Solstice War - Gathering

[willysilver]

The Solstice was upon them. When the sun went down the magic began to swell, the veil between this world and the Other Side thin as vapor. Mortals could sense it, even, though they may not have a name for it. They gathered together, not realizing the animal instinct of safety in numbers.

But all around the city, from the dark parts, fae began to come together as well. Unseelie filled the city- boggarts and Red Caps and things unseen for many a year with bright eyes and sharp teeth. But they were tricksy, dangerous and malicious but no worse than they ever were. The real threat, the ever present danger this year, were the Milesian that crawled out of the sewers and tube tunnels to prowl they city. They were hunting tonight. They had eyes black and soulless, eyes too wide for their white, gaunt faces. Larger than their eyes were their mouth. The smile of needle fangs glinted in the street lights. Long arms ending with spidery, spindly fingers reached and clawed at passers by from the shadows.

There was a war in the city tonight and the nature of the foe, the Milesian, meant no bound mortal needed to be near any battle. Death would come to one or the other if a killing blow came down.

But there was hope. Seelie fae prowled the city as well, fighting for Light and Air. Even the Queen had seen fit to step through with her sword and shield. Such was the threat to the Fae way of life that the Milesian presented.

The longest day of the year dawned but the sunlight did nothing to frighten off the dark forces. The longest day of the year simply meant the things that went bump in the night were attacking in the light.




(Tag in, tag around! Open all week so check back. Have fun with your adventures. If you don't want any Milesian, there are plenty of Unseelie, too. Day or night, whichever works for you.)

Comments

Re: ota - pre Will thread

[prince_of_nymphs]

Fin sighed as he watched her go, but he didn't stop her. This was right, he knew it was. He needed to start being more independent.

Re: OTA

[vampireevolved]

Azri nodded, then seemed to fade into the shadows.

Godric rested a hand on Eric's shoulder. "Thank you, Eric. I will explain, when we have more time."

More time later, it turned out as armored fae began to appear nearby, and Azri in his shadows with them. "Sheriff, shall we?"

[vampireevolved]

"I have time still. It will only take a moment, two perhaps, to get to my progeny's home." Godric could sense the approaching dawn not to be caught out in the sun. Right then, he was more concerned by Anael, who seemed so far from who he'd been when they met.

"I will not ask if you are all right. Is it only these creatures that weighs on you?"

[offthebeatenpath]

Home she could do, and Em directed the pegasus straight in that direction, not caring who might see them flying. There were creepy fairy zombie monster things roaming the streets and attacking people. Fae warriors fighting them. A flying horse couldn't be any stranger.

A few minutes later, they set down in an alley near the squat. "Are you okay?"

Re: OTA

[thenorthman]

Eric shot Godric a look that should be easy to read as 'Efficient', with an undercurrent of, 'I like it.' That had been fast, after all. "Let's," he said out loud, and stepped into the shadows clinging to the Fae.

[whispersoflove]

"It is too much to get into while there might still be some of them afoot," Anael replied neutrally. It was the truth, or at least it was his truth. He did not intend to rest until the sun had gone up, and he was certain that the creatures had retreated.

[jageskro]

"Are you?" Jag shot back as he dismounted, and held his hand out to her. Not because she needed help dismounting - she'd definitely dismounted from a pegasus a lot more than he had - but because touch, and Em.

[utterly_mysterious]

Angelique gasped, shocked at how fast the thing moved, and she tried to back away from the impossibly long arms. She met Sunny's eyes for that nerve-wracking moment, then she darted out of the way, surprisingly fast on platform heels. They were in it, now, and Angelique wouldn't cower and hide and wait for Sunny to save her. She just wasn't that kind of girl.

The nails Sunny had given her were shifted from her palm to poke up between her clenched fingers. Angelique couldn't make a very threatening fist, but she'd learned how to hit, and according to Sunny the iron could only help.

[harrowgate]

Felix certainly caught that hiccup with verb tenses, and while he arched a perfect red brow, he didn't explore it just yet. They had more immediate concerns. "You lead, I'll light up anything that gets in our way," he suggested. "I have an unlimited supply."

He glanced back over his shoulder, and nodded to move her onward. The creatures would be back, he was sure of it. "It... was you I saw last Halloween, wasn't it?" Felix asked after a moment. "I don't remember everything, but I feel quite certain on this."

[vampireevolved]

It was not the answer Godric would have preferred, but it wasn't a surprise that whatever bothered an angel so would take explanation, if Anael wanted to share at all.

"Then I will fight them beside you until I have to go." Godric had intended to stay out as long as possible, even before he'd run into Anael. "And hope our paths cross again in the future."

[whispersoflove]

"God willing," Anael replied, although it wasn't his usual sort of prayer. "Let's take to the skies. We will find them more quickly that way." He held his hand out to Godric. "I can cloak you along with myself, if we are touching."

[offthebeatenpath]

Em took the hand, mostly because she craved touch as much as he did, and swung her leg over the saddle, letting go of the projection as she slid off the pegasus. "Iiii will be," she settled on, now green eyes looking over Jag again, since he hadn't answered before turning the question back around on her.

Soft sounds from down the block, and Em seemed caught up in thought as a memory replayed. "We should get inside, though, before more show up," she told him, absently pulling a card from her pocket and flipping it over her fingers, just in case.

[jageskro]

"Check on Jake and Ollie," Jag agreed, but first he wrapped a light arm around her shoulders and kissed her forehead. Once that was done, though, they were headed for the house.

[offthebeatenpath]

That was definitely a shudder as Em started in the direction she'd Seen them take, and it wasn't fear of the fairy zombie whatnots currently crawling all through London.

"I try not to think about last Halloween too much. I wasn't... entirely apperceptive." A Sabine word, but Swords over Cups, thought over feeling, giving Em a little necessary distance from that night.

[vampireevolved]

Godric normally relied on his speed and the darkness of night to keep others from seeing him flying. Humans who caught a glimpse rarely saw enough to know what they'd seen. But he took the offered hand in his cool one, a small nod suggesting he was ready when Anael was. There was more to be done before the morning came.

[offthebeatenpath]

Hopefully Jake and Ollie had had the sense to listen to her warnings and were inside and safe. The kiss and Jag's sweetness made Em smile, and she leaned into him for a breath before they went in. Once the door was shut behind them, she could breathe a little easier.

"I don't know if it's London or this reality or what, but way too much strange shit happens here."

[jageskro]

"Feels like it's got worse those last few years," Jag stated, then let go of her to walk further into their home. "Jake, Ollie?"

[akatawitch]

Sunny grinned, a smile that was all teeth and no sweetness. "I wish I could go for killing them with my brain. But killing them with fire is doing fine for me."

[harrowgate]

Felix, on the other hand, was practically entirely comprised of Swords. Swords were, metaphorically speaking, bristling out of him all over. For that reason, he had some measure of difficulty admitting, "I... seem to remember multiple versions of that night, so I may understand to a certain degree."

[akatawitch]

The thing twisted its body in the air so that Sunny's blow made it land against the wall like a spider before skittering down and toward them on all fours, long, spindly limbs. Sunny swore and pointed her knife at the thing, yelling a word and shooting it with lightning. The thing thrashed and flailed, half in pain, half determined to claw them in spite of its momentary loss of control.

[utterly_mysterious]

Sunny was... incredible. Quick and powerful and sure of herself, even in the face of something so monstrous, and it took Angelique's breath away.

One of the thing's impossibly long arms struck out for them, and Angelique didn't think. She struck out with her fist, scratching it with the iron nails before it could catch Sunny unawares.

[akatawitch]

The nails tore through the creature's corpse white skin and the wound curled and smoked as if it had been burned. The Milesian screamed and recoiled, too stunned by the nature of the attack to retaliate.

Sunny saw her opening and drew a complicated symbol in the air, chanting low in Igbo. A glowing red circle drew itself around the thing. It was already smoking... she was just going to finish off the job.

When the circle closed, it glowed white hot and sent up a ring of fire that engulfed the thing in flames.

[offthebeatenpath]

There was an unintelligible call from Ollie's workroom, which Em took to mean he was fine, just busy. Not that she'd been too worried about Ollie, because face it, he was usually the sensible one of the four.

Listening for a sign from Jake, Em scrubbed her hands over her face, but it only made her more aware of how icky she felt after killing so many of those whatever-they-weres. Not guilty, because she'd seen and Seen what they were capable of and any she killed couldn't hurt anyone else, but icky, gross, unclean.

And, although she didn't like admitting it, a little buzzed.

[offthebeatenpath]

A pinpoint of color started to form in Em's white eyes, and the cutest Death flickered, before Em pulled herself back from memories of the rabbit hole she'd fallen down that night.

"Whatever magic it was going on that night was messed up." Because it had to have been magic, which was something Em knew almost nothing about, and definitely couldn't deal with. "I don't know if it was that, or just me, that made me go too far down the rabbit hole."

[offthebeatenpath]

"Fire is good. I like fire," sounded almost playful, Em's thoughts going to two pyrokinetics she more than just liked. "But fire's something I can only fake. But Death is pretty much death, even for these things."