Halloween GP

[londoncallingmods]

The weather today had been fairly pleasant, a mostly sunny day wedged between fairly grey ones. It wasn't warm, but the chill was minimal for this time of year, and there wasn't a drop of rain in sight. As night crept in, however, the streets slowly faded from sun kissed and painted in autumnal colours, to foggy and damp. An odd thing, really, since the forecast had predicted a clear and pleasant night.

It wasn't normal fog either, it was denser, thicker, and it carried an distinct scent, like cinnamon sugar and chestnuts. It was so thick it seemed to drain the streets of their colour, leaving the wold desaturated and grey. More importantly, anyone with a bit of magic in them would sense, quite quickly, that it wasn't of this world. It crackled quietly with power, dark and heavy. Unfriendly.

It was around nine pm that the local police stations began to receive calls, things they assumed were pranks at first, but soon began rolling in so quickly and frequently that it seemed something more was afoot. The evening news spoke of mass hysteria, warning people to stay indoors. Conspiracy blogs were lit up with chatter of chemical warfare, and some 'airborne drug'. There were reports of people seeing everything from long dead loved ones, to killer clowns.

Though despite the nervous chattering of talking heads and twitter addicts, most people were paying the supposed danger no mind. Clubs and bars on every block were blasting music and throwing costume parties, people were out with friends, wandering the streets and looking for a fun time. It may have been Monday, but that didn't seem to be stopping many people from enjoying the holiday.  

For the most part, everything seemed fine. ...The crowds and groups remained oblivious to the danger of the fog. ...It was only those who slipped off on their own, to have a quick smoke, to get some air or head home early. They were the ones in danger, they were the ones who's darkest fears seemed to emerge from the thick fog. 

Around 10pm, reports started to come in regarding a body found in Whitechapel, cut open wide and left to bleed out. No prints at the scene, no signs that anyone else had even been there. The CCTV footage had somehow been rendered useless, glitched out and blurred. A trouble echoed by every other security camera on the street. It was enough to set twitter and the internet off all over again, with talk of how the things seen in the fog might, somehow, be real.

(Happy Halloween! The fog is bringing fears and spoops to life! You can make the creatures and fabrications of the fog as personal or general as you like. Whatever works best to spook your pup. If, for any reason, you don't want your pup to see any spooks, that's totally fine too. It's not a required plot. Unlike last year, this time around the creepy things your pup might see can harm them and do real damage. Though they will vanish in the morning. If your pup is sensitive to magic in any way, they might sense that this magic is distinctly fae. If you have questions about what you can or can't do, just ask in slack! Though really, the only limit here is your imagination. Remember to check with other players before doing anything that might seriously hurt their pup, ect, ect, and have fun!)

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[wispofathing]

Apparently unperturbed at the hardness of the floor, Curnen had curled up and slept herself. She didn't wake when the wolf did, but when he shifted back, she came awake all at once. She lay quietly for a moment and watched him out of the corner of her eye before pushing herself to sit up.

"Hi," she said, like it was perfectly normal to wake up in a strange werewolf dungeon basement.

[leloupnoir]

"Hello," Akeem answered, looking over to give the Fae a small smile as he buttoned up his trousers. "Thank you for your help." He pulled his undershirt on as he stepped over to the door, then fiddled with the lock until he had the right combination. "I don't usually lose control like that anymore." With the door opened, he slid his feet back into his shoes and picked up the rest of his clothes. His hands were trembling slightly; he needed food, his vitamins, and rest.

[wispofathing]

Curnen rubbed her eyes before she pushed to her feet. There was a shift, she could tell. Not that she had been subtle and he hadn't suspected her before, but while the words hadn't passed either of their lips, she could tell he knew what she was. This didn't disturb her. She'd made her choice, and she didn't regret that.

She fished in her pocket. She still had his keys "You feeling all right?"

[leloupnoir]

"As well as can be expected, I suppose," Akeem answered honestly, and held his hand out for the keys with a thankful smile. "I don't think I'll be opening the shop today. You've really been such a help. If there's anything I can do to thank you properly..."

[wispofathing]

After everything it was this that made Curnen blush and lower her eyes, not quite able to look at him as she surrendered the keys. "No, that's okay, I wanted to."

[leloupnoir]

"Thank you," Akeem said again. "I... need to eat something." A lot. "Would you like to have breakfast? I live upstairs."

[wispofathing]

That got Curnen's eyes back up and she nodded, looking for all the world like any other slightly bedraggled young person did when offered food--grateful and a touch pathetic. Actual memories were few, far between, and blurry, but the impression of hunger being a constant concern remained from her time under the curse. Even if she wasn't hungry, she hadn't reached a point yet where she'd learned to say no again.

[leloupnoir]

"Come on, then," Akeem told her with a friendly smile, and headed up the stairs, switching the lights off once he reached the shop. He pulled his shirt on, then led the way out to close up the shop, then take her upstairs.

The flat was lived in and homely without being untidy. There were pictures on some of the furniture, a lot of them of his mother, and/or of his wife, a beautiful white woman with a dazzling smile. "Please, make yourself at home," Akeem invited her with a smile, toeing off his shoes. "I was going to go for a full English breakfast, if that would agree with you?"

[wispofathing]

"Yes, please." Curnen followed his cue and removed her shoes as well (those of all pieces of clothing had been the hardest to get used to again, and she still wasn't wild about them). She went to investigate the pictures, curious about who these women in most of them were. One was clearly a relative, the resemblance was too strong to be otherwise.

[leloupnoir]

The flat was otherwise full of a mix of Middle Eastern and Western touches. The coffee table in the lounge was surrounded by a couch and an armchair, but there were also cushions piled in a corner, to sit on the floor around it. The kitchen where Akeem was headed was basic enough, but before anything else, he turned to the array of bottles on the counter, and took a vitamin pill from each of them. Only then did he turn the stove on and pull out a pan before getting what he needed out of the fridge. "How do you prefer your eggs?" he called out.

[wispofathing]

"Scrambled, please," she called back, picking up one of the photographs for a closer look. "Is this your mother?" she asked. If not, another relative he loved like a mother, certainly.

[leloupnoir]

"Yes," Akeem called back as he set some bacon in the pan. It was very unlikely that she was asking whether Laura was his mother, and most photographs were of one or both of them. "She was an opera singer."

[wispofathing]

Curnen was pleased as punch to learn that. "Excellent!" She had only spent a short part of her life on tour--short even by human standards--but she did know something of how difficult it was to sing professionally like that. You had to love it to the point of pain. "Soprano or alto?"

[leloupnoir]

"Alto, actually," Akeem answered, busy at the stove for now. "Do you like opera, then?"

[wispofathing]

"No," Curnen admitted, coming into the kitchen for ease of conversation. "I mean, ain't that I dislike it, only I don't know much about it. It's just it takes a special blend of talent and love to dedicate yourself to music like that."

[leloupnoir]

Akeem gave her a polite smile when she joined him in the kitchen, and resumed cracking eggs into a second pan. His hands were still trembling slightly, but it was nothing that prevented him from cooking - and nothing that eating and a nap wouldn't fix. "It rather does," he agreed, affection for his mother warming his voice. "I spent a lot of my childhood touring with her."

[wispofathing]

"You love her very much," Curnen observed, her own tone revealing that she thought that was sweet. She felt a momentary urge to help, but she was a guest and she didn't want to be rude. He didn't strike her as the type not to ask if he needed it.

[leloupnoir]

"I hope I do the love she bears me justice," Akeem confirmed, still as warmly. It was certainly put to the test, these days.

[wispofathing]

"And the other lady. Your wife?" He was wearing a ring after all, it made sense.

[leloupnoir]

"Yes, she was," Akeem confirmed with a small smile. "She passed away." It was a statement of fact, at this stage. The pain of her loss would never completely fade, but he had reached acceptance quite a few years ago, now.

[wispofathing]

Curnen flinched, her own hand instinctively rubbing over where her ring no longer was. Her own grieving process had been... well, someone would suppose in five decades that a body could move on, but her time in the woods hadn't been conducive to processing complicated emotions. In a lot of ways, it still felt like Brushy had only died a couple of years ago.

She'd wondered a time or two if this was why her wings stayed hidden from her. And then made herself stop. "I'm sorry."

[leloupnoir]

Fortunately, he had also grown out of the anger he used to feel every time someone expressed their sympathy, an occurrence that he felt must have happened a good million times, and Akeem only gave her a small smile. "Thank you." The bacon and eggs were filling the kitchen with a delicious smell, and he grabbed some bread to pop it into the toaster.

[wispofathing]

It was selfish, but Curnen knew at least that those words had been more for her own sake than his. But it was curiosity rather than sympathy that made her ask, "What was she like?"

[leloupnoir]

"Brilliant, of course," Akeem answered with a warm smile. "Sharp of mind and tender of heart. The shop downstairs, it was her idea. We used to run it together." Of course, back then she had run it more than him, busy as he had been writing.

[wispofathing]

Curnen's lips curved in a little smile. "She must've been. Married and business partners, that ain't an easy feat." It might sound like platitude especially from someone who looked as young as she did, but she did mean it. Running a business was hard. Being married was fucking hard. Putting them together in one relationship wasn't something most people should attempt. Hell, the closest she could think of anybody making that work was Peggy and Marshall Goins, and that was because Miss Peggy basically ran the Catamount Corner on her own and Marshall worked for her while he was there but otherwise had his own shit to see to since no one was dumb enough to run against him for mayor and take on that utterly depressing job.