Monsterhearts2-Sindale (Game Thread)

[arscott]

Deckland

Deckland smiled as Ash mentioned the Tsar, "Heh, well someone should pay attention in history, the Tsar's were murdered when the Russian people revolted." He opened the passenger door for Ash, gracing her with a half smile before reaching back and opening the door for Constance and her friend. As he started to pull away, he turned speaking to Ash, "Looked like a long practice, ladies hungry? Emporium?"

C: "Ugh, don't tempt me. I could just suck down a milkshake right now, but I'm on a diet."

A: "I'm not, and I want a churro."

C: "You will not eat a churro in front of me if you value our friendship."

A: "Fine, I'll have a wrap."

C: "You will split a wrap."

A: "Deal."

C: "Dex, what are you getting?"

A: "You should get a churro... and share."

Rutwen's is something of an institution. Ezekiel Rutwen founded it as a dry goods store in 1860, and made a fortune off the silver miners before selling the business to the McNair Brothers and retiring back east. Vasily Federov acquired the business during their hostile takeover of the McNair Mine in 1893 and it was run as a company store until the Federovs sold it to avoid a strike in the late 1940s. Since then, it's been a drug store, a Shell gas station, an auto parts shop, and a steakhouse. The Ngs bought it when they moved to Sindale in the early aughts and turned it into a corner deli/convenience store. It has a timeless saloon-meets-five-and-dime aesthetic, a result of fixtures and decor left over from three different versions of the business. The store does a brisk business in sandwiches and fried food, malt liquor, and things that you forgot to buy at the Walmart in Elko and now have to pay way too much for.

You'll find Bertie or one of his cousins behind the counter most afternoons, today it's Bertie. Daryl and Doug are at one of the tables eating onion rings and talking about engines.

After you're ordered your food, Constance asks: "What you said about the Tsars... You really don't like Alexi, do you? What's your issue with him?"

What do you do?

Alexi

He had a break. Alexi pulled up Google and began his search. Operate on the assumption, for the moment, that Upyr, Vampires, are real. What do you do? How do you deal with them? He looked through everything: Lore, 'first-hand encounters', rumors, mythology.

Google give you nothing. Well, okay, it actually gives you plenty but nothing useful. Pop-culture stuff on vampire that everyone already knows. Stories about the Monstrous Upyr, but they're vague and don't really seem to describe anything like Deckland, or even particularly fit your grandmother's stories. You wind up on a tangent looking up information about the difference between folklore vampires and literary vampires and before long it's all boring names and dates again, and you find yourself nodding off.

You're in a castle ballroom, something elegant but faded and covered in cobwebs. It's like a horror movie set--and indeed, you must be in a move because everything is in grainy black and white. Except for the carpet, which is red, and the ladies lips, which are red, and the roses on the gentlemen's lapels, which are red. And later, the blood is red.

This is one of those elegant old fashioned dances you see in movies where couples are dancing in formation and every so often they switch partners. Most of the dancers are nameless and faceless, but you can see that the person you are dancing with is Teresa and on the opposite side of the crowd, Deckland is dancing with Tasha. You try to make your over to where they are by switching partners, but every time you switch the person you're dancing with is Teresa, and Deckland and Tasha are just as far away.

You feel a sudden sense of urgency, and look to see Deckland open his mouth and show off his sharp gleaming teeth, and with dramatic flourish, bite Natasha in the neck. you can see a rivulet of blood running down her neck to the low cut front of her dress, then you taste blood in your mouth and realize that your own teeth are buried in Teresa's neck and you are drinking her blood.

You look up from your vampiric feast to see that instead of Deckland, Tasha is partnered with Teresa. They are making out on the dance floor, blood running down from their lips. Then you feel a sharp pain, and you realize that the person pressed up against you, sucking at your neck, is Deckland.

Above everything hang two velvet banners which read "Marbury v. Madison (1803)" and "McCulloch v. Maryland (1819)"

When you wake up from your dream, you have a hard-on.

What do you do?

[Oberon Kenobi]

Isabel Garcia: El Fantasma
^{Harm: 0 of 4
Conditions: Hot Headed}

Isabel mimes catching the kiss–then immediately flushes when she realizes she doesn't have a follow-up move and has no idea what to do with it. Apparently flirty!Christine has caught her off-guard, especially right after flirty!Teresa. Isabel's still catching up with the idea that Teresa is practically her baby sister and doesn't really know how weird to feel after watching her give Christine a face massage, so she's erring on the side of 'very.'

Clearing her throat uncomfortably, she answers, "I think... the 'creature of the night' look suits you. In fact... smile?"

Without waiting for an answer, she quickly pulls up her camera, snapping a candid shot of Christine framed against the backdrop of her reflection in the mirror. As the camera whirs and spits out the photo, she fans it in front of her, watching as the image develops.

Isabel's acting a bit embarrassed and awkward, but I don't think it's quite overblown enough to satisfy the reaction, so: take a string on her, Christine.

Aaaand, considering all the weirdness with Christine's patron and reflections, along with vampires (at least) showing up blurry in photos, let's make taking this picture a Gaze Into the Abyss move, looking (somewhat unintentionally) for info on what's going on with Christine: (2d6+2)[12]

[Toxic Mind]

Alexi Federov, the King
Harm: 0/4
Conditions: In Charge

Well, that was singularly unhelpful. Alexi thinks to himself, annoyed. He glances down for a moment. Entirely Unhelpful. He didn't need a dream therapist to unpack that one - 11th grade psychology elective worked just fine. Of course he found Teresa and Tasha attractive, what moron wouldn't? And Deckland would naturally feature in his dream, his innate dislike turning Cross into the villain.

Alexi didn't believe in portents, signs, horoscopes, or even fate. You make your own destiny, and there is nothing that shapes it but your own life and your own actions. Of course Alexi would never admit to such a world-view. It was important that appearances be maintained - particularly in the church. Alexi wouldn't read more into the dream than it meant - which was nothing.

Though... Alexi looks down a second time. I have a bit before my parents come home, and watching Natasha and Teresa make out had been really hot...

[Raine_Sage]

"Is that what I look like?" she mused, wondering if the creature lodged in her soul had in fact changed her reflection. She knew she was pretty for her bargain had made it so, and however dark it was the thing kept it's promises, but the girl in the mirror was... gorgeous. She forces herself away from her reflection.
"Wow... Thanks, I don't really have any talents, not like this, but if I can make it up to you tell me, I haven't felt this good in a long time" or ever? Maybe?
She shoots Isabel a sultry look "What do you think?" and blows her a kiss.

Teresa just grins. "I told you this morning right? I don't even have to do much, it's just making what you've got pop a little. The hardest part of the whole thing is probably the eyeliner. But girl you look downright dangerous. I bet you'd look good in black and gold too. It's so much easier to work on someone else's face, I bet I could do some fun things..."

She pauses as Isabel snaps the photograph. "Aw no fair Isabel, I was going to ask her for one for my portfolio." She goes to lean over her shoulder to get a look at the picture as it develops. "What kind of film does that thing take anyway? I've been meaning to ask you about it for ages."

[Oberon Kenobi]

Isabel Garcia: El Fantasma
^{Harm: 0 of 4
Conditions: Hot Headed}

"Ectoplasm," Isabel answers as they wait for the picture to develop.

She gives a 'kidding, just being coy over here' smile, which is hopefully enough to deflect any digging on the subject from Christine. The truth is, she doesn't really know where the film comes from; it's just there when she needs it.

Good question, actually, I hadn't really thought about it. I think what happens is, items that a ghost had at the time of their death are kind of frozen at that point, just like ghosts are. A ghost can't really be killed, and their wounds always heal, leaving them looking the same way they did when they died (mechanically represented by the Darkest Self averting death mechanic; they fade out and someone has to remember them before they can return).

Same thing with their belongings; damage mends, and 'fuel' replenishes over time too, so a ghostly pen never runs out of ink, and Isabel's camera always seems to have film. A modern ghost would probably have a cell phone that never needs charging.

That said, I think all these items are really manifested and made whole by the ghost's own energy, so over time items that aren't important to the ghost's identity tend to fade, and possessions of great personal significance tend to get warped by the ghost's personality and gain weird properties.

Where it gets really weird and dark is when ghosts lose touch with their mortal identity and go insane, until the person they used to be is gone and the warped artifact dominates what remains. That's where you get the really scary haunted houses, ghostly taxis that pick up passengers and take them to the underworld, and tales like Bloody Mary, who exists only alongside the myth of her favorite mirror.

[Zero Prime]

Deckland Cross, the Vampire
^{Harm: 1 of 4
Conditions: Confusing, Upyr.}

Deckland ordered the churro's, with a side of warm, salted, caramel to dip them in, pulled out some neatly folded bills and paid for the girls as well, salad, wrap, and some smoothie or another. He walked over to one of the Americana style diner booths, red leather cushions, mica counter top, chrome and steel highlights. He slid in beside Ashleigh, looking across at Constance, and the two football players behind her. As she began to speak, he propped his perfect chin on his hand, as he slid his plate across his lap to Ashleigh, providing her with her sweets.

"What you said about the Tsars... You really don't like Alexi, do you? What's your issue with him?"[B]

Annoyance flickered across his face, though he hid it behind the ghost of a smile, "I could say all sorts of things Connie." He shrugged, "But honestly, it's because he reminds me of ...," he looked at her with his smoldering eyes, "me."

He gazed out the window, before turning back to her, "Look around this town Constance, you'll see the Federov's signature all over it. Their money, their influence, their prestige, except they haven't done anything to earn it. They use people, manipulate people, take everything they have, and when they're done, they discard it."

"Think about it, just look at the people he surrounds himself with? Natasha, why? She's smart, and easy to look at too, so he'll use her. She'll make sure his grades keep up." He began to count down on his fingers, "Your boy, Jason, strong, fast, has a future in the game, probably has some interests off the field as well. But Alexi needs him for muscle, so any chance he has out of state is done, he'll lead him on with vague promises that will never come through. Andre?" He almost laughed, "He's reckless enough to do the stupid **** Alexi needs him to, it keeps people from pointing fingers at him."

"His whole family is a bunch of ****ing vampires, trying to suck the life out of this town." Now he did smile, "Listen Connie, I'm not trying to get down on your boyfriend, or who he hangs out with, I just don't like guys like Alexi." He paused, holding her gaze with his own, "I used to be one of them."

[spinningdice]

Christine Harris : The Infernal
^{Harm: 0 of 4
Conditions: None}

Christine smiles for the camera, even though she's caught a little off-guard. Her mood spoils as she begins to wonder if photographs act like mirrors... mobile phones acted wierd, but that was video would it be the same on old-fashioned polaroid?

"So, not to sound too needy, but did you mention outfits earlier as well?"

[Raine_Sage]

Teresa Montoya, the Mortal
Harm: 0/4
Conditions:Crushing

"Hm? Oh yeah!" Momentarily distracted from the photo before it's finished developing, Teresa moves over to her closet and slides the door open. Her wardrobe is far from fancy, but most of it has been heavily modified with varying degrees of success. It's easy to tell which were early beginner projects, and Teresa makes a vaguely disgruntled noise as she shoves them into a back corner.

Christine is not lacking in variety though. There's everything from "vaguely punk" to "forest fairy" and even a few dresses that look suspiciously like reproductions of much more expensive designs. Someone may have googled a few replica patterns to save money on prom night. "So I'm thinking kind of skintight right? You don't want flowy near a bonfire. But also something good to move in..." she thumbs through a few sets of pants and leggings. "No skirts, not with that many boys around. Trust me on that one."

[arscott]

Deckland

"Your boy, Jason, strong, fast, has a future in the game, probably has some interests off the field as well. But Alexi needs him for muscle, so any chance he has out of state is done, he'll lead him on with vague promises that will never come through."

"His whole family is a bunch of ****ing vampires, trying to suck the life out of this town." Now he did smile, "Listen Connie, I'm not trying to get down on your boyfriend, or who he hangs out with, I just don't like guys like Alexi." He paused, holding her gaze with his own, "I used to be one of them."

As soon as you say it, you realize that you've struck a nerve.

"So you're saying Jason's supposed to leave town after he graduates and never come back? That anyone with enough money or talent should go away and leave the rest of us to rot in a sh!thole town?

Jason's been Alexi's best friend since he was eight. You think second-grade Alexi was using him? You think he know that the shortest boy in class was gonna get super ripped in high school?"

Constance is getting louder and louder, and everyone in the place is staring at the two of you.

"Did you know that Alexi's dad is an Environmental Engineer? His whole job is literally cleaning up his family's mistakes, because he still cares about this town.

Meanwhile, the De Winters were just as responsible for what happened as the Federovs, and they all just left when the tunnel collapsed! And now you just waltz in here with your big-city charm and your nice hair and have the nerve to call Alexi a vampire? Like you're not just using our town too."

She throws her drink in your face and storms out of the store, ending with "And I hope those churros make you both fat!"

Ashleigh stares in disbelief, and then turns to you. "I can still get a ride home, right?"

What do you do?

Isabel

Without waiting for an answer, she quickly pulls up her camera, snapping a candid shot of Christine framed against the backdrop of her reflection in the mirror. As the camera whirs and spits out the photo, she fans it in front of her, watching as the image develops.

In the picture you took of Deckland, his image is strangely fuzzy.

As Christine's picture develops, you see the same fuzzyness of image, but in reverse--Christine is crisp and clear--too crisp and clear, since this photo looks a lot more like the old, plain version of Christine than the new look. But the background, where you should see Teresa's room, it's a blurry mess.

Christine isn't a vampire, but something's happening to her, and whatever is doing it is connected in some way to vampirism (or, at least, Deckland's vampirism--it's not like you've had other vampires to compare). Take +1 forward.

OOC General:
So, there are a couple of places in this post and in the last few posts that I've made assumptions about NPC character's backgrounds. Things like Aunt Grace being an artist and being a divorcee, or Alexi's dad's job.

In a real-time game, these are circumstances where I as a GM would ask the player "hey, what does your aunt do for a living" or "How does your dad support and give back to the community?" and work off those answers, but that format doesn't really work in PbP, since I can't wait for the answers to those questions without delaying the post rate too much.

But when I make assumptions like that feel free to chime in and say "hey, that's not how it is! My dad wouldn't know Iron Sulfide mine runoff from his 4pm glass of scotch. He's actually a business lawyer," and we can edit the post to incorporate that truth.

NB, though, all that stuff that Constance is ranting about the De Winters being in town through the 60s and complicit in the mine tragedy is new info. Deckland, what Constance said is new and contradicts your understanding of the history of this house. You were under the impression that it was a generic safehouse, and hasn't been seriously used since Katrina's Catherine De Winter identity in the 40s. Of course,you didn't exactly get a chance to talk to Katrina before fleeing to Sindale, so who knows what the truth is.

[spinningdice]

Christine Harris : The Infernal
^{Harm: 0 of 4
Conditions: None}

Christine shoots Isabel a nervous glance, wondering what she can see in the photo. Can't worry about that now. she tears her attention back to Teresa. "Skin-tight huh? Do you think thats... I'm usually more of a jeans and a t-shirt kinda girl, but if you think it'll work I can give it a try. No point in half-measures right?"

Haven't really thought about Christine's family much for some reason. At push she's probably from an mining family. Father struggling with various jobs that never last long. Mother working every hour she can on cleaning jobs (maybe even for the Federovs?) or whatever else she can find. Neither have a great deal of energy to spend on their daughter, nor seem to have noticed the new changes going through her. Of course if Arscott had other ideas in mind then I'm open.

[Raine_Sage]

Teresa Montoya, the Mortal
Harm: 0/4
Conditions:Crushing

"Better snug than on fire. Don't worry I'll keep it tasteful." She pulls out a set of leggings with a silver star pattern on it and gives it a speculative once over before tossing them to Christine and rummaging for a top. "And if anyone tries to get handsy anyway then you take their hand right off. No mercy for creeps."

The top is a little looser, it hangs down past her waist and Teresa finds a belt to cinch it with. It's black with some light silver embroidery along the hem and sleeves. Sort of tunic styled but still very flattering with a low V neckline. "You can wear an undershirt with this one if you don't like how far the neck dips. Try it on first. But seriously..."

Teresa picks up her phone and sends Alexi a quick text:

@Alexi: Hey are you going to that bonfire thing on Friday? Trying to decide if it's worth showing up for.

"Don't wear dresses to these things. There's always some drunk senior that thinks it's funny to try and flip a girl's skirt, or take creep shots, or whatever. I mean, wearing pants doesn't prevent stupid but it prevents that kind of stupid you know?"

OOC: I like Grace being an artist. Teresa uses different mediums obviously but them bother being the creative type seems like a very valid bonding method. I'm generally fine letting the MC do whatever they want with background characters I give them unless there's something specific to the character that needs to stay intact. Like Teresa's motivation for spending her last year of highschool in a middle of nowhere town three hours from home, which was to get away from a psycho Ex. But everything else is mostly incidental.

[Toxic Mind]

Alexi Federov, the King
Harm: 0/4
Conditions: In Charge

Alexi is laying on his bed, idly scrolling through Reddit posts when his phone buzzes.

@Alexi: Hey are you going to that bonfire thing on Friday? Trying to decide if it's worth showing up for.
@T: Yea we'll be there for a bit. Probably not going to stick around once it gets later - these ones can get pretty crazy.

OOC: I love the idea of Alexi's dad being an Enviro Scientist. Like all things with the family, its all about appearances. He could be evil as the devil himself but people stand up for him because it looks like he's helping out. Or he's just a genuinely nice guy. Who knows?

[spinningdice]

Christine Harris : The Infernal
^{Harm: 0 of 4
Conditions: None}

"Just because I'm not good at this stuff doesn't mean I'm a child Tess" Christine protests, but she's smiling all the same "I can handle myself if someone tries to get too heavy. Do you mind if I try this on, I'm not entirely convinced we're the same shape?" Christine looks over Teresa's body appraisingly, "I mean, I've lost weight, but I'm probably still a little heavier than you?"

[Raine_Sage]

Teresa Montoya, the Mortal
Harm: 0/4
Conditions:Crushing

"Well I just want to make sure you actually have a good time you know? I mean, sticking up for yourself can be hard, so like... well I guess it's just the advice I'd want to get myself. Things like 'don't be afraid to make a scene' or 'a boner is not a medical condition.' It's just... not super easy to speak up in the moment so.. moral support I guess?" She smiles but there's something a little... sad about it. Like she's speaking a little more from personal experience than she wants to admit.

"Anyway yeah go ahead and try those on, you can uh, use the bathroom across the hall if you don't feel like stripping in front of the two of us. They should be fine though, you're not that much bigger and honestly I always buy a size above what I need anyway. They're stretchy enough that it doesn't matter."

[Zero Prime]

Deckland Cross, the Vampire
^{Harm: 1 of 4
Conditions: Confusing, Upyr.}

Deckland's face remained impassive as Candace's drink splashed across his face, his shoulder. A cold, dispassionate glare followed her as she stalked towards the exit. Even as his gaze caught Doug's attention, he reached for a napkin and cleaned himself, while speaking softly.

"Why is it, when some people ask a question," he paused, looking towards Ashleigh, "they rarely want an honest answer." He nodded his head, "I won't leave you stranded, we're fine." He paused as he looked at her, he leaned forward, fished out his keys, "You ready?"

[Oberon Kenobi]

Isabel Garcia: El Fantasma
^{Harm: 0 of 4
Conditions: Hot Headed}

Isabel stares down at the picture, soaking in the meaning and pinching the bridge of her nose.

Okay, to review. Casefile 304: Xophie may or may not actually be using magic, and showing her my notes was a terrible idea. Casefile 302: Deckland didn't actually bite Christine, and he might be the only vampire in town after all. Casefile 301: Christine isn't a vampire, but there's some other vamp-y crap going on with her, so Deckland is still my best lead. Nice job burning that bridge, Iz. Jesus Christ, besides trusting Teresa, did I get anything right today?

"Well I just want to make sure you actually have a good time you know? I mean, sticking up for yourself can be hard, so like... well I guess it's just the advice I'd want to get myself..."

She looks up from her reverie, shooting Teresa an appraising look and seeing the strained expression on her face as she continues.

...Aaand now we have a Casefile 306: Teresa, mi gran sobrina. Happy face to hide the pain, helps others because she can't help herself. Seems like every girl I know needs saving from something. Or someone.

"Just make sure whatever you lend her has pockets, Reese's Pieces. Nothing says 'no' like a butterfly knife through the hand. Or a stake through the heart." She flashes Christine an awkward smile. "Camera loves you, by the way. Our girl's got good taste. But seriously, arm yourself."

Just in case you have to save yourself.

In which I remember that Isabel is still Hot Headed.

And actually... I think I'm going to spend a string to tempt Christine here. Take an XP if you heed Isabel's advice and agree to bring a weapon to the bonfire.

Also, if it jives with how Teresa presented herself to the school, I'm rolling with the idea that she seemed wholesome and well-adjusted enough at first blush that Isabel didn't actually have a casefile on her before now, which probably has a lot to do with why she never put together the blood relation thing.

[spinningdice]

Christine Harris : The Infernal
^{Harm: 0 of 4
Conditions: None}

Christine shrugs and starts to unfasten her jeans, but hesitates at Isabels comment, "A weapon? Do you know something I don't?" her mind flicks to the gun she'd bought buried deep in the bottom of her wardrobe, she'd not really thought of using it on other people before... "A little bit extreme for wandering hands don't you think?" still the thought lingers in her mind as she continues to change, do I even need a weapon? she thinks back to her encounter with Deckland earlier, I wasn't even pushing that hard, I could have pulled more if I wanted....
She gives a small nod in Isabel's direction, for some reason she didn't want to agree in words, but she take along something anyway.

[arscott]

So, it really feels like we're approaching the end of day one. Deckland and Alexi, if either of you have an additional scene you want to play out before the end of the night, go ahead and set it up, otherwise, we can just wait for the scene with the girls to finish and roll over into day two.

[Raine_Sage]

Teresa Montoya, the Mortal
Harm: 0/4
Conditions:Crushing

"I don't know if she needs to knife anyone Izzy, I think mace is probably more traditional." Teresa sticks her tongue out playfully. "Let's not have the police get called if we can help it."

She pauses thoughtfully. "I've got some pepper spray if you want to borrow that too, but I really doubt you'll need it.

OOC: Hmm I'm not sure wholesome would be a good word for it. I feel like if Isabel didn't bother with a casefile on Teresa it was because to anyone who doesn't know her she probably looks kind of vain and shallow. I mean think about it this city girl rolls in from out of town with this dramatically winged eyeliner and this kind of experimental fashion sense, who fancies herself an ameture photographer, and within a week she's asked out the king of the school. I feel like Isabel would have rolled her eyes so hard and dropped it. But then months go on and then there's the sense that no, she's really just kind of a nice person who also happens to be really in to clothing and makeup. That is not to say that everyone at the school has cottoned on to this, but I feel like Isabel would have at least notice her interacting with Christine and be like 'oh that's kind of nice actually.'

Side note: I have it in my head that Teresa probably asked out Alexi first, but that doesn't mean he said yes at first either. But she would definitely have made her interest known fairly quickly. And I'm fine with moving on to the next day after Christine accepts or denies the loan of pepper spray.

[Oberon Kenobi]

OOC: That makes a lot of sense; if Teresa seemed like that much of a city girl stereotype, Isabel totally would've written her off, and seeing that kind side later could be why she's the one Isabel turned to this session. [CANON STAMPED]

I'm good to call it for Wednesday, too. The dead don't sleep, but I think Isabel is all drama'd out for the night.

[arscott]

Clarification: I wasn't trying to imply that it's time to end the scene with the girls. Just that this is probably the last scene of the day.

[spinningdice]

Christine Harris : The Infernal
^{Harm: 0 of 4
Conditions: None}

Christine gets changed quickly... it seems silly to go into another room, but it also seems odd to get undressed in someone elses bedroom... "So, how do I look?... and do you mind if I come back before the party. I'm not sure I can put all this together again myself?" she waves her hand in front of her face. She smiles slyly at Isabel, "Though if you do Isabel, I could watch and learn...

If Isabel doesn't like the idea...

"I'm kidding, I should probably head home, I've got homework and boring stuff to catch up on anyway. Thanks Tess, it's been nice."

If Isabel seems up for it and Teresa doesn't object... Christine will watch attentively, she would genuinely like to learn this mysterious art.

I think the scene is probably just about played out either way, unless either of the other two have any more bombshells to drop, or if Teresa decides to take a look at Isabels photograph?

[Oberon Kenobi]

Isabel Garcia: El Fantasma
^{Harm: 0 of 4
Conditions: Hot Headed}

Isabel looks away and clears her throat awkwardly. "I... think I'll give that a pass. Like I said, makeup isn't really my thing."

She's actually kind of curious to see how Teresa would change her look, but as weird as it had been watching Christine get her makeup done, the prospect of the reverse–being vulnerable, being watched that closely–is downright scary.

When Christine gets ready to leave, Isabel starts to do the same, then freezes when she takes stock of the situation.

...****. Aunt Grace hadn't seen her come in, and 'when did that strange girl sneak in and why does she look so familiar' is not a conversation she wants to have right now. And she'd let the ghostly cat out of the bag enough today without flying out the window in front of Christine.

She turns to Teresa, still sitting on the bed. "Uh, Reese? Do you mind if I... crash here for the night?"

I also think it's just about played out, but I just remembered that little complication, so yeah. Always something, isn't it?

[Raine_Sage]

Teresa Montoya, the Mortal
Harm: 0/4
Conditions:Crushing

"Yeah sure you can swing back on Friday, we can get ready together. I can send you some tutorials if you're interested, honestly everything that's not eye stuff is super easy." She replies. "Looking forward too it, just don't forget to wash it off before you go to sleep."

Isabel's request to sleep over garners a raised eyebrow but Teresa seems to arrive at the same conclusion given some thought. "Yeah sure if you really want." Besides it occurs to her that it might be prudent to share about Akinson with the one person who might be able to help her figure out what's actually going on with the guy. Who else is a better snoop than the person who can fly and walk through walls? And it'd be good to wait for Christine to leave before having the 'hey how do you feel about staking out a teacher's house' conversation.

[spinningdice]

Christine Harris : The Infernal
^{Harm: 0 of 4
Conditions: None}

Christine pulls and pinches at the clothes, but there's little denying that they fit like they were made for her. She gets changed back to her own clothes and gets ready to leave. Before she leaves she hesitates a moment, then embraces Teresa in a hug "Thanks for this, it really does mean a lot to me." she breaks away and leans in as if to hug Isabel too, but changes her mind and just says "You too, I know you got roped in, but you've been nice. Thanks." she then hurries off and walks back around to her car. Driving home, and back to people who didn't seem like they did care.

[Raine_Sage]

Teresa Montoya, the Mortal
Harm: 0/4
Conditions:Crushing

Teresa returns the hug with absolutely no hesitation. "Any time, you need to come over more. Watch trashy movies together." She grins as she pulls back, and escorts Christine to the door before heading back upstairs.

"Sooo... ok since we can speak freely again, there's one more thing I wanted to tell you about." She grabs her laptop and pulls up the articles on Akinson she's since bookmarked. "Do you know anything about this guy? Because I found some stuff this afternoon and either he's crazy and we're all in trouble, or he's not crazy and Deckland and Christine specifically are in trouble and I want to know which it is."

[Oberon Kenobi]

Isabel Garcia: El Fantasma
^{Harm: 0 of 4
Conditions: Hot Headed}

Isabel pages through the first article, her face clouding over the deeper into it she gets.

"Jesus. And I thought Pastor Wallace was over the top." She leans back from the screen and glances up at Teresa. "Deckland dropped some characteristically vague hints about some people he was afraid of earlier. Said they'd probably come after me, too, so I figure they're some kind of equal opportunity Van Helsing types. Could be Akinson's one of them."

She sets the laptop aside and stands up, shouldering her bag. "I'll look into it. But keep your head down either way. Crazy doesn't care about collateral."

She peeks out the window, peering out across the darkened streets and watching Christine's car go rumbling off. "Looks like the coast is clear; I should get going." Turning half around, she adds "Thanks again for... well, everything. See you tomorrow, Reese's Pieces."

Barring any objections, she passes through the window and into the night, drifting off to haunt the unseen corners of Sindale until morning.

I'm under the impression that Mr. Akinson is a fairly new arrival, so Isabel probably doesn't have much in her archives about him unless there's been some particularly juicy drama between him and the students here. Either way, I think her investigations will wait until Thursday.

[Zero Prime]

Deckland Cross, the Vampire
^{Harm: 1 of 4
Conditions: Confusing, Upyr.}

It was a supreme effort of self control, for the predator wished nothing more than to slaughter his prey, he had been insulted, and inside he seethed. He concentrated, however, on Ashleigh, walking her to his car, proceeding around the driver's side and sliding in, before reaching across the seat, and opening the door for his passenger.

They rode in silence, Ash, perhaps feeling nervous due to the rigid look on Deckland's face, they pulled up closer to her home. He slowed the car, and turned to look at the young woman beside him. "Hey, Ash," he placed a hand on her wrist, felt her tense at his touch, "listen, I know I'm not your type." He saw the reaction on her face, tried to console her, "no, it's cool. I get it," he removed his hand cautiously, "this Pit thing, Friday night. Christine's going to be there, why don't you let me take you?" Another pause. "I could distract Doug, give you a chance to talk to Christine, and you don't have to worry about the squad questioning your choice in dates."

OOC: Sorry about the delay, it's been a busy weekend. We'll get Deckland's proposal first, then I will quickly do a Gaze into the Abyss, re: deWinter's influence in town, once this scene plays out.

[arscott]

Ashleigh stares at you for a while before responding.

"Yes. But...

Only if you make nice with Connie. Jason moving away is a sore spot for her, and... well, I'm certainly on the first bus out of town once I graduate, but not everybody wants too leave."

She turns to look out the window. The sun is setting behind the hills, turning the sky brilliant shades of rose and golden and lilac-blue. The hill's shadow stretches over the town, and the shadowed streets with lighted windows are like a little manmade starfield. From here up on the bluff, you can see the picturesque shapes of the town's old buildings, but none of the rot or grime.

"Sometimes, we have to look a the whole picture and see the good in things."

[Raine_Sage]

Teresa Montoya, the Mortal
Harm: 0/4
Conditions:Crushing

Isabel's nickname is so incredibly cheesy but it also gives Teresa an affectionate warm fuzzy feeling every time she hears it. "See you tomorrow."

She finishes the rest of her homework, updates her blog, and fools around on the internet a little before heading to bed. She should think of a nickname for Isabel too. Hm what do you shorten Isabel to? Izzy? Izzypop like fizzy pop? No, no that's dumb it sounds like an off brand spice girl. Ugh she sucks at this.

Resolving to try again in the morning when she's not quite so fuzzy, Teresa turns in for the evening.

OOC: I think that's scene for me.