Day 7: Morning

[wizardseason]

Morning: 6:00am - 12:00noon

[ IRL Timeframe: December 18th, 2019 - January 1st 8th, 2020 ]

After the events of Day 6, every single one of the heroes will know that five of their fellow heroes are no longer with them. Six of the monsters have been dealt with(?). The world is halfway to being saved(?). The unknown child, Sxicq, walks the island now. The Protector and the Wizard are--

The Wizard is missing. Courtesy of the #WheresTheWizard hashtag, it's clear that even social media can't get tabs on her. They've located Sxicq, Ten, Five, Six, and even the Protector. But the Wizard's location is a mystery. Maybe the Wizard-aligned knights were able to meet with her overnight? But no one knows who they are (well, clever heroes may have identified one), so it's anyone's guess.

It's a remarkably quiet morning, though, serving as an opportunity for the heroes to collect themselves.

Seventh Morning Event: Craydon: The Funeral.

---

The Weather

• Solemn.
• 64°F / 18°C
• The air is still.

---

Prompts:

• 6:00am The Funeral, Craydon: Five and Ten are the easiest to find this morning. They're in Craydon's small cemetary, holding a quiet conversation over an urn surrounded by flowers. Six is nearby, seated beneath a willow tree, hat and sunglasses obscuring his eyes. Locals are, for the most part, keeping their distance. But every so often, someone approaches to add a flower to the pile around the urn. Monster or not, no one is cruel enough to disrupt anyone in mourning.


• 8:30am Hospital, Far Haven: Sxicq is easy to find, not that they could be anything but easy to spot, in the hospital lobby. Social media is abuzz as doctors, nurses, and patients all start complaining that the hospital has seen enough this year. They don't need the lobby detonated again. But Sxicq is just sitting, cross-legged, in the center of the hospital lobby. Their eyes are closed and they're glowing softly. To anyone who stays for more than a few moments, they'll see the damage from previous days starting to glow as it mends itself. It's not fast, but it's progress.


• 9:00am International Cabin of Crepes, Bamborough: The Protector is slightly harder to find, but he's made it known that he's meeting with Luka, Olivia, and the knight they've chosen to invite. He has a private room in the breakfast establishment, a table in a room where the doors can be closed. Others can find him and talk to him here, but he's here on business. Anyone who spots him, though, won't be able to miss that he looks rough. He has a black eye, a busted lip, numerous cuts and burns over the visible parts of his skin, and it looks like some of his hair was ripped out. But it looks like he's done his best to clean up a little, it just looks like he's recovering from some kind of an accident. How did that happen?


• 10:00am Everywhere, All Cities: The welcome van from the first night is back, and this time it's received a fresh coat of paint on the sides: It's now the funnel cake van. Throughout the morning, the drivers are speeding around all three towns and pulling up beside any and every hero they can. If they see two heroes together? Free funnel cakes for both! Does your hero get caught funnel-handed with another hero this morning? Hope you both have a sweet tooth!

---

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.

---

Activity Check: December 2019

[ IRL Timeframe: December 1st - December 31st, 2019 ]

Comments

6:00am The Funeral, Craydon:

[wizardseason]

Five and Ten are the easiest to find this morning. They're in Craydon's small cemetary, holding a quiet conversation over an urn surrounded by flowers. Six is nearby, seated beneath a willow tree, hat and sunglasses obscuring his eyes. Locals are, for the most part, keeping their distance. But every so often, someone approaches to add a flower to the pile around the urn. Monster or not, no one is cruel enough to disrupt anyone in mourning.

~6:20AM; open

[fop_lop]

While not quite first thing in the morning, Terrence arrives to the funeral rather early for someone who wasn't aware it would be happening until a few minutes ago. Most days the CEO can be seen in black suits anyway, but he's gone the extra mile for this somber occasion with a black shirt, tie, and even matching gloves. He lacks any offering because, well, he's not entirely sure what exactly they're grieving here.

...What the monsters are grieving, at least. He's here for his own reasons and is certain they won't mind. It's strange just how confidently and carelessly he approaches them. His weapon is still safely stowed away beneath his jacket as always, of course, but aside from that there's not even a hint in the air that he should be on guard.

"May I?" he quietly intrudes upon none of the numbers in particular once within a few feet of them.

Last night's 'performance' from Six had shifted the tone dramatically, but even before that Terrence felt he'd been a bit insensitive. Even as the others were mourning or ready to leave the mountain cave, he'd treated things more academically. He hadn't shown any intense emotion, he'd stuck around for a while even as Luka tried to usher them all out, and he'd paid pretty much equal attention to the 'corpses' of his fellow knights, the monsters, and the room itself. It was disrespectful.

None of the knights are stupid, of course - hell, Garrot is demonstrably more booksmart than Terrence himself - but the doctor and Haizea were generally more 'act first' types. Of the others, all of them were understandably emotional. The rabbit was determined to be useful to the team and provide some sort of assistance to prevent any further deaths. Fortunately, there was a niche he'd tried to fill a few times now already: someone who thinks entirely too much and yet tries to do so impartially and pragmatically.

Unfortunately, that approach had left him feeling a bit heartless for most of the night afterward. He'd learned things, and he was certain it was worth it, but...

If the monsters will allow it, he'd simply like to properly mourn the passed knights, however belatedly.

[wizardseason]

Both Five and Ten nod at Terrence as he asks if he can approach. They're fine with that. They look him over for a moment, wary briefly in case he's up to anything, but they settle back into their mourning afterward.

Six, on seeing Terrence approach, starts sketching out the scene he's seeing: A knight in mourning with two monsters. A moment of complete and total understanding.

"Do you remember his name?" Five asks Ten. She's still being hushed in her conversation, but unfortunately for her she said it loud enough for Terrence to hear.

Ten types up a response, showing it to her without the voice-to-text, and she goes "Oh! Right." quietly after a moment.

[fop_lop]

"It's Terrence," Terrence answers.

Even without Five's loudness or using his personal power, those rabbit ears give him some pretty good hearing already. His tone is quiet and uncharacteristically matter-of-fact. Normally he'd be more amused by the monster antics and would probably make a joke in response, but... Well, not this morning at any rate.

He does at least offer a small smile to the pair, however.

[sustainer]

Gyre doesn't understand graveyards. He's walking around town, lost in his own thoughts, and it's only the flash of yellow in the corner of his eye that makes him look into this weird garden of stones. What are the monsters doing? What is the rabbit man doing? His thoughts flick briefly to their conversation early yesterday, and while he certainly doesn't feel in the mood to hunt this guy right now, he does feel some obligation to follow up on it.

And he wants to know what he's doing surrounded by monsters.

This is to say, awhile after Terrence arrived, Gyre comes up through the gate towards him. He raises a hand hesitantly, trying to catch his attention without calling out to him. Something in the air here feels heavy and weird, and he feels like he shouldn't speak. Weird.

[fop_lop]

By this point, it's been long enough for Terrence to say any eulogies in his head and sit in silence for a while, so it doesn't take long for him to notice Gyre. He steps away from the urn and towards the other knight a bit. Gyre looks... Lost. Out of place.

"Good morning," he offers, keeping his voice quiet, but also lacking his usual playful lilt besides. "Terribly sorry you had to catch me at such a somber moment as this."

[silentwords]

Seth doesn't have all that many black clothes in his wardrobe, but for today he's put on a long black cloak. After everything that happened yesterday he's had even more stuff to think over.

But right now...he just wants to mourn the Knights that have passed away, Knights, he'd though he might have been able to actually gotten to be close with.

As he arrives to stand near Terrence however, he realizes that he's really only talked to Terrence once. He really needs to start talking more to the other Knights.

"Things really just seem to be getting a lot worse don't they? Seth honestly regrets the fact he can only really communicate via his phone...the deep monotone voice seems so ill-fitting right now.

[scandeled]

Matilda Hamilton is not an early riser.

But lately, with everything that's happening--, it's hard to stay asleep. There are too many losses, too many anxieties to stay on her mind for her to find much rest. And scrolling endlessly through her social media feed and finding a funeral really doesn't help with her mood.

It's proper for her to show up, right? She dresses for the occasion- black dress, stockings, boots, tiny black lace gloves-- she even has a black veil, for dramatics sake. She teleports outside of the cemetery, not daring to accidentally teleport into the middle of the funeral itself, and enters trepedily, sticking towards the back of things.

Eventually, she'll wander up with her bouquet of hot pink blooms, and leave them. For now, she watches- feeling oddly guilty for the entire circumstances.

[wizardseason]

Both Five and Ten give Matilda a look when she appears and eventually approaches with the flowers. She looks like she's been to a funeral before, she looks like she understands exactly what's supposed to happen here, and most of all she's not trying to fight them.

Which is good because Five's funeral etiquette is pretty garbage.

She's trying to keep her voice down but not really succeeding as she leans over at Ten while Matilda's putting down the flowers.

"What's her name... Grinelda? Brunthilda...?" She struggles for a name, hoping Ten can fill her in. He's typing a response to show her, unless Matilda's going to interject and speak up first.

[scandeled]

She doesn't try and fight them- which is probably a surprise to poor Ten. Unless a fight of manners counts, in which case, she is definitely conquering, especially with Five's poor stage whisper.

"Matilda Hamilton, the Dog Knight." She pronounces when she's turned back to them, smiling softly, and dipping into a dainty curtsy. "I didn't know monsters did.... funerals."

[disguiseself]

[Olivia had never ever been to a funeral before. She hadn't ever seen corpses, either, til yesterday. It'd been... a lot. She hadn't known how to react when she saw the dead Knights, almost as if her brain had gotten stuck while trying to process it. She'd shut down back in the cave, going through the motions as Six did his thing and not really reacting to anything, not really there.

She didn't get much sleep afterwards, and woke up feeling ashamed that she hadn't been any help. Once she got to the cemetery, she also felt a little embarrassed that she hadn't brought any flowers, staring at the ones other people had placed for the fallen. She stood there for a few moments before crouching down and starting to arrange them all.

She didn't know what else to do.]

8:30am Hospital, Far Haven:

[wizardseason]

Sxicq is easy to find, not that they could be anything but easy to spot, in the hospital lobby. Social media is abuzz as doctors, nurses, and patients all start complaining that the hospital has seen enough this year. They don't need the lobby detonated again. But Sxicq is just sitting, cross-legged, in the center of the hospital lobby. Their eyes are closed and they're glowing softly. To anyone who stays for more than a few moments, they'll see the damage from previous days starting to glow as it mends itself. It's not fast, but it's progress.

[daddykong]

Sure, he might be running a little late, but his family-mandated check-ups to maybe safeguard against magical cognitive hindrances took a bit more of a priority over what he wanted to do this morning. That sucks, and hopefully the Protector will understand the value of keeping the doctor in good physical health if he's a few minutes late to their meeting. But poor ol' Garrot is really starting to associate this hospital with Bad Times and Worse Stress, between ending up here, the shitshow he was asleep for, Six, and now... this??

"Welp, I guess this is Knight Business now, or something." The words come out of his mouth almost unbidden at the sight of more Magic Bullshit, though his volume raises as if to loudly declare that people should start getting the fuck out of the lobby. The hospital might not be cursed, but he doesn't want anyone to risk someone getting hurt if something goes wrong. Sxicq is a bit jumpy, so based off what he's deduced, he stops a couple steps short of The Child.

"Hey Sxicq..." His voice still carries some volume, but Garrot's trying to keep his voice soothing despite it. Bedside manner at work? Then there's three rhythmic, dull taps upon the floor, and should Sxicq open their eyes they'll see Garrot casually balancing his weight on a cane he's manifested- it looks as harmless as could be. It's almost like he's trying not to startle them! "I love what you're doing here, but people are staring. They seem scared." He chuckles, as nonchalant and conversational as could be. "Do you have to do this here, or could we find a nice, quiet spot in the yard?" People were complaining, after all, and as the crown prince of hospitals he can't not intervene.

Although, Sxicq can teleport, so maybe he won't be late after all...

[wizardseason]

Garrot gets close enough to see that it's not just Sxicq's outline that's glowing, it's their entire body. Coarsing energy pulses beneath their crystalline skin, radiating outwards from where they're sitting. What he'll notice, though, is that the closer he gets the more he'll feel what's happening. His skin glows, his hair stands up on end, and he can feel the very air prickling at him like it's moving.

Most obvious, though, is that Sxicq doesn't react at all to Garrot's statements. He can interpret that however he wants, but they're doing something right now. And they make a point to focus on the broken tile beneath his foot.

There's a soft scraping sound as a floor tile slides over and bumps against Garrot's foot. It's glowing and trying to put itself back where it belongs: Right beneath Garrot's foot.

[daddykong]

On a scale from one to ten, Garrot hates being ignored at like... a twelve. This cheeky magic child! He snorts air out through his nose, shrugging off some of his calm and casual demeanor as he takes a step towards Sxicq, stabilizing his advance with that cane. His feet won't be in the way, but he won't be deterred by glowing and frizzy hair and prickly air. He is a Knight, and he has a job to do.

"You know it's pretty rude to ignore someone like that." His tone is deadpan snark, but a smirk creeps onto the edge of his face as he hunkers down a bit. Garrot'll get more on your level, Sxicq. "Can your repair job wait? Xaljim seems to trust you, so... I need advice. It's urgent. Please." He exhales sharply through his nose, and then thuds the base of his cane into an unblemished tile.

"I'll see if they'll share some hospital food with you?" This child likes food. Loves it. Eats a ton of it. So he can try the bribe approach!

9:00am International Cabin of Crepes, Bamborough:

[wizardseason]

The Protector is slightly harder to find, but he's made it known that he's meeting with Luka, Olivia, and the knight they've chosen to invite. He has a private room in the breakfast establishment, a table in a room where the doors can be closed. Others can find him and talk to him here, but he's here on business. Anyone who spots him, though, won't be able to miss that he looks rough. He has a black eye, a busted lip, numerous cuts and burns over the visible parts of his skin, and it looks like some of his hair was ripped out. But it looks like he's done his best to clean up a little, it just looks like he's recovering from some kind of an accident. How did that happen?

[eutychia]

Luka arrives early to this meeting. He's not looking particularly enthused to be awake, but his appearance is in a much better state than the Protector's.

"I meant to meet with you last night." He says after being seated and waiting for the escorting host to leave. "Things came up. Multiple things. Not the things I was hoping for."

He sighs, raising one hand to summon a waitress to bring him a coffee with milk and sugar.

"I heard you were in a bit of a scrap with the Wizard. Everyone was talking about it."

[wizardseason]

The Protector was expecting Luka to arrive, and he greets him accordingly. He's already been sipping on a mug of some kind of herbal tea. It smells exotic, like something this restaurant doesn't stock, which means he brought it himself.

"She sought me out to keep me distracted." He answers Luka's open question about the 'bit of a scrap'.

"And more knights are dead because of it." He sighs openly, clinking his spoon against the mug of his tea.

"I made her pay."

[eutychia]

"We saw them. What the hell happened?" Luka gets straight to the point. "Their bodies in the cave like that... it really fucked everyone up."

He picks up a spoon and stirs his coffee before taking a cautious sip.

"I don't suppose you know anything about her whereabouts, then? There's another trending hashtag about her. She better slow down or I might get jealous."

10:00am Everywhere, All Cities:

[wizardseason]

The welcome van from the first night is back, and this time it's received a fresh coat of paint on the sides: It's now the funnel cake van. Throughout the morning, the drivers are speeding around all three towns and pulling up beside any and every hero they can. If they see two heroes together? Free funnel cakes for both! Does your hero get caught funnel-handed with another hero this morning? Hope you both have a sweet tooth!

[sustainer]

Gyre missed this van the first time around, which is to say he doesn't recognize it at all as he's making his way into Bamborough this morning. He doesn't even look up at it until it stops beside him, and the hair rises on the back of his neck. He doesn't like to be watched, and he ends up staring at the funnel cake people like they're aliens as they slap a cake into his hands.

He's left in the dust, looking completely stunned as he glances between the van and the fried dough in his hand. After a moment, he murmurs to himself, "Is this food?"

[scandeled]

Matilda's been trying to find this truck all morning. She gets lucky this time-- it's spotted in Bamborough, and she teleports there just in time to reach out and get a delicious, amazing funnel cake-- and to hear poor Gyre question the food.

She tosses her head back as if he's the weird one, and she didn't just literally teleport out of thin air seconds ago. "Of course it's food! It's not perhaps the most alimentary of foods- but it's scrumptious!" She pauses to sniff at the hot dough sprinkled with powdered sugar, and sighs happily.

[sustainer]

Oh my god? He jumps when she appears beside him, nearly dumping his funnel cake onto the ground. He catches it at the last second, blinking down at the powdered sugar now on his fingers. It feels weird? It feels fake. This can't possibly be food.

Not that he gets to think about that for very long. When she speaks, he completely loses about half of those words, giving her a long, blank stare before he says, "Aliwhat??"

[tropicalstorm]

Haizea had been sat at a nearby cafe, sipping on some coffee when she hears the welcome van come zipping down the street, playing a a tune like an ice cream truck. She starts to make her way over to it when she notices that Gyre, of all people, has beaten her to it.

"It's sweet," Haizea pipes up, notcing his baffled expression as she walks up to the van to get her own funnel cake. "Like a doughnut. I like powdered sugar only on mine, thanks," she says to the folks in the van with a wink before they give her the funnel cake.

She walks up to Gyre and pulls a noodly bit of fried dough off her cake. "You really never seen one of these before?"

[sustainer]

He watches the way she addresses the funnel cake vendor, and the way she tugs a piece of dough free like she's something in a zoo. He's watching every single motion as if this will tell him something incredibly important about her, or the world she lives in.

"No. I don't uh, really eat sweets," he says, and he offers his funnel cake across to her instead. "Not your kind of sweets anyway."