticed a discrepancy with her membership and dispatched Gavin Graves and Aster to investigate, 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.

Unbeknownst to both Beasts, both were deeply infected by the invading Keeper. In a rush to be productive, they opted to grill the agitated young motley before complicating their investigation by asking for a social maverick to handle the cagey Lost. Golden Boy and Gavin immediately butted heads with the Dragon's Seeming on overdrive while the Razorhand fought his instincts to swat at the subject of his Durance torture; their occult musings sounding more like an academic debate than collaboration. What stood out was that Golden admitted that Tanner struggled with a suicide attempt earlier that year, as well as Aello revealing that Tanner experienced his personality being overwritten whenever he performed the Eternal Echoes ritual. As Gavin tried to profile what Tanner was capable of, Aster collected the missing Witness' laptop and suspected he owed money to a dealer. Aello passed on that the dealer was actively looking for Tanner and getting violent, claiming he hurt someone named Paisley. Eventually, their conversations are disrupted as the glass in the house is blown out with a sonic attack by a Nightsinger Elemental of the Summer Court. Once exits for Mirrorwalk were eliminated, Lucky Jack passed on that Aello and Golden Boy were confirmed to be infected, and needed to be immediately quarantined. While Aello was satisfied with various promises to keep in contact, Golden lost his composure in favour of conducting his own investigation into his motley's secrets, transforming into a wyvern to escape the Summer courtiers.