Day 3: Evening

[wizardseason]

Evening: 5:00pm - Midnight

[ IRL Timeframe: June 16th to June 26th July 3rd, 2019 ]

No matter when the heroes defeated their monsters, or when the sixth monster was defeated and there were none left, everyone will be treated to an unfortunately familiar feeling. The world of the past will fade, slowly at first but gradually increasing in pace until they pass out to blackness.

Everyone will wake up on a beach, and not a beach in the town their residence is in. Looks like everyone will need to take the train back home or go for a really, really long walk.

More unsettling than that is that every hero will either have a decent suntan or a mild sunburn. Social media is abuzz with comments about the island "going still" and the knights "dead on the beaches". There are reports that all twelve knights and the princess were all defeated at the same time and left on the beaches as an advertisement that the world was over this year.

Naturally, the heroes will realize that they are not, in fact, dead. Better do some damage control, there. Anyone who tried to make any recordings in the past will find that the files are corrupted and unavailable. Looks like whatever happened is going to... stay in the past.

The heroes who are due for an evening visit in the Princess' Dream Citadel or in The Wizard's House will arrive there the moment they sleep.

---

The Weather

• Warmer than yesterday.
• 77°F / 25°C
• Everyone's in a bit of a panic!

---

Prompts:

• 05:00pm Beach Wake-up Call: Every hero will wake up laying on the wet sand of the beach. There's waves gently lapping at them, waking them up slowly from their abrupt return from the past. Everyone will feel a little groggy and their clothes will be uncomfortably crusted in sand. Here's to hoping that saltwater and sand will wash out? Make sure to remove the little crabs that have started crawling over you!


• 5:00pm, Craydon: The residents of Craydon are all safely at home up the mountain by now. The only people still lingering around the Craydon beaches are fishermen working to prepare for their sunset runs. The offshore cages aren't going to empty themselves, after all! Fortunately this means they have, and can offer, blankets and hot drinks while they're heading out. It's not much, but they're here to help. At least the heroes are hopefully not alone?


• 5:00pm, Bamborough: The residents of Bamborough are really just the locals, concerned for the future of the world and of the heroes. Instead of waking up alone, they'll find little boxes of dry towels and bottled water beside them. Looks like the residents were pretty sure they were going to wake up at some point because they've left little kits to help them wake up with. It's not much, but it's better than nothing. The boardwalks of Bamborough are empty, with not a single soul out and about. The local shops, though, are pretty much business as usual. They'll immediately bustle in excitement when the heroes show themselves. Also: Free showers near the beach boardwalks! Better get all that crusty sand cleaned off.


• 5:00pm, Far Haven: The city of Far Haven is simultaneously the most cold and impersonal and the most immediately helpful. Each hero in Far Haven will wake up with a little walkie talkie beside them. If they pick it up and reach out, they'll be immediately told to come to the Far Haven hospital for immediate medical assistance. Once there, they'll be offered a free shower, water, hydration, a medical checkup, and a free coupon for the Craydon hot springs. There are even little kits set out for the knights in other towns. But... there's no one to bring them to the other towns, whoops. Guess they're carry-out only?


• 5:35pm onward, Train station(s): The train has a pretty reliable schedule for the evening, ending in Far Haven at 11:25pm. One way or another, the train is going to be how your hero makes their way back home to sleep for the night. Will the ride be uneventful, or will it be spent with others?
  
  • Bamborough: 6:45pm, 8:30pm, 10:15pm.
  • Craydon: 7:20pm, 9:05pm, 10:50pm.
  • Far Haven: 6:10pm, 7:55pm, 9:40pm, 11:25pm.


• 6:00pm, Bamborough: In the outdoor seating area of Slyder's Wizard Sliders, a Wizard-themed burger restaurant in the most touristy area of Bamborough near the waterfront, the Wizard herself is seated at one of the tables under a big umbrella. Despite the big umbrella, she's still wearing her massive hat: Double shade from the setting sun. Sitting on the table is a small wizard-themed drink with little lightning bolts sticking out of the blue liquid.


• 8:00pm, Far Haven: Social media is quick to add the #wizardsighting hashtag to posts made by officers at the police station in Far Haven. The Wizard is seated up on the rooftop ledge of the police station, legs dangling over the third floor edge, surrounded by fireflies sparkling in the night. All a hero has to do is tell an officer they'd like to go up to talk to the Wizard and they'll be escorted to the elevator to the roof. Up you go, heroes!
  

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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.

Comments

5:35pm onward, Train station(s):

[wizardseason]

The train has a pretty reliable schedule for the evening, ending in Far Haven at 11:25pm. One way or another, the train is going to be how your hero makes their way back home to sleep for the night. Will the ride be uneventful, or will it be spent with others?

• Bamborough: 6:45pm, 8:30pm, 10:15pm.
• Craydon: 7:20pm, 9:05pm, 10:50pm.
• Far Haven: 6:10pm, 7:55pm, 9:40pm, 11:25pm.

[daddykong]

As soon as Garrot learned that the general public thought they were dead, he knew what he needed to do. You know, after he got his bearings straight in Craydon. Since things were settling down across the island, it wasn't hard for the Monkey Knight to glare away any of the few pedestrians who tried to approach him so he could get some space to himself. Not only was Garrot soggy and wrapped in towels, but his hood was drawn over his head and at first glance, he'd look gloomy. But after a few moments...

"Come on... yes!" His face lights up, and Garrot's grinning ear-to-ear as he holds his phone facing himself. A video call? "Hey- yeah, I'm fine, I promise." A beat. "Look, if they thought we were dead, they could've checked for a pulse first!" He laughs, loud and boisterous and completely disregarding the world around him. But then he sighs, becoming solemn.

"There was... weird Wizard magic today. It's hard to explain on my own, but..." It's kind of difficult to explain Wizard-triggered time travel and children in obelisks and arm monsters in one day. And then all of sudden he looks offended. "I said I was fine! If you think I look rough, you should've seen that monster!" Once more, Garrot looses a booming laugh that sounds just a little forced.

[ I figure people can tell him to be less Loud, shoot the shit about time travel, or try to engage with the phone call and watch Garrot get very embarrassed. I'll roll with whatever. ]

[zafika]

At first when they arrive at the Craydon train station, Zafika only thinks about getting out of the train and out of the crowd, so they walk past Garrot, until their brain registers his voice and they come to a halt, turning their head to the direction his voice is coming from. They had been in the same city during the monster showdown, but they hadn't had time to group up. They wonder if they should at least check up on them.

Which, they eventually decide to do, even if they're feeling the tiniest bit awkward. Before Garrot can get to the train, Zafika quickly approaches him, but doesn't get within an arm's reach of him. "Garrot? Everything okay?" They haven't taken a look at him yet, but they can smell the sea on him, and with the monster having been what it was, they feel like they should ask out of courtesy if he's alright. And out of actual concern, because they know Garrot can fight, but nasty worries happen either way.

[daddykong]

Since Garrot is quite engrossed in his video call, it's not until Zafika closes the distance and speaks to him that he notices them. It helps that he's kind of really gross and people are usually keeping their distance.

"Oh! Uh..." He does jump a bit, still a little surprised. "Yeah, I'm fine! I, uh..." Garrot starts to smirk, turning the phone so both himself and part of Zafika are in frame. "Hacked through a monster and all its arms with a sword taller than you!" A beat passes, and he glances towards his phone. "Probably taller than you two, even!"

The two on the phone are clearly unfazed by the boast, but a pair of golden eyes close in on the camera, a manual zoom function. "Primary Caregiver, is that the Snake Knight?!" "Let us talk to the Snake Knight, Legal Guardian!" And then, in unison, "Pleeeeease?" Garrot just sighs, glancing to the ground for a moment before looking at Zafika and shrugging. Youths...

[zafika]

Zafika isn't exactly surprised that they managed "sneak up" on Garrot, it's been a long day, and they're not really paying attention to their surroundings either, just enough to not walk into people.

Meaning they don't pay it any mind that he sounds startled, and instead listen to his boasting. Which, probably would be more impressive if they weren't so tiny, but still, a person sized sword is big. They sure wouldn't want one pointed at them.

Only when they register the 'taller than you two' bit, do they realise that Garrot must be talking to his kids, and they decide lower their blindfold to hang around their neck. And yep, there sure are two golden eyes peering at them from the screen of Garrot's phone. They give Garrot an understanding look, before waving briefly at the kids. "Yes, it's me, the Snake Knight. I can talk for a bit, but... I don't want your father to miss his train."

They glance at the still stationed train, it doesn't seem like it'll leave just yet, but better keep an eye on it. And an ear on it too. Just in case.

[scandeled]

Garrot's not the only one trying to get ahold of someone- Matilda Hamilton is also nearby, pacing back and forth with her cellphone pressed close to her face. She doesn't look nearly as chipper, though- nor is she pouting like she usually would when troubled. And right as she finally gives up and hangs up-- Garrot laughs at something, and holy shit, she totally jumps, fumbles, and drops her phone completely.

She whips around, petite gloved hands balled, ready to fight someone-- on the phone with their family or not. "Must you?!"

[daddykong]

Despite the laughter, Garrot is still pretty stressed out and exhausted. So when he hears someone raise their voice at him, his body whirls around and he's locked onto the source. His fangs are bared, and he's glaring; reacting instead of observing.

"You wanna go?!" It's not until he snarls out the words that he realizes who he's dealing with. Matilda. The hand holding the phone drops to his side as he gasps. The woman on the other end is shouting, clearly displeased. "DAD, what the fuck?!" He does not register her words consciously.

Garrot sees the phone, remembers what she said about her family. And he worries. "M-Matilda! Are... are you okay?" Physically? Emotionally? Personally? His question was almost whispered, and his wide eyes and loosening of his stance makes him look about to snatch her up into a hug.

It sounds like the woman on the phone didn't pick up on the change, because now she's shouting. "Dad I swear, if you look, smell, and act like a stray dog we're sending you to the pound!" Garrot does notice that one, but he keeps the phone at his side and just... smiles sheepishly at Matilda.

[scandeled]

Matilda wants to go for about the same amount of time it takes for Garrot to drop his phone-- and then she's clearly remembered who she's dealing with, and looks much less tough. But then he asks if she's okay, and her annoyance shifts into something softer, as her shoulders droop.

Thankfully, the moment is ruined by the pound comment, and Matilda can't help but let out a rather unrefined snort. "Your laughter was so vociferous- the entire island could feel it!" She quips, bending to pick up his phone for him. He's gigantic, she wonders if he'd be able to get it himself. Don't mind her as she flashes a smile at the screen before offering it back to him. "Don't worry, he's a friendly puppy!"

Train from Far Haven to Craydon, 6:10 onwards

[zafika]

After a quick dinner, Zafika is on board the train finally, hogging too seats, their tail taking up the aisle seat while they're sitting on the window seat. Their arms are crossed as they lean against the wall next to them, and their eyes are closed underneath their blindfold. They look like shit, in a sense that they look extremely tired. Somehow even more so than on the first day of all of this.

Civilians on board the train are giving them their space and time to just be, either out of kindness or because they're intimidated, but they'll take both. They couldn't handle talking to anyone else except the other Knights or the Princess right now. So if there are other Knights or a single Princess on board feeling like having a minor, exhausted existential crisis over time travel shenanigans, they're welcome to join Zafika.

[eutychia]

The train ride and lack of social media has left Luka with little else to do but focus on the whispering of the civilians around him. His eavesdropping alerts him to the presence of the snake knight in the train car.

He considers not speaking up at all. After all, they weren't particularly close and Luka wasn't in his friendliest mood. But sitting in silence is only making his mood worse, and at this point anything to distract him from his wet clothes and ruined appearance would be a blessing.

"Zafika." He announces, not moving from his seat, unsure of where they are exactly yet. "You're here, yeah?"

[zafika]

Zafika straightens up suddenly when they hear Luka call out for them, and they quickly lower their blindfold to look around. They hadn't noticed him get on board, of course, they were busy being absolutely exhausted. But now they notice him, and after a moment of considering, they get up and move to sit next to him.

"I'm here. Are you okay? I mean, physically you look to be doing okay but..." They leave the end of the sentence hanging, because, well... he doesn't look so good. Actually, he looks like fucking death, emotionally, mentally, and little bit physically too.

[eutychia]

"Well, I'm alive, I guess. I woke up on the beach though, practically in the ocean. Not the most pleasant conditions." He says with a sigh and gestures to his soggy outfit.

Luka holds his phone in Zafika's direction, giving it a little shake to show them it's current damaged condition.

"What about you? How did the whole monster mess go? I'm a little cut off socially, so I've been in the dark."

[tropicalstorm]

Haizea made her way to the train sometime after leaving the hospital, unsure as to where she’s planning to go. She could head back to Bamborough, get a shower and a change of clothes, but she does have that Craydon hot springs coupon too. As she ponders her options, she’s lying down in a booth, rudely taking up the entire space, and might be drifting in and out of consciousness. The train runs in a loop, she’ll be fine.

Notably, she’s dressed a bit oddly. After waking up in the surf, she’d ditched her jeans and ruined boots, found a pair of flip flops, and tied her jacket around her waist. Otherwise, she’s just wearing her one piece and definitely smells of the ocean, her hair is a bit stiff and windblown from the salt and windy sea breeze.

[daddykong]

As it turns out, Garrot had a bit of a break between his phone calls home. If he just sat there, someone might notice how gross he was, so he's off pacing through the train cars to pass the time and burn off some energy. That's when he finds Haizea seemingly unconscious in a booth, the day after getting a nasty head wound.

"Hey." Garrot is looming over his friend, his tone pointed and gruff and just a bit concerned. At least she's breathing. "You okay?" And then, to make sure, he lightly pokes her in the head with the non-clawed part of one finger.

If she doesn't react, he'll use the claw next time. Maybe poke her in the temple. Now Garrot is almost hoping she's unconscious so he can mess with her...

[tropicalstorm]

Unfortunately for Garrot's antics, Haizea is a notoriously light sleeper. While she can fall asleep anywhere, just about anything will wake her up. When he taps her head, she instinctively grabs his wrist tightly as her eyes snap open.

"Oh, hey Garrot," she says with a yawn after her eyes focus on him. She releases his wrist and pulls herself upright into a sitting position. "Hell of a day, huh?"

[daddykong]

When she grabs his wrist, Haizea is treated to a moment of tension from Garrot, his own hands instinctively clenching into fists. It's not until she yawns that the tension is released, and he's just left there... laughing awkwardly.

"Y-yeah, it's been rough." The other hand moves to scratch at the back of his neck. He needs a shower. But Garrot still looks... concerned.

"How's... how's your head?" The doctor leans towards her the tiniest bit, restraining himself from completing a more comprehensive examination.

Train from Bamborough to Craydon, 6:45 +

[eutychia]

Luka's boarded the train as soon as possible, sitting alone in a seat and still uncomfortably damp and sandy. He wasn't going to be caught dead in a public shower, so he's making a beeline back to Craydon to make himself presentable again.

In his left hand he's gripping his currently non-functional phone. Feeling cut off from a main source of communication and having awoken in such a condition has left Luka extremely on edge. Approach with caution, if at all.

Train ride (Craydon -> Far Haven, 7:20 - 11:25)

[fauntofwisdom]

After a couple hours gathering herself in Craydon, reassuring people they're all alright and trying to make sense what's happened today, Joanna takes the first train out. At first she intends to just head directly to Far Haven, to find her temporary home and dive into bed - after applying some moisturizer to this regrettable sunburn.

But it's tempting to just sit in the train for a few hours, watching the modern world's version of the island go by, and reflect on the changes from just earlier this day.

And, well... she has no other pressing business, and most of the knights use this train to get around. It's the best place to be, to confirm that everyone's alive and well.



Seeing the #wizardsighting trend start up, so shortly after the Far Haven stop disappears behind the train, is a reason to stay onboard all the longer. She doesn't know what she would say if she saw the wizard again today, but she's sure she'd want to say something. Tomorrow. Maybe tomorrow.



Partway through the second loop - sometime after 10pm - she falls asleep on the train. Thankfully her stop is the last possible, so when the conductor does a sweep and finds her, they're able to shoo her off in the right direction without incident.

Far Haven > Craydon, 7:55~9:05

[fop_lop]

Fully intending to make good on that hot springs coupon after an unfortunate waking, Terrence boards the Far Haven train when it arrives around 7:55. He was hoping to run into someone else on the train, and conveniently it's even one of the knights he hasn't had much chance to speak with yet!

"Ms. Accone?" he inquires softly, though he doesn't wait for a response before taking a seat opposite the goat knight. "I hope your experience today wasn't too unpleasant." Terrence himself looks remarkably put-together considering the circumstances, but his weariness is plain.

[fauntofwisdom]

The Ms. Accone in question glances up at her name, and pockets her phone when she recognizes the speaker lowering opposite her. "Oh, not too unpleasant," Joanna agrees, echoing his emphasis. Certainly it wasn't pleasant, but it could have been worse... and they're not the sole people on the train.

She recognizes Terrence Torrence, of course - the aptly chosen rabbit knight - and she's seen him around, like with that enthusiastic champagne display the first evening. It's still baffling for such a famous mascot to be here, in the same place as her. Also baffling for him to recognize her by face and name, but less so, given how much of the internet is plaster in their 13 faces (plus the Wizard's newest) by now.

"You might as well call me Joanna," she offers, "I don't think I can help but be on a first name basis with you, all things considered."

[fop_lop]

"True," he chuckles in response. "I suppose co-saviors of reality is somewhere higher on the spectrum of familiarity than simply 'coworker' would cover, isn't it..? I have a habit of being over-formal, but you're more than welcome to just call me Terrence as well, Joanna."

That said, her surprise isn't entirely unwarranted - the CEO/mascot combo had never heard of her before this year's Wizard Season began. It was only thanks to the voracious nature of social media these days and his company's own information gathering efforts that he was so familiar with all of this year's knights.

"I would like to speak if you have a moment, but don't let me keep you from any calls or messages you needed to make," he adds as she stuffs her mobile device away.

Bamborough → Far Haven (8:30 +)

[disguiseself]

[After getting cleaned up and having to actually interact with the locals for a bit of damage control, Olivia catches the train and picks an empty car.

She has her hood up and she's currently looking at her phone, searching the web for any and all news about what happened today. She wants to make sure that they didn't miss anything important, but also she needs to know whether pictures of her on the beach were taken. The world has never seen her face, and after being chosen she avoided interviews well enough that people only know her first name. The thought of losing her anonymity puts her so on edge that her appearance seems to be shifting every few minutes, almost like a nervous tic, but she doesn't seem to notice.]

[daddykong]

[ Garrot, engrossed in phone calls to his loved ones, has absolutely lost track of time. The train will get him to Far Haven eventually. But since he's gotten comfortable, he's started pacing through the train cars while on the phone. Yep, he's that asshole, and he's just entered Olivia's train car! ]

Hehehehe, if you think I'm a handful now, imagine two of me! [ Garrot thinks he's alone, so he sure is talking pretty loud and, uh, aggressively waggling his eyebrows. But then he sees that someone is here, sees her appearance change, and- ] Call you back.

[ There is, of course, a faint shout of protest from his phone before the call ends, but Garrot does not care At All. Olivia is the only person he's seen who's done that illusion thingie, and she looked in better shape when they were lost and in the past. And that's no good, so he approaches until he's a good ten feet away, and just... leans in a little. ]

You, uh... you doin' alright?

[disguiseself]

[With how Garrot Garrot is, Olivia heard him coming from like three cars away, so he doesn't take her by surprise. She doesn't look up from her phone, but she does give him an acknowledging nod.]

I'm as good as ever. Just... trying to find out what we missed today.

How uh, how are you doing? Kids okay? [She guesses they're who he'd been in a call with, and she knows that he can go on and on about them; hopefully long enough that he won't ask any more questions about her.]

[daddykong]

[ He thinks it's weird that Olivia barely reacts to him, because normally people react more! But it doesn't bother him much, since she's young, and young people are glued to their phones. Granted, until five minutes ago, so was he. ]

Oh, they're fine. [ He shrugs, almost apathetic. Garrot... ] I mean, they were a little worried about everyone else sleeping on the beach. [ Big doofus is absolutely posturing a bit, but he's so nonchalant about it! ] But once we were on the phone, they told me what happened and I said, y'know, we were fine.

[ So he raises an eyebrow at her. ] Anything special you're lookin' for? Kids and I might be able to help out! [ Garrot smiles big and wide as he sort of gestures with his head towards her. ] Unless it's advice on your hair.

[ Yep. He's calling attention to that disguise shuffling, even though between the lot of them they probably could talk a lot about hair. ]