Day 2: Evening

Evening: 5:00pm - Midnight

[ IRL Timeframe: April 14th - April 22nd, 2019 ]

Unfortunately for everyone, the second day's events are far less rewarding than the first day's. Now that things are starting to get real, there are consequences for what's taken place. Both monsters caused a bit of damage and a mess with their departure, but the locals on the island are trying to stay positive. Sometimes things just get messy, they've dealt with this for forty years it's fine.

But the heroes are sure to have a lot on their mind. Injuries mean it's less of a game and more likely to sink in as real. How will your hero cope tonight? The Princess and her two knights are due for a rendezvous with the Protector and, on the other hand, there are some evil-allured knights due for some private time with the Wizard. What will come of that?

The Weather
Still.
61°F / 16°C
An eerie calm has fallen over the island.

Prompts:

05:00pm Clean-up Crews: Both Bamborough and Craydon were left with big neon-green splashes of blood that aren't going to just wash off. Numerous locals in both areas are hard at work cleaning up after the second monsters, scrubbing at buildings and assessing the damage to the island. In Bamborough, the locals are hard at work trying to salvage the damage to the boardwalk or put up caution tape around the destroyed areas. Is your hero lending a hand in all this? Is someone else helping? Bond over picking up the pieces, but hey... it could be worse, right?

5:30pm, Craydon: Despite being largely untouched by the monster's arrival, the citizens of Craydon have dropped by the train station to check in on the heroes. Anyone in the area will be given a small care package of items and offered a free coupon for any restaurant in the area. Will your hero go alone and run into someone who was craving the same food they were, or will they team up with their fellow heroes to drop by a restaurant together? Everyone needs to unwind, after all!

5:30pm, Bamborough: Despite the boardwalk damage, the Bamborough oceanfront diner is offering 'monster margaritas' tonight. They're set up as an open-air bar tonight, doors and windows open to let in the cool sea air. Every hero gets their first monster margarita free if they can stomach the bright green color, and they've got deep fried bar foods for half off. Come in, indulge, have a drink to get your mind off of the events of the day, heroes!

5:30pm, Far Haven: The Far Haven clinic has advertised that its doors are open to any hero injured, or just in need of a check-up, for the rest of the evening. They want to check in on all the heroes and make sure they're okay. Did your hero come alone and run into someone here? Or did they come together to get stitched up? Or maybe they just need to be reassured that everything will be okay.

8:30pm, 9:05pm, 9:40pm, Train station(s): As always, Social media is incredibly quick to report Wizard appearances. At 8:00pm they report that the Wizard is waiting for the train in Bamborough station. She does, in fact, board the train at 8:30pm and they start theorizing where her destination is. Social media points out that her train will be arriving in Craydon at 9:05pm, then it will get to Far Haven by 9:40pm. If a hero tries to find her when the train arrives back in the Bamborough station at 10:15pm, though, the train will be empty. Where will your hero find her? Bamborough between 8 and 8:30pm? On the train in Craydon at 9:05pm? Or when she disembarks in Far Haven at 9:40pm?

Procedure:

Reply to the appropriate toplevel comments for events below. Indicate if a post is a private conversation with "Private" in the subject otherwise all threads should be open to interaction with others. Plan OOCly how you'd like to toss everyone around.

Flat | Top-Level Comments Only

[Okay, this is a lot to take in. She gives him a handshake and mumbles a "nice to meet you, too" as she takes a step back to make room for him. She had seen him from afar the first day but, fuck, she did not think the man was this tall. She didn't think he'd be shirtless, either. She blinks a few times as she makes an honest to God effort not to look at his chest for too long or let her curious eyes investigate his tattoos - she likes to take in every detail about the people she meets, and Garrot certainly has many that call out to her.

She focuses on his smile when he chuckles, giving him a surprised one back as he mentions his profession. She thinks its nice; she likes the big chompers. She barely has time to wonder whether he'd find it offensive if she copied them for herself, when his question catches her off guard. He's not, like, a mental health type of doctor, is he?] I, uh, I'm goo—I didn't get hurt! If that's what you're asking.

Um, our fight was pretty easy, actually! Not much of a fight at all, really. Messy, but... [She can't help but giggle as she struggles a little to unstick her hand to Garrot's. She had washed them in a hurry at some public bathroom, but there was just something about monster blood that didn't quite leave until after the second shower.] Did your monster burst too, or...?

Yep... [ He shudders a bit before taking a bite of another mozzarella stick with his free hand. The one in the handshake, however, gets a few extra wiggles because ew, they just swapped monster slime. ] It got thrown into the ocean and just... boom! [ He makes an exploding motion with his hands. ] That shit got everywhere.

[ But then he sighs, gesturing towards the seat next to him. ] You wanna sit down? Bet you're tired. And hungry. [ And he just. Slides the plate of mozzarella sticks a little closer to that seat. He's smiling of course, trying to figure out what she's up to with all the smiling and staring. Maybe she didn't do any research, like damn near all of their allies?! ]

[You got her there! No research done. She takes the seat, setting her backpack on the floor between her legs.] I mean, I didn't wanna be rude, but you did yell something about paying for fellow Knights~ [That's the main reason she approached him! The other one is that she really needs to figure out who she can trust around here, and so far that is one person. She gingerly takes a mozzarella stick as she speaks.]

So, wait, the monster exploded when it touched the water? I didn't know that was a thing... [She looks down at herself. She wasn't too much of a Science Gal but maybe it'd been the blood? Her imagination runs wild as she takes a moment to eat her snack. Washing her hands had gone without incident but who knows what would happen if she took a bath!] Are we like, volatile right now?

Naaaah, I think we're fine! [ The dismissal is comically exaggerated, and he even shrugs. ] I mean, we got caught in the rain right after ours blew up, and we were fine. [ Barring the bleeding wounds and general displeasure at the situation, naturally. ]

But yeah, of course I'm paying, we've all earned it! [ Garrot pumps a fist in the air while the other tosses a mozzarella stick into his mouth. In about three seconds, his beastly teeth have shredded the thing and he swallows what's left. His eyes, however, are clearly sizing Olivia up. She definitely doesn't seem to know who he is. ] Have you...

[ Garrot shifts in his seat, rotating so his sweatpants' legs are a bit more visible in the bar lights. ] ...ever heard of MurtaCorp? The little medical company. [ He's understating, the company is huge. And his pants have their logo on them and given how large he is they must be tailor-made. ] Hospitals. Stuff like that. [ They own multiple hospitals around the world, in fact. If she's seen a doctor at all in her life, she's probably come in contact with their tech. Or seen articles about cutting-edge medical procedures. ]

Ring any bells? [ Garrot looks like the ~~cat~~ bugbear that ate the ~~canary~~ bacon pile. Please make him stop this stupid farce, Olivia. ]

[Olivia pursed her lips as Garrot mentioned the company, signaling the bartender to refill her margarita glass. She had heard of MurtaCorp, of course; she had had more doctor appointments than she cared to count while she was growing up - but she was way too sober to talk about all that. Her eyes catch the logo on his pants when he shifts his position, and his expression makes her think he either got hired by them recently and is Very Proud about it or he's high up in the chain. Either way, it's always more fun to play along!]

MurtaCorp? Oh, yeah, I might have a band-aid or two with their logo in my bag. Why'd you ask?

Well... [ He rolls his eyes cheekily, as if he's gossiping. Garrot loves it when people play along with his nonsense, so Olivia's really growing on him already. ]

I miiiiight be their Head of Research and Development. [ He looks a little smug at that, and after a beat he just raises and eyebrow and smirks. People always know who he is, so Garrot never gets to do this weird and entirely unnecessary flex anymore! ] Sometimes I get paid to blow stuff up.

[ And honestly, he just hopes she can connect Dr. Murtakhor with MurtaCorp. That one usually takes people a while. ]

Oh, fuck, for real? [She blurts out, despite her mouth full of mozzarella sticks. She puts her hand over her mouth and swallows before talking again. She didn't expect him to be that high up, honestly - she had pick-pocketed, robbed and stolen in every way possible from people in his same position, but MurtaCorp had never given her a reason to dislike them. Hospitals she hated, but as far as she knew, this company was helpful and Garrot should be one of the good guys. Which was sort of weird, because she was used to thinking about people in charge as an evil entity called the man.]

I've read a lot of good things about MurtaCorp, and magitek, and... [She stops herself to smile and thank the waiter as they bring her her second margarita.] Getting paid to blow up stuff sounds real fun, what's that about?

It's about whatever I want it to be, because I'm the boss! [ And he bellows out a single, boisterous HA into the air. But then Garrot exhales, returning to his closest attempt at normalcy. ] Sometimes, when we're doing things like fighting diseases, we learn that some random-ass compound will, when shifted fourty-five degrees, exposed to sunlight, and given a low charge from magitek, it explodes and everything within fifty feet smells like rotting peanut butter for a week. [ He looks both incredibly proud of himself and like a horribly mischievous pre-teen. Whoever gave Garrot this power probably made a horrible choice. ]

But then there's the really cool stuff, like magitek prosthesis. New arms! [ And then he laughs, because he thinks this is the Coolest. Thing. Ever! Garrot absolutely loves his job, most of the time. ]

[Olivia chuckles, surprised by his enthusiasm.] That sounds pretty fun, actually. Well, not the rotten peanut butter part- although I guess we probably smell worse than that now, huh...

[She gives him a genuine smile as he mention the prosthesis work. It's really refreshing to speak to someone who enjoys what they do, for a change. She sips her margarita before talking again.] You work a lot with former knights, don't you?

Hopefully we won't need any new arms by the time we're done here.

[ Garrot nods at the suggestion they smell worse than rotten peanut butter. It's true. But as she talks about heroes and arms, his enthusiasm increases, and starts to focus. ]

If we do, they're free of charge. Tune-ups and upgrades, too. [ He's not joking at all, but he's still smiling. ] We try to make sure they get the support they need. I was actually out here a couple years ago testing some prototypes for my medkit- we thought they'd be ready next year, but... [ He sighs. ]

This island is a lot different when I'm not a civilian.

[She listens attentively, still finding herself surprised by his generosity. As she recalled, the doctors her family was acquainted with when she was a child had been all about the long bills, so she wasn't sure if he was being honest about this. She wanted to believe he was, though. He didn't really seem like the type who could lie easily, anyway.

She tilts her head slightly when he mentions having been in the island before. For some reason, she hadn't really considered visiting the island was a choice people made.] Huh, so it's not your first time here...? When did you come? Was it during a Wizard Season, too?

[ Garrot tenses up a bit at the line of questioning, but since he's a big guy it's not hard to notice. He knows where this could probably go, and he wants to try and keep the negative, Wizard-associated emotions in check. They're in public, after all! ]

I've gone a few times over the last like decade. For work. [ A beat- Olivia barely knows his name, let alone what goes into his work. ] So we could see firsthand what the Knights and Princess had to deal with, medically. You can't pack for a trip if you don't know where you're going! [ That is a fucking horrible metaphor and he knows it, but he's trying! And then, as an offhand remark he keeps going. ]

And I was here twenty-nine years ago. [ It's an oddly specific number considering how vague he was about work. Their margaritas are both refilled, and Garrot immediately takes a drink from his. ]

[Observant as she is, she can't help but notice him tensing up, although she's not sure why. In any case, it serves to further cement her opinion that he's not hard to read, and therefore... trustworthy? Maybe. He definitely seems like the kind of guy who would tell the rest if the Wizard tried to influence him in his dreams, at least.

She nods as he talks, raising an inquisitive eyebrow at the last bit of information. She hesitates for a second, drinking her margarita as an excuse, but decides its best not to ask, considering his reaction at her questions.]

Sorry if I'm making a lot of questions. I'm uh, not too good at socializing. [She says, scratching the back of her neck. Hopefully he'll relax if he thinks she didn't mean to prod.]

I was mostly asking because I'm not too familiar with the area myself and I was hop- [She interrupts herself, blinking a few times as if to clear her mind. You are not telling a shirtless stranger at a bar to recommend a place to stay for the night, Olivia, what the fuck.] Uh. I was hoping you knew where's the best place to grab a bite. Since you've been here as a civilian before. 'Cuz they gave me a free coupon. [Does that sound like she's asking him out? Oh god, that's not better, please assume this is genuine curiosity. She should stop drinking. Or drink more? She takes another sip.]

[ Garrot quirks an eyebrow at her admission that she's not good at socializing. In fact, as she goes on, stumbling over her words and asks him for hot gossip on great food, he just starts smiling. It might be the alcohol, or maybe it's the fact that she's so uncertain it's kind of endearing. ]

You're fine, Olivia, no worries! [ He laughs a bit, reclining just a little and shifting to a posture that's about as relaxed as he can be, putting more of his weight on the table. ] I guess it depends on what you're looking for!

[ The diversion has worked marvelously, and now he's looking bright-eyed and enthusiastic. ] Do you have any dietary restrictions? Allergies? [ He tilts his head to the side a bit. ] What are you into? [ He's talking about types of food, and is oblivious to any other connotations. ] And where are you living? I mean, you don't wanna eat a ton of free food and then go walk, ride a train and walk some more. [ He's encouraging laziness, even hibernation, leaning into the bear part of bugbear. ] You gotta just go right home and relax, and eating at a good local place is the best!

[Olivia smiles too, satisfied that her diversion had worked. She looks a bit flustered as he shoots his questions and dubious advice, and although she knows he's talking about food, her mind definitely does a double take at the innuendo. She blinks in bewilderment a few times, but if she blushes she'll swear its just the alcohol. He probably didn't think about it, or maybe he did it on purpose and he's just joking around!

She shifts her position a little, freeing her tail as it gives a nervous swish.] Uh, no allergies as far as I know... no special diet, either. I like meat a lot, so a barbecue place might be nice? [She thinks for a moment. It's free food, so she might as well get her favorite things, right?] Actually, I haven't had a good cream pie in a long time, so if you know of a place that serves good dessert, that'd be ideal. [She is, genuinely, talking about food, not considering the other possible meaning of her words as she takes a mozzarella stick to her mouth, her train of thought having gone back to her living situation already.]

I was staying at a hotel nearby but I, uh, wasn't too comfortable there. [She admits, her tail softly drumming on the backpack at her feet. She takes another sip of her drink.] Far Haven might be my next stop, I guess.

If they don't roll out the red carpet for a Knight, they're probably not worth your time. [ He's more than willing to think it's just shitty customer service or a lack of mints as expensive as diamonds on the pillows. Seriously, they're saving the fucking world, they shouldn't need stress from wherever they're living! ]

But I'm out in Far Haven, and Matilda, the Dog Knight, she's literally across the street from me. [ He nods, clearly happy about that. The pedestrians who hear them shouting at each other from across the road? Notsomuch. ] I love having guests, so my door's always open! [ Well, except when he's sleeping, but if he gets woken up then a locked door is the least of everyone's problems. ]

If you're lookin' for the best pies on the island, you gotta go to Mawli's. [ Garrot nods, and he starts grinning! ] Most of their ingredients are from scratch, the prices are good, and there's even outdoor tables! [ But then he pauses, looking up at the ceiling before continuing. ] The lines were always big around breakfast and lunch, but if people know you're a Knight they'll probably get out of your way!

[ Beat people aside with your status, Olivia. There will never be repercussions to something like that. Nope. ]

There's like, a bunch of abandoned houses and such there, yeah? Maybe we'll be neighbors, then.

[She wrinkles her nose a little at the Knight Entitlement™, clearly disapproving.] Hmmm, I don't know... the hotel was really pretty but it just - didn't seem safe, you know? And I don't mind waiting in line, I feel like... I don't think that my time is worth more than anyone else's, if that makes sense? [She looks down at her drink as she quietly shares her thoughts - she normally wouldn't, but here they are.

After a beat, she shrugs and looks up at him again with a little smile.] But if you think this place is good, I'll check it out!

Your time might not be, but your business is. [ He's still smiling, and sounds like he's imparting parental wisdom. ] If Knights shop somewhere on the island, tourists go wild for the rest of the year! If you don't want the red carpet treatment, just don't let them know! [ Garrot points a finger to himself and just chuckles. ] I, uh... I don't really get to do that. [ He's clearly embraced being unavoidably high profile, but he shifts in his seat a bit as if changing direction. ]

And if you want to find a new place, make sure you check the property value online. [ He nods calmly, like an adult who knows things about real estate. ] Higher values probably have better security systems. [ A beat. ] But you might want to call the police first so they don't, you know, arrest you?

[ He has no idea what Olivia is capable of, but at least Garrot isn't shaming her for acquiring a new place. Even if his fire hose of advice was entirely not asked for, he's still smiling and pretty upbeat! It might be the drinks. ]

Oh~! that's so smart, I hadn't thought about it like that! We could help small businesses and - well, you and the other Knights could. Nobody knows what the Ox Knight looks like. [She smiles and, suddenly, a pale woman with short, curly hair has taken her place. She gives him a wink before dropping the illusion, clearly proud about her ability to have a low, low profile.]

That's good advice about the houses, too, but uh. I wasn't planning anything illegal, you know? [She laughs. Okay, maybe she had been planning something illegal, but he didn't need to know that.]

Do I know what the Ox Knight looks like? [ Garrot is sly about the question, giving Olivia a wink of his own as he asks. ] I hope she's always this cute. [ Does he mean endearing or attractive? ...Does it matter? Not to him. ]

Look, every house belongs to someone, even the condemned ones. [ He's in parent mode again, and he's leveled a serious gaze at the girl. ] They might think you're a looter. Plus if you call them, they could call the owner of a place you like and see if they hid a spare key.

[ A beat passes, and Garrot stifles a laugh before just smiling. ] If I have to pay your legal bills, I might have to start charging the others for my services! [ Is??? He??? Serious??? He sounds serious about paying for legal fees at least. ]

[She can't help but snort at the compliment, giving him an incredulous look.] The Ox Knight is never cute; I think the Monkey Knight had one too many monster margaritas.

[She finishes her drink - how many is that, at this point? And is about to reply to his advice before he... laughs and offers to pay her legal bills? He's gotten harder to read as she kept drinking, but his smile is contagious, and she gives him one of her own as she leans a little on the table, hand under her chin.] You're a weird man, Garrot.

It's not the margaritas, Olivia, everyone is weird when they reach my age. [ Absolutely false. He's rich, he's older, and he's successful, Garrot knows he can be incredibly eccentric and nobody can stop him. So he leans on the table, mimicking her posture with a hand under his chin. Garrot is still very big and tall, so he has to look down towards her. ]

But what's so weird about me? [ He sounds amused, and then a clawed hand casually dangles a mozzarella stick in front of his mouth and all those teeth. ] Is it the teeth? The claws? The eyes? [ Of course they're weird. The only whites in his eyes are pinpricks at his pupils- what would normally be white is a dark green, and his irises look almost black. He blinks, and instead of dark greens his eyes are teal, at least until he tosses that mozzarella stick into his mouth. Garrot doesn't look like he's talking with his mouth full this time, so poor Olivia's in the spotlight. ]

Edited 2019-04-25 15:13 (UTC)

[Olivia gives him a look over as he shifts his position; her eyes are right at chest level so it's not like she can help it, right? Sure, she'll tell herself that. As her gaze move back to his face, she does notice the green to teal change. She raises an eyebrow as she watches his eyes curiously, waiting for any more changes.]

I wasn't talking about your appearance, although, yeah, everything you mentioned is... hmm, unique. [She grins up at him, and her teeth are now big an pointy like his. He didn't seem to mind her changing her appearance before, so she hopes he's alright with it - she has in the past, both accidentally and on purpose, made people uncomfortable with her little trick, but she really thinks his is a nice smile.] I was talking about you. [She points at him with a mozzarella stick as she speaks.] And it was a compliment, you know?

[ Garrot's eyes go wide as Olivia's teeth change. He's caught off-guard by this, completely and utterly. She can look at his eyes all she wants, he's lookin' at them chompers! At least his eyes turn green again, and she doesn't seem hurt or anything. ]

As long as you're not calling me bad weird. [ Then they'd have problems, because Garrot's worked hard to come off as normally as possible! At least in terms of appearance. But then he tilts his head, his full attention returning to that little magic act. ] These are cool and this may sound weird, but- [ He blinks, coming to terms with what he's about to do. ] May I touch your teeth? And [ He blinks again! ] Can- can you look like me?

[ Big guy is absolutely fascinated, he can't even try to hide it. ]

[She bursts out laughing at his request, giving herself a moment before replying.] Oh, fuck, I wish I could say that's the weirdest shit I've been asked at a bar. [She shakes her head in amusement, biting off half of the mozzarella stick before concentrating on Garrot. As she tilts her body left and right, as if to look at him from every angle, her ears turn big and pointy, the shape of her nose changes to match his, and she suddenly gets a lot more hairy. Her normal black hair changes to brown and, as she runs a clawed hand through it, it's now in a ponytail like his!

When she's done, a female half-Bugbear grins up at him, dark green sclerae and all. She's still smaller than him in shape and size, however, and she still has a purple Tiefling tail.] Um, I can't make myself look exactly like you, and it's just... looks, sadly. It's an illusion. [She sheepishly explains this; her powers are very useful to her but she really wishes she could make actual physical changes. She really does look like an actual Bugbear, though, but the inspection won't pass a touch test.

She extends a hand anyway for him to touch if he wants to. And, if he asks, she'll shyly allow him to touch her face, too.] Just, uh, don't put your fingers in my mouth. The teeth may not be real but I will bite. [She jokes with a small smile. Except, no, it's not a joke.]

The Weather

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