maskeddarkness | Trial of Trials : Act 2

There's something uneasy that can be felt in the city, and seemingly no end to the rumors springing up in the wake of the downtown explosion that leveled BOARD's headquarters. Stories of an odd sickness where the afflicted suddenly winds up anemic, their blood levels dangerously low, despite feeling fine that morning have already taken root, others of strange animals seen roaming at night, and horrible screams and gunshots in one of the parking garages....

The space where the ill-fated headquarters lays silent, an empty patch of dirt and gravel that seemed to attract those drawn to stories and rumors. Police have already had to shoo away opportunists with metal detectors, hoping to find something interesting in the impressively quickly cleared wreckage, and others have reported something that just feels... wrong, when they walk by the site. The ghosts of those who hadn't made it out of the collapse? Or something else? Noone can really put a finger on it to explain.

And meanwhile, under the cover of shadows, things unknown to those who still walk in the light continue to move. Whispers of the rogue mage and a treasure trove of information, of upsets in the vampire hierarchy, and sworn revenge on the mages who had used one of their own for their gain.

And deep in a hidden lab, BOARD's remains and allies continue to work, twisting all they can get their hands on to create the perfect weapon; made of the very things they wish to cleanse from the world. The loss of the incapacitated vampire elder was only a small one, with how much they had already extracted and drawn from it. And if the rumors of their knowledge being in the hands of their enemies were true? They would just have to speed up their projected timeline. Or simply slow down that of the world. After all, they were mages. Reality bended to their will, not that of those who opposed them....

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"Not unless they're being very mean, no." Phillip grins at her. Which is not usually a lot of people.

"Good." Both because yelling isn't nice and what it indicates in this case.

She'll drink her cocoa in quiet, watching him.

Phillip will sip at his, smiling back at her. It's... really, really unfortunate that she's in this situation, but hopefully there are enough people to look out for her. "Are you excited about moving?"

"Louise is worried because of it." And that makes her a bit scared. Usually when her fetch is worried, it means that trouble are at the horizon, sometimes mundane ones like one of her adopted siblings being sick, sometimes much less mundane ones.

"But she said I would get a bigger room and that is good."

"Well... moving can be pretty scary. And stressful, for adults." He imagines it's even more so when you add supernatural communities that you don't really belong in/actively register as a threat to to all the normal moving stressors. "Bigger room is nice. Do you have one all to yourself?"

She nods thoughtfully. Adults worry a lot.

"It's bigger because I get all of it! Because Thomas is already a big child and will start school next year, he'll get a room of his own." Her brother is very big. And very normal, and the reason for the separate rooms is more so he won't notice just how weird Lottie is sometimes, but Louise is keeping that train of thought very closely to her chest.

Even if she doesn't say it, Phillip has to wonder if that's part of the logic. Changelings are a weird bunch in general, and if you add that to being a kid who's never known anything different, around other kids, who can kind of be assholes... yeah.

"That's nice. Do you get to pick what color the room's going to be?" ....He's rapidly running out of ways to talk to the child, he has no idea what kind of things interest three year olds.

"...I don't know." She hasn't really thought about that yet. "What colour is your room?"

"Mine's white, but that's 'cause I'm not allowed to pick. I live in an apartment." And ok, he could paint it if he wanted, but if he has to move (which is always a possibility), that seems like it would be too much work.

"Mine won't be white. I don't like white walls." The statement is very prompt. Sure, she doesn't know if her parents - Louise and her partner - will be okay with that, but she absolutely doesn't want white walls because they're terrifying for her, especially when she wakes up to them.

Phillip nods. "Well, luckily yours won't have to be. Do you like lighter colors or darker ones?"

This bears some deep thought. "...I like all colours! Your hat is a really nice colour, too."

In the background, Louise quietly steps into the kitchen, feeling significantly more human (or whatever the appropriate terminology is) after a good shower, and starts to put the few things they've brought which go into the kitchen into the right spots.

"Thanks. I like it too. Maybe when I have my own place I'll make a room orange." Maybe not.

...He's a little less comfortable with Louise back in the room, but he'll give her a nod and keep occupying Lottie for now.

"I want one like that too. Where did you get it from?"

Louise will vanish again after a bit and can be heard dragging something soft and heavy up the stairs now - one of the compressed mattresses near the door, to be exact. It does sound a bit like she's dragging a limp body, though, and Lottie turns around to see if she can see the source of the sound.

It's probably not a good sign that everyone present probably knows exactly what dragging a limp body sounds like, but... eh. "Do you need any help?" he'll call out to her, mostly to be polite.

Phillip thinks about it. "Pretty sure I got this as some sort of farmers-craft-market thing." It's one of the few accessories he wears that's completely non-magical.

"No, thank you!" Louise calls back. Everyone is probably happier with her over here and the two Changelings over there.

So if they have such hats at the market... "Can you take me to that market thing?" The biggest hat might even fit her, though it might raise eyebrows when they try it on.

Oh yeah, definitely. But he's trying to act like this is fine, at least.

"Yeah, if it's ok with your... guardians." Is that the best word for this situation?

"They said it's okay!" Lottie, you didn't even ask, this is not very convincing.

Kids. "Yeah, I think I need them to tell me that. Just to make sure."

How did he see through her flawless lie? "M- Louise!" She rolls around, using her plated exoskeleton to not have to walk until she reaches the door. "Can I go to the market?"

It takes a minute or two before Louise answers, and then there are steps before she stands in the door and leans down to scoop Lottie up before answering. "Not today. You need to make your introduction at the Freehold first.

When is it again?" Please tell her that it is far enough into the future for the child to have forgotten about it by the time it rolls around...

"It's not until next weekend anyway." So... yes. Plenty of time for her to forget. Phillip will stand up, now that he's not trying to be on the same level as Lottie. "And you should definitely go the Freehold before you wander around town too much."

"I don't want to go to a new Freehold!" Lottie frowns. "I want Mattie!"

"We-"

"I WANT MATTIE!"

"...Sorry-" Louise says over the child insisting that she wants Mattie once more. "Thank you for helping, I'm sure you and Lottie will meet again, but I also think she needs to sleep now, it's been a long day."

"It's fine," Phillip says with a vague wave- he's surprised the kid lasted as long as she did. "I can find the way out. See you later, Lottie."

Lottie doesn't respond, not even when Louise tries to coax her into 'saying bye to the nice boy', and instead mumbles about wanting Mattie still.

So he'll just get a look of apology from Louise before she carries Lottie upstairs.

Trial of Trials : Act 2

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