Session 8 of Pine Falls

<Khayin> All right...
<Khayin> The hospital visit was about as happy as one might expect a visit to the hospital to be. The mood was somber and the night was still chilly and foggy.
<Khayin> You've all learned a few things, though few of the mysteries were solved and most of the threads were simply frayed.
<Fu> And we are all going to a greasy old 24-hour diner.
<DrakeNero> Yup.
<Khayin> Patricia's crazed ravings were enlightening, though only the fractured minds of the Lost could hope to make sense of them. A chance to regroup your thoughts is definitely in order.
<Khayin> The most reliable of such establishments is the Hard Left -- a diner whose looks (or most of the staff) don't seem to have changed since the sixties. Most everyone knows of H.L., though, because the place is warm all year-long and the pie is fantastic.
<Khayin> It is also open twenty-four hours which, in this town, is tremendously rare.
<Khayin> (I'll let you guys go right ahead with your discussions from here) * DrakeNero sighs and orders regular coffee, even though it'll keep him up all night.
<Khayin> The inside of the diner is as promised -- warm and unabashedly antiquated. The waitress is a woman in her fifties, it seems, who gives you all a cheery smile and pours you all coffee because you simply seemed like you could use some.
<Fu> Fu orders tea and breakfast, of all things. Pancakes, ham, eggs, fruit, the works. And yes, he is paying for himself.
<DrakeNero> Good, because Drake wasn't offering.
<Fu> (Mala?)
<Mala> Mala...pokes at her coffee cup. "This water is brown," she whispers.
<DrakeNero> "It's coffee."
<DrakeNero> "It will keep you awake."
<DrakeNero> "IT's brown because it's strained beans. Just drink it."
<Mala> "...oh." She takes a swig. "Ow hot! DX "
<DrakeNero> "...and hot."
<DrakeNero> "Put creamer in it." * Fu sighs.
<DrakeNero> He pushes the bowl of creamer over
<Fu> "It also will make it sweeter if you put sugar in it too."
<Fu> "I still prefer tea."
<Mala> "Whoa. o.o" Mala experiments with this while she fills the others in on what Patricia told her re: Him, the nine fingers, the trees (excepting her), etc.
<Fu> Fu tries to keep it so no one else can hear them talking, or at least make it seem like they aren't talking about real life.
<Fu> Once Mala is done, Fu coughs and thinks.
<Fu> "Well. Looks like it /is/ fae related." * DrakeNero stirs his coffee idly. * Mala copies him, having not actually stirred the two or three creamers and sugars she's put in her coffee. >.> She tries to act natural.
<Fu> "... Oh yeah."
<Fu> "I know the new story.
<Fu> "When we left, I heard that the girl that was attacked? Her face wasn't injured, she could maybe still win beauty pagenets."
<Fu> "I think we are," He drinks, "dealing with Beauty and the Beast."
<DrakeNero> "...damn."
<DrakeNero> "I don't think that's by the Brothers Grimm."
<Mala> "o.o"
<DrakeNero> "Who IS that by? And no, the answer isn't 'Disney.' "
<Fu> "Hm. I don't remember."
<Fu> "But is that important?"
<DrakeNero> "Me neither."
<DrakeNero> 'Might be?"
<DrakeNero> "It's late."
<Fu> "Anyways. So, we know the story. I'm more worried about something else."
<DrakeNero> "I wasted all my good ideas explaining coffee to Mala."
<DrakeNero> He rests his scaled chin in the palm of his hand.
<Fu> "We need to figure out what to do about Miss Harris."
<DrakeNero> "What do you propose?"
<Fu> "Pledge her into silence?" He shrugs.
<Mala> o.o
<DrakeNero> "Hmmm."
<DrakeNero> "what's in it for us?
<Fu> "Not getting in trouble with the Courts?"
<Fu> "This place's Seasonal Courts are hyperfocused on secrecy."
<DrakeNero> "mmmm."
<Fu> "And, I'd rather not have the girl Taken."
<Mala> "I don't see what the problem is.. I mean, yeah, she forgot I'm a tree for a while, but she got hit on the head so it's not that suprising..."
<Fu> "The problem is that she may tell people."
<Fu> "And more people will begin noticing you are a tree and saying it."
<Mala> "...but they can see me already. People talk to me. Sometimes. >_> "
<Fu> "Yes, but how many of the not-funny looking people say anything?"
<Mala> "I just thought they were being polite.. <_< "
<Fu> "They can't see it." He takes a drink of tea.
<Fu> "It's not being polite." After a moment, he seems thoughtful, and then goes, "Okay, I want to do a little exercise, okay?"
<Mala> "OKay... o.o"
<Fu> "Look at me for a moment, and then think about what it would look like, if there wasn't any glamour at all around me. Focus your mind and push out anything that makes you think of the Hedge, of the fae. You'll need to burn a little glamour for it, but I'll explain why in a moment."
<DrakeNero> "Don't you think more people would comment on the..." he lowers his voice "horns?"
<Mala> "Okay.... o__o "
<Fu> "Do you see anything different?"
<Mala> O.O "How'd you do that!?"
<Fu> "Settle down!" He smiles slightly. "It won't last long, only half a minute."
<Fu> "See, that's what every mortal sees me as."
<Mala> o_O
<Fu> "Every person who isn't fae sees you as a human girl."
<Mala> "That's... really unsettling..."
<Fu> "But it helps us live a normal life."
<Fu> 'However, now Patrica sees me as a fae.":
<Fu> "She sees us how we see our selves, and it's something... That could be bad."
<Mala> "If you say so..." She looks down at the table. "Is that why she got upset when she saw me, then?"
* Fu nods sadly.
<Fu> "But, she seemed more disturbed by Drake and I."
<Fu> "I think it'd be best if you were there if we do decide to put her in a pledge."
<Fu> "I have a friend I can call to hammer out the details, and then tomorrow afternoon, we can visit her and see what we can do."
* DrakeNero yawns.
<Fu> "Still, she is your friend, and really, she seemed less bugged out by you than us."
<Mala> "I guess..."
<Fu> "Oh! Drake, do you have your laptop? I need to see if that guy ever friended me."
<Fu> "And we should check Miss Harris's facebook to see if that guy was there."
<Fu> Fu begins humming to himself as well, thinking about the Lenord Neemoy Bilbo song.
* Mala is creeped out by the idea of a book full of faces but says nothing. >_>;
<DrakeNero> He pulls the slim black laptop out of his bag.
<Khayin> Facebook is as cluttered as always. A few people have invited you to join weird Facebook games, but no one has agreed to be your friend recently.
<Fu> Fu checks Patrica's facebook, and then sees if he can find a Spencer student with the last name Martin.
<Khayin> Two students with the last name Martin come up. Both are male.
<Fu> "Fuck."
<DrakeNero> "No, too tired."
<Fu> "Not you, unless you are willing to give me a blowjob, lizard."
<Mala> o_o
<Khayin> Going through the same process as last time, you find that there is no one with the last name of Martin. There are, however, two nurses and a doctor with that first name.
<Fu> And their names?
<Khayin> Dr. Martin McCullen.
<Fu> He'd look up a 'McCullen' on facebook.
<Khayin> Mala would know that name quite well
<Khayin> He's Patricia's doctor. * Mala peers over Fu's shoulder. "McCullen? I think that's Patricia's doctor o.o "
<DrakeNero> "Dragon. Not lizard." he retorts, delayed and sleepily.
<DrakeNero> *and I'm not desperate enough to sleep with you*
<Fu> "... It /is./" Fu frowns.
<Fu> "I'm not going to believe that until I see your technique."
<Mala> This part of the conversation is totally going over Mala's head.
<DrakeNero> He just gives Fu the finger at this point.
<DrakeNero> "Give me my laptop back."
<Fu> "Hey, you were the one who started it." He carefully returns it.
<Fu> ^_^
<Khayin> The evening petered out in a tired haze of profanities and fruitless investigations. The following afternoon brought the somber meeting with Patricia.
<Khayin> When the three of you went to see her, she seemed far more lucid, though still fairly nervous. Though considering what she saw and how horribly beaten she was, it was hard to blame her.
<Fu> Fu brings something cute and plushie in an attempt to make her feel a bit better, though he has Mala give it to her.
<Khayin> She didn't say much when the pledge was brought up. It took a bit of pressuring, but she agreed to it.
<Khayin> She seemed more sad than scared.
<Fu> "^_^; We are trying to keep you safe."
<Mala> :(
<Khayin> "Mom told me that you visited me every day," she had said to Mala when it was done. "Thank you."
<Mala> "Well...yeah. Of course I did. ^^"
<Khayin> She didn't feel particularly social after that, but she did find it in her to give Mala the best smile she could manage with the right side of her face virtually pulped.
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<Khayin> * Mala makes sure to give her the bear, too. Even though it's decidedly untalkative. Granted the bonsai isn't the world's best conversationalist either...
<Khayin>
<Khayin> Whoever or whatever did this and really done a number on her. It will be months before she can walk on her own again, a few more before she can use her right arm well. Her face, sadly, would likely be scarred permanently, though cosmetic surgery could resolve most of it.
<Khayin>
<Khayin> But she was thankful for the gifts and she even said that it made her room happier.
<Khayin>
<Mala> :D
<Khayin>
<Khayin> Before you left, she asked if it would be okay if you came again, even if she wasn't very altogether.
<Khayin>
<Mala> "Of course." :D
<Khayin> Patricia kept her word. As far as you could tell, she never uttered a word of your unusual existence to anyone.
<Fu> Fu would be keeping an eye on her and being friendly, trying to explain fae stuff to both her and Mala for the whole month.
<Khayin> For the weeks that followed the pledge, however, there was a growing sense of tension in the town.
<Khayin> People could tell that something was going on.
<Khayin> A number of unusual deaths and a strange attack on Kimberly McCullin -- one of the most popular girls among the local folk.
<Khayin> Word was getting around that there was a killer on the loose while police fervently denied any connection between the incidents.
<Khayin> By mid-November, the rumors had escalated beyond the norm and people were starting to say something about creatures in the woods.
<Mala> Mala wonders if maybe she shouldn't have a word with her wild cousins...
<Khayin> By the third week, the strangeness had become too apparent for even the Lost to ignore and King of Masks called a meeting with the Freehold.
* DrakeNero wants it to be Summer.
* Fu would rather have the gathering in the Southern part of the park.
<Khayin> It was rare to see the whole Freehold together, so it was always sort of eye-opening when it happened. There were probably a dozen and a half, maybe two dozen Lost gathered in the orchard at Franklin Park that night -- more than any of you had ever seen in one place.
<Mala> o.o
<Fu> ^_^
<Mala> Mala is a bit shocked, especially since she's spent a lot of the time since the diner looking at people wondering if they looked different underneath. >.>
<Khayin> Changelings of all different shapes and sizes -- grotesque, gorgeous, and downright surreal crowding together in an uneasy silence. Most are faces you've either not seen before or have seen only once. There are some faces, of course, that you do not see there. Namely, Miss Peach and Scamper Skip.
<Fu> Big surprise.
<Khayin> The information that the three of you had given King weeks ago was then regurgitated sans a few details to the Freehold. As expected, everyone feared the worst of what the signs meant.
<Khayin> A few questions are thrown about and more than a few accusations, but everyone wonders the same thing -- who is responsible and where are they?
<Khayin> The meeting is more or less to warn everyone to be extra careful in keeping their existences secret from the rest of the town and King's appearance is fairly brief. When he departs, a few of the Lost linger, discussing the events of late.
<Fu> Fu would go to quietly speak with the King of Masks about Patrica.
<Khayin> Investigating the human side of the situation had only taken you so far. Perhaps the Freehold could begin to give answers on the Fae side.
|<-- Greenling has left irc.magicstar.net (Disintegrated: 3. Not allowed to threaten anyone with black magic. 4. Not allowed to challenge anyone’s disbelief of black magic by asking for hair. 95. I am not in need of a more suitable host body. 162. Past lives have absolutely no effect on the chain of command.)
<Khayin> (Perception roll -3 if you want to find King after he's decided that he's done)
<Mala> !roll_ww 5 8 10
<The_Lady> Mala invokes the Lady...
<The_Lady> 3, 3, 6, 7, 9, 10
<The_Lady> rolled 5d10. Got 2 Successes against a TN of 8, rerolling on 10 or better
<Khayin> Drake left the other two to their own devices, gravitating to his kindred spirits... more or less. There were three other Summer courtiers, one being the Summer King known as Gustaf. Everyone else seemed to call him Big Gus, though, and at close to seven feet, the ogre was not ill-named.
<DrakeNero> He nods to his more-or-less liege lord.
<Khayin> "Nero, right?" he says on your approach, nodding respectfully. "Word from the top says you know something about what's going on. That right?"
<DrakeNero> "I've been investigating some, yes."
<DrakeNero> "I suppose I was trying to figure out what anyone else knows. Our investigations have not yet been...supernatural in nature."
<Khayin> "Anything King of Secrets wasn't telling us?" said Smithy Bottleneck -- a Wizened that always appeared intoxicated from his own brews. "That ass-hat never says the whole truth." * DrakeNero dishes the rest of the dirt.
<Khayin> Mala worked her way around the orchard. It was so strange to have so many people here. Had they always met in this place? Why had she never noticed before? Some people said things that made no sense. Most of them said nonsense, actually. Occasionally someone would say something that attracted her attention, but only for a moment.
<Mala> o.o
<Khayin> "... knew it would come to this..." she heard someone mutter. "... goin' on like everythin' was okay..."
<DrakeNero> "And that's all I know."
<Fu> Fu tries to dash to catch up with the Winter King.
<Khayin> Big Gus folds his arms over his chest and grunts, looking to be lost in thought for a few moments. "Weird. I know a few of those names. But who would want to attack them specifically?"
<DrakeNero> "I really don't know, sir."
<DrakeNero> "That's what I'm trying to figure out."
<Khayin> "... can't close all the doors..." Mala continues to hear, deep within the shadows of the orchard. "... some won't even shut anymore..."
<Khayin> Rushing out of the orchard and past the edge of the park, Fu finally manages to catch up to King who had made an impressively quiet departure from the meeting. He almost doesn't notice you approach, but appears a bit flustered when he sees that you do.
<Fu> "Sir," *wheeze* Fu coughs as he straightens up, "There's one sort of big detail I wanted to mention to you in private."
<Khayin> "Some of the others are saying that it has to be one of the outcasts," says Typhoid Myrtle -- a sickly looking changeling whose seeming Drake couldn't quite place. "But I'm pretty sure most think it's something worse. They just don't wanna say it. Any guesses?" she asks of Drake.
<Khayin> "... the past... comes back to haunt us..." the voice whispered in the darkness of Mala's orchard, unheard by all but her it seemed.
<DrakeNero> "There was something... big."
<Khayin> "... what is it?" King asks.
<DrakeNero> "and supernatural, outside of the house I was having a party in." He explains the rest
<Fu> "There's a girl who can see us."
<Fu> "She is oathed into silence."
<Fu> "But still, it's one of the girls who was attacked."
<Khayin> "Which one?" he asks calmly, turning toward Fu.
<Fu> "I do not think it is important, sir." He smiles. She is avoiding fae contact."
<Fu> "I only wished to inform you that someone may be also ensorcelling."
<Fu> He adjusts his glasses, his smile vanishing.
<Khayin> Myrtle nods and looks to Gus, who grits his ridiculously large tusks. "Somethin' big, huh? Sounds like we're gonna need to do some investigatin' of our own." He looks to Drake and leans forward, lowering his voice. "They like to keep it nice and quiet here, and we'll let 'em have that. But between us, this place wouldn't stand a chance if one of Them came knocking. Know what I'm saying?"
<DrakeNero> "I do, sir."
<DrakeNero> "That's why I'm with the Summer Court."
<DrakeNero> "Let me know if you need help with this... investigation."
<Khayin> "... very well," King replied. "I appreciate the information, but I urge you to cease your involvement immediately. We have ways of dealing with problems like this and it would be best if you didn't muddy the process."
<Fu> "I thought it best if she didn't need to handle more fae, apologies. She isn't evenwholly aware of the fact that there /are/ others here. I had hoped to keep it that way."
<Khayin> "Good man," Gus nodded. "Glad you were on this from the start. This place is nice and peaceful, but someone has to make sure it stays that way. That'd be us. Me, Smithy, and Myrtle. Now you. I heard you ain't wantin' for money, so it's not like I can offer you anything in return, but if you need any of us for heavy lifting, you can call on us."
<Khayin> "We have things under control, Mr. Smith," King said, turning away again. "Don't worry yourself. And stay away from the Franklins."
<Fu> "And get strangled by Theresa? O_o"
<DrakeNero> "I'll keep that in mind."
<Khayin> King did not respond further, continuing to walk away briskly westward.
<Fu> Fu shrugs and goes back to the Park, shaking his head. Like balls he was going to stay away from Theresa.
<DrakeNero> "Here." he pulls out a pen and a very small tablet and scribbles his cell # down. "Call if you need me. Don't call from an unidentified number, I won't answer. Or if you do, leave a message."
<Khayin> (Mala, please roll Clarity)
<Mala> o.o
<Mala> !roll_ww 6 8 10
<The_Lady> Mala invokes the Lady...
<The_Lady> 5, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9
<The_Lady> rolled 6d10. Got 2 Successes against a TN of 8, rerolling on 10 or better
<Khayin> Myrtle is quick to take down Drake's information on her spiffy little trendy iPhone while Smithy sneers at her obvious attempt to show off. "Good," Gus grins. "I'm glad you're the real deal. We've had more than a few folks come out here claiming the Summer banner and then switch over to King's court in a matter of weeks. Good to know you're on the level, Drake."
<Fu> Fu would head back and just mingle, probably with Spring since well... Mala and Drake aren't of those courts.
<Khayin> It's odd... out here in the Orchard, Mala feels at peace, even with all the other weird people around. Here, she doesn't feel as lost. Her perceptions aren't as clouded and her understanding of the world isn't as... fractured. Here, she can hear the things most people notice.
<Khayin> Mala can even notice the thing that seems to be watching them from across the fence way down the hill.
<Mala> o_o
<DrakeNero> He nods. "thank you, sir."
<Khayin> Returning to the orchard, Fu runs into Timber Jane, the Spring Queen and one of the more friendly members of the Freehold. "Fu, right?" she smiles, with her big yeti grin. "King told me you and some friends learned about most of this stuff. Good work, lil' buddy!" she says, giving him a friendly but disorienting smack to the back.
<Fu> Fu jumps slightly, and adjusts his glasses. "It... it was nothing, really."
<Khayin> "Pfft. Forget that 'sir' stuff," the Summer King chortles. "Just call be Gus. You're one of us, so we don't need any of those pointless formalities."
<Fu> "It's the least that can be done, I mean, we are the only three at the university, after all..."
<DrakeNero> "Well..thank you, Gus."
<Fu> -And if anyone finds out how we learned about the apple, I will be killing them.- ^_^ Rare mental monologue.
<Khayin> A shadow in the trees. Yellow eyes, and so big. A steady gaze. Mala senses it before she sees it, but she does not know if it sees her. She is fairly sure it has been watching for a long time. Strangely enough, there's something familiar about where it's hiding, too.
<Mala> o___o
<Mala> Mala's gonna go find Fu....that's too creepy.
<Khayin> "Oh?" Jane asks, cocking her head but still smiling and making her look like a big, confused, shaggy dog. "Just you three now? Huh." She seems about to say something before she notices Mala wander up and gives her a big grin as well.
<Fu> "There were more?" * Fu smiles at Mala and bows slightly.
<Mala> "There's...something back there." She points. o_o
<Fu> "Oh?" Fu looks at Mala and then goes to check it out. Might as well.
<Fu> He also takes a puff of his inhaler as well.
<Khayin> Drake notices Mala and Fu heading off somewhere just as Myrtle and Smithy start throwing friendly insults at each other.
<Mala> Mala follows Fu... even though she's not sure it's a good idea. >_>;
<DrakeNero> "If you'll excuse me, I have some things to attend to. Call if you need me!"
<DrakeNero> He excuses himself.
<Khayin> His Summer compatriots nod to him in parting, leaving him to follow his companions of late. Mala alone could see the thing on the south slope outside the park property.
<Mala> "Do you see it? D: " * DrakeNero chases down the rest of his... don'tthinkmotleydon'tthinkmotley... acquaintances. * Fu tries looking.
<Khayin> (Perception, anyone trying to see something)
<Mala> !roll_ww 4 8 10
<The_Lady> Mala invokes the Lady...
<The_Lady> 6, 7, 8, 8, 10
<The_Lady> rolled 4d10. Got 3 Successes against a TN of 8, rerolling on 10 or better
<DrakeNero> !roll_ww 4 8 10
<The_Lady> DrakeNero invokes the Lady...
<The_Lady> 1, 2, 4, 6
<The_Lady> rolled 4d10. Got 0 Successes against a TN of 8, rerolling on 10 or better
<Fu> !roll_ww 6 8 10
<The_Lady> Fu invokes the Lady...
<The_Lady> 1, 2, 4, 7, 8, 9, 10
<The_Lady> rolled 6d10. Got 3 Successes against a TN of 8, rerolling on 10 or better
<Khayin> Drake sees nothing. Fu sees nothing unusual, but in the darkness he does start to make out the location that Mala is staring at.
<Khayin> You've been there before. It's the edge of the Pritchett property.
<Fu> "... Oh boy." * Fu facepalms.
<Khayin> When you leave the edge of the park property, the thing appears to notice that it isn't as hidden as it might have thought and Mala sees as its shadow and eyes dart deeper into the woods past the fence.
<Mala> "It's leaving..."
<Mala> "Do you suppose I should have gone and talked to it instead...? :( "
<Fu> "... Nah." He shakes his head.
<DrakeNero> "What are you two crazies staring at?"
<Mala> "It was big. Really big. And it had yellow eyes. o_o "
<Fu> "You are just as insane as me, Drake, and eyes."
<DrakeNero> "I beg to differ. Also, there are no eyes there."
<Mala> "Not anymore...it left."
<Fu> (Rephrase them)
<Fu> "I didn't see eyes, but..."
<Fu> "That's the Pritchett property. >_>"
<DrakeNero> "So it is."
<Fu> "Hm." * Fu glances at Mala and then thinks more.
<Mala> "I really did see it..."
<Fu> "Hey, you were the one who heard the apple, I'm not doubting you."
<Khayin> (Intelligence + Occult -1, Mala)
<Mala> !roll_ww 2 8 10
<The_Lady> Mala invokes the Lady...
<The_Lady> 3, 4
<The_Lady> rolled 2d10. Got 0 Successes against a TN of 8, rerolling on 10 or better
<Fu> "... Five dollars says we are going to have another one soon. :S"
<Khayin> Mala didn't know what it was, but it was big and you'll never forget those yellow eyes. How did it move so quietly?
<Mala> !roll_ww 3 8 10
<The_Lady> Mala invokes the Lady...
<The_Lady> 6, 7, 9, 10
<The_Lady> rolled 3d10. Got 2 Successes against a TN of 8, rerolling on 10 or better
<Khayin> ... move quietly...
<DrakeNero> "I'm not taking that bet."
<Khayin> Then Mala remembered something from when she first met the other strange people like her.
<DrakeNero> "Here." He just hands Fu a $5.
<Khayin> They told her a story about something big in the Hedge...
<Khayin> The Poacher.
<Fu> "Of course." He grins as he takes it. "I'd cheat after all. ;) "
<DrakeNero> "There, so I'm just as well off as I'd be if I'd taken your bet."
<DrakeNero> "Don't spend it all in one place."
<Fu> "Fuck you, Drake."
<Mala> ".....poacher. D: "
<Fu> "Oh, lovely."
<DrakeNero> Crap. * Fu rubs the back of his head. * Mala shrinks a bit. Which means she only looms instead of towers over you.
<Khayin> But that does leave a question.
<Khayin> If that was Poacher, what was it doing outside the Hedge?
<Fu> ....
<Fu> O_O * Fu looks at the others with dawning horror (and a wish that he could harvest himself()
<Mala> "M....maybe we should tell the others..."
<Khayin> I think I'll leave it there. ;)
<Fu> BASTARD.