londoncallingrpg | Solstice War

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.)

Flat | Top-Level Comments Only

Well, that was a neat trick, Eric thought to himself as his gaze landed on one of the frozen beasts. He glanced at Winter, impressed, and that second's distraction allowed another of the creatures to jump on him. A burst of vampire speed later and its head was rolling to the ground, for all that Eric sported a few more bites and scratches.

Just in case the freezing was temporary, he made a point to throw his next couple of assailants into their frozen colleagues, watching them shatter with a satisfied smile.

All in all, the fight was over quickly, the street littered with dead creatures. Eric's wounds were in the process of healing, but most of the blood on him was black rather than red as he turned to the pixie.

"I told you to get to safety," he remarked, but it didn't sound like an admonishment. It sounded almost like approval.

Eric's words weren't unkind, but Winter still looked a touch scolded, even as he shrugged one slim shoulder and rolled his eyes in that infuriatingly teenage fashion. It didn't matter how grown the pixie was, there would always be parts of him that were stunted and youthful.

"I was safe, you were here, weren't you? Elsewhere I might have been alone," Winter pointed out, looking a bit shaken, but offering up his usual pixie logic.

Eric really wasn't looking to get into an argument on the matter, far from it. So he moved straight on. "So. What the fuck are these things?"

"Milesian, rotten fae, the darkest of dark," Winter said softly. "It's the season of war, and the Unseelie have called them to battle, I think."

"And they decided to fight it out here?" Eric asked, a note of incredulity creeping into his voice.

"Decided is a strong word," Winter replied, wrinkling his nose a bit at it. "I think it just happened. "I wouldn't know though, I'm a pacifist. ...Mostly. Well, except when I'm not."

"This is already getting out of hand," Eric stated, annoyed. Why did it have to happen here, of all places? "Let's get you to safety before something decides to make a snack out of you." Whether one of those Milesians or a vampire.

"Everyone's always protecting Winter," the pixie sulked, belatedly realising that wasn't something to get upset about. It was, actually, a nice thing.

"Will you stay with me?" he asked.

"No," Eric answered without hesitation. In other circumstances, he might have. "I have a lot of work to do. Is your tree safe?"

"I don't know, I haven't been there yet," Winter said honestly. "It's where I was going before I saw you and-"

Winter fell silent suddenly, head tilting as he felt a shiver of magic in the air.

"More are coming," he whispered. "Their magic is like ink, seeping through the air and winding down the streets."

"Get out of here, fly," Eric told him. "I'll deal with them."

The last thing he needed was an injured pixie on the streets. Enough vampires had trouble resisting the call of Fae blood.

"Don't tell me what to do," the pixie snapped. "You're not my boss, I'll do as I like," he huffed, extending his hand as two creatures started charging towards them, and freezing them with a single blast.

"Everyone is always telling me what to do, but I'm not a child, and I'm not a pet, and I will do as I damn well please. I'll even swear. I'll swear all day, about everything," the pixie raged- Well, as much as a pixie could rage. It was more like a slightly unsettling tantrum.

Another two creatures approached, and Winter froze them too.

"I'm having a conversation, and you're all being very rude!" he told the frozen beasts, glaring at them.

Eric did not flinch as Winter froze two creatures, and then two more. He was ready to move if Winter showed even the slightest desire to do the same to him, however.

"Swear all you fucking want, but I'd appreciate it if you didn't end up bleeding all over the city like half the Fae in town," Eric replied, glaring at the pixie.

"I'm not bleeding, they are!" Winter huffed, his anger causing one of the frozen beasts to shatter.

Eyes a bit wide, the pixie lowered his hand and looked at Eric. "I meant to do that," he lied. "I'm a badass."

"You're a liability who can't control what he can do, apparently," Eric replied mercilessly. Why the fuck did pixies and Fae have to be impossible to glamour? He did not need this shit right now. "But do as you like. Don't look to me if you end up wounded, and vampire snack."

With that, he zoomed over to the other three frozen creatures, shattering each of them in turn.

"I would be the best snack!" Winter shouted after him. "I'd be delicious!"

Huffing, the pixie turned to leave, only to slam right into a creature that definitely was not a Milesian or unseelie. A flash of teeth told the pixie exactly what it was looking at, and he gasped as he took a step back. ...It looked mad. Not angry, but insane. It moved again, and Winter instinctively froze it, though the other creature was so fast that by the time it was ice, it already had one hand on him, forcing the pixie to twist out of its frozen grip.

"Eric..." Winter said softly. "...You- Your kind- You haven't tried to eat the Milesian, have you?"

"For fuck's sake," Eric muttered as he looked over. He was by the pixie the next second, breaking the vampire's frozen hand to make it easier on him. He didn't recognize the vampire, and didn't know why he would be stupid enough to do so. Those Milesians smelled off.

"Now you've murdered your first vampire, will you do as I ask before you bring about a war between our species?"

"I didn't murder him!" Winter insisted, his voice soft and cracking nervously. "I could thaw him out, I've been practising. ...He might not like that now though," the pixie admitted, looking at the missing hand, and then swallowing hard before shrinking down and taking off.

Eric hoped that the pixie was headed home, where it was safe, and not about to get into more trouble. He waited until he'd flitted away, and then shattered the vampire, too. Easier for all involved if all traces of him simply melted away.

This had already been a long night, and there was a lot of it to get through, yet.

Solstice War - Gathering

Re: OTA

Re: OTA

Re: OTA

Re: OTA

Re: OTA

Re: OTA

Re: OTA

Re: OTA

Re: OTA

Re: OTA

Re: OTA

Re: OTA

Re: OTA

Re: OTA

Re: OTA

Re: OTA

Re: OTA

Re: OTA

Re: OTA