Miren is pleased to see that her jeans and plaid shirt fit right in with the local crowd. She nods at the waitress as she accepts the menu. When the woman is out of earshot, she says quietly, "I'm glad it's busy. Local places can get awful quiet when strangers walk in. We'll be able to talk -softly - without everyone listening in."
She turns her coffee mug upright on the table to signal her interest in the beany brew and continues, "Nace and I met in the hotel lobby while he was checking in. We couldn't help but notice that you two were at the diner yesterday and the hotel last night. We compared notes and found we're invited to the same party in a few days and thought, well... maybe you guys are, too?"
Nace feigns perusing the menu, but is clearly more interested in the reactions of Pru and Miyuku to Miren's question.
Prudence pulls the invitation out of her bag at Miren's question. "You mean to this?"[b] she asks, holding it out so the others can see it, as she feels Mafdet slide past her legs under the table. [b]"I was thinking that something must be up when I saw the two of you at the hotel last night. I got the same feeling I did at the diner. It's nice to see I wasn't the only one."
She has a look over the menu and settles on some hashbrowns, tomato and mushrooms for breakfast. She goes out on a limb and figure they're not gonna have Chai Latté on the menu, and so settles for an Orange Juice.
"So what do you all suppose this is about? I mean, just look at us, it's not like we have anything in common. So why us?"
Miren peeks at the invitation.
"Yup, that's it. Can't figure why it's us, so let's look the other direction. Anybody know this host guy or anything about him?"
She picks up the little tin creamer pot and sniffs gingerly at the existing contents, then shrugs and pours a puddle in the bottom of her coffee mug.
Nace speaks up. ”I checked out the address. Big mansion - and old. And the grounds are walled in, with security cameras everywhere. Whoever lives there takes their security seriously. Might be paranoid, or just rich with too many valuables in the house.”
Nace hesitates for a moment. ”I... Is it weird to say that the invitation gave me a feeling - something more than real?” He clears his throat nervously. ”I’m not usually one for accepting anonymous invitations from out-of-state strangers. But this didn’t seem like the type that I should refuse, you know? I’m not sure what I’m trying to say with this... Did any of you have a similar feeling about it?” He looks uncomfortable in his chair, as if worried he has already said too much.
Prudence nods. ”Yeah, it was almost like I was compelled. I read it and was just like ‘I’m going on a trip. Don’t know when I’ll be back’, then packed and was driving here.”
She shrugs. ”Now that I’m here though, I’m intrigued with what this is all about, especially given the eclectic nature of our little group,” she circles her finger around, indicating everyone seated at the booth.
Looking at the invitation, Miyuku looks pensive for a moment, as if considering something before nodding. ”Mine is the same, definitely a mystery. I do have it on good authority that the owner of the mansion isn’t a native here. He’s from out of town, definitely wealthy, donated heavily to a number of charities, schools and other local projects. As a result, he’s apparently purchased the favor of the town council.”
She says looking around the table as the others take in the information.
”And he keeps to himself.” She scans the menu for a moment before settling on fruit and oatmeal.
"Mystery man, huh?" Miren sips her coffee and signals for others to order while she reads the menu. "Not much help. Maybe we should figure out what we have in common, since there's four of us here."
Prudence laughs. "Have you seen us? I can't possibly imagine what each of us has in common, other than maybe a touch of something... extra." With a whispered word, the napkin in front of Miren starts of burn with a soft pink flame. The paper napkin is quickly consumed, but not before a startled gasp from Miren.
Nace instinctively looks around to make sure nobody else saw that display. He says in a low voice, ”When I try that, I light up half the room. I’m glad to see yours is... more contained.”
Nace looks around the table. ”So are you all... Do you all have... I call it ‘the spark’ but I am sure there is a better term for it.”
Miren dusts the ash onto the floor, looking uncomfortable at Nace's question.
"'Spark?' I don't know if I'd call it that. But I'm different. Kind of... I dunno... more in tune with special places. Haunted houses. Sacred places of the Diné. Stuff like that. I can't set things on fire without matches, though," she replies quietly. "And when you guys were in that first diner, it felt like being around electricity, like before a storm."
"Same." Miyuku says quietly. "Nothing as impressive as a light show, in fact, my strengths lie in the opposite direction. I'm at home in the shadows, especially in a city, and pitch blackness is far more comfortable for me than broad daylight."
She takes a sip of her water. "The...spark, as you put it...for me it's much more internal, an energy that I can use, channel into a weapon or a strike....but yes, there was definitely a feeling of something...special meeting you all."
"So, we're all a little different. And this stranger invited all of us to a party. I'd put some money on his being a little odd, too." Miren looks thoughtfully into her half-empty coffee cup, obviously thinking hard.
"But what does he want with us?" Nace wonders aloud. "I can't say I trust his intentions. This kind of knowledge - these knacks - can be dangerous in the wrong hands," Nace says with some knowledge on the subject.
He thoughtfully picks at his eggs with his fork.
"And how did he find out about us? Nobody really knows about my little talents." Despite her unease, she attacks the pile of food on her plate - toast, hamburger patties, cheese, hash browns, over easy eggs, ladelsful of chili, grated onions, and more cheese - with gusto. "He's not exactly my next-door neighbor," she adds, somewhat muffled by a bite of heaven.
"I'd only been back in the country for 2 days, when I received my invitation, at a hotel. It would seem our host has eyes everywhere and a very long reach." Miyuku says, eating a strawberry.
"Is that so?" Nace says, wondering at Miyuku's circumstances. He looks pensive and perhaps a little unnerved about these revelations.
Hoping to get the conversation to less troubling topics, he asks, "So what do you all plan to do between now and the 'party'? Seems like we are all pretty early here."
"I'd planned to play tourist. I have all the brochures back in my room if you guys want to see them! I want to go to Mount Washington - which is close to the altitude of the high plains, so I'm not sure why it's a "mountain" - and hike part of the Appalachian trail. There's a stable up north. I'd love to spend a day riding, see the area away from the roads. There's a water park and Santa's Village." She pokes ruefully at her plate. "I keep eating like this, I'll need to spend a week doing nothing but hiking to burn it all off."
Miyuku chuckles in amusement. It took a very different mindset from her own to know some mysterious entity had been watching you for who knew how long, and want to spend a few weeks sight-seeing. There was an odd...innocence to Miren, an openness that was refreshing, despite her own inclination to think it naive....and yet, there was also something that reminded her of her Sensei, a calm, untroubled manner that spoke of wisdom well beyond her.
"Learning the terrain, and getting a measure of one's opponent is always a good move before entering a conflict. That as my reason for coming here this early." she says, studying each of the others in turn.
The breakfast is delicious, in that greasy hole-in-the-wall way. As the group chats, people come in and out, but the dining room slowly empties as the breakfast hour wanes
Miren looks intrigued at Miyuko's plans. "Is there something like that I should be doing? I confess, my only plans were to learn about the land and waters, and the history of the peoples who have lived here. I gave no thought to this becoming a battlefield."
She considers the others at the table with a new respect. "Do you think we'll run into trouble?"
"The thought had crossed my mind," Nace says. "I came prepared for anything."
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"I'm not much in a fight," Miren confesses, sipping her coffee. "I can shoot, of course - just about everyone who has lived or worked on a ranch can. But I don't have any weapons. Should I buy a knife?"
She shakes her head. "I'm not sure what's legal to carry. We don't pay a whole lot of attention to that where I'm from. You're hunting, you take a rifle or shotgun. You're riding out with stock, take a pistol. Skinning knives are generally useful." She shrugs. "You tell me. I have time to buy something before the party. Weird kind of party gear, though."
”Probably premature,” Nace says. ”We don’t know what we’re getting into. Might be nothing.”
MIren ponders quietly for a moment.
"Right, then," she says with the air of having made a decision, "I'm going to Lookout Mountain. Anyone else up for a hike?"
Miyuku listens to Miren and Nace's exchange with a hint of amusement. "That might be an interesting time. What about you Pru, any thoughts on what we might all be getting ourselves into?"
The day looks nice for a ride to Santa’s village. Pru offers a ride to Miren and they take the thirty-minute jaunt yo the amusement park.
It’s a bit off-season, for summer or Christmas, but enough tourists are about for the leaves that There is a decent crowd. A cornucopia of rides geared towards smaller children line the various routes through the amusement park. Employees dressed as elves and other holiday figures take pictures with the yourists
Nace rides along, mostly out of idle curiosity.
Miren is all in on Santa's Village. She and her inner child are so distracted by the awe-inspiring spectacle that she notices little else beyond the little elfs.
The group enjoys its outing among the crowds of happy children. There’s a frantic energy about the place, and it’s infectious
Following along on her motorcycle, Miyuku enjoys the crisp air of the refreshing ride, parking across the street from Pru's car and joins the others.
Miren wants to take a swing around the adult-sized rides, pet the reindeer, get an iron ring made at the blacksmith's, hit everyone with bumper cars, eat fried doughnuts, pizza, ice cream, and an Alka-Seltzer. She will definitely not ride the Little Drummer Boy after eating.
She buys a personalized stocking for herself and one for anyone else who wants one.
While Nace's exterior is so often stoic, a day at a theme park brings out some childish enthusiasm in him. It is clear that he has a mischievous streak that he tends to keep hidden. And he is certainly not one to turn down fried, sugary foods (although he promises himself he will work it off tomorrow).
Still, an undercurrent of unease surfaces occasionally with a wary glance or briefly furrowed brow. As much as he tries to take in the atmosphere, he struggles with the foreboding that accompanies his trip to New Hampshire, and can never completely put it out of his mind.
Miyuku:
Turning to stare at one of the food kiosks for a moment Miyuku frowns slightly. "We are being observed. I'll be back in a moment." she says softly before veering off in the direction of the glimpsed figure.
Nace, suddenly on alert, looks about to see what Miyuku is seeing.
Miren looks the party up and down. "Can't say as I'm surprised. We do kind of stand out from locals and tourists," she says softly to Pru and Nace, tugging the brim of her hat lower to hide her eyes.
Miyuku gazes at the spot where the figure had been. The amusement park is darker with the true sight. There are pools of shadows, but they are not caused by physical objects. The happy noises dim to a background hiss like an old television pre cable left on no channel. She sees a small grey figure of a child. The child looks withered and emacited. It is hard to gauge the gender, but the child peeks from the back of a stall selling souvenirs
"Hello little one....yes I can see you." Miyuku says softly, crouching ing down to seem less threatening,"Do you need help?"
Instinct tells her this child was not of the everyday world...at least not anymore, but even so, questions often led to answers.
Nace peers in the direction Miyuku is looking. There is something here he is not seeing.
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Miren can't see a thing, but two of her party are staring intently near one of the food kiosks. In fact, the enviously sleek woman in enviously sleek leather has crouched down to examine something more closely.
Interesting.
But opening her spiritual eyes here seems like it could be the psychic equivalent of dropping into a bus seat and finding one's jeans soaking wet.
She passes, trusting the others to react if something seems off.
"Hello little one....yes I can see you." Miyuku says softly, crouching ing down to seem less threatening,"Do you need help?"
Instinct tells her this child was not of the everyday world...at least not anymore, but even so, questions often led to answers.
The child looks at Miyuku with eyes that are pools of blackness. This is a hungry ghost
“You see me. Help me. Santa Claws is after me” The figure says in a soft spectral voice
Miyuko feels a familiar tingle run down her spine, her hand unconsciously almost twitching, seeking the comforting presence of Butterfly's sting.
We're on something's hunting grounds.
"It's okay, I can help. Have you seen Santa Claws recently?" she asks, emphasizing the more sinister pronunciation of the last name.
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The small apparition shudders
“He is everywhere. He sees us when we’re sleeping. He knows when we’re awake. He hungers for our very souls, so be careful For your sake”