|
Putting his free hand up he had to stop the others, "Wait wait... I think we need to think on this a bit first. I mean we can't just fling ourselves at what we think is the problem right. You two go try and enjoy the rest of your fun night at your school dance. I'm going to reconvene with the rest of the team about this Chiros situation."
He was afraid that everyone constantly calling him Percy like this would break his cover, how was everyone specifically so bad about it after having a lesson. Honestly he wanted to just get out and go back to his dorm, but he also wanted to finish out the night with Max at the ball and continue their night of normal for just a bit longer.
Caio gives Percy a murderous gaze, his hands turning into fists, but he manages not to punch him.
Max glares at Indarius as well. "No. I can't just go back there and pretend everything is fine. Happiness is a lie. It never lasts."
She turns on her heel and begins to walk away. "Call me on comms if you find anything useful. Otherwise, don't call me."
|
|
Indarius backed away from Caio knowing that look in his eyes, but it's when Max turns away and starts to walk away that really breaks down his resolve. He watches quietly for only a few moments before silently turning and walking away from the group, but not so far that he looked to be departing the school entirely.
Caio joins Max. Any other day he'd disagree with her, but this night, her claim about happiness strikes too true in his heart. "Not sure I can find Chiros, but if I do and he is the one behind this..."
"Okay, I need to go check on a few other things. Comm me if you find anything, and I'll meet you there," Max says before walking away.
Since Caio has met the chiropteran and the other Mongrels (with the exception of Vespid), he's familiar with their scent. He's certain that none of the Mongrels have been on campus any time recently. The only humans with animalistic scents he can detect are Skyler's and Ne'veah's.
Caio walks around the campus, trying to pick the Mongrels' scent, eventually reaching the conclusion that none of them have been there. Caio sends a message to the others through his comms. "The mongrels have not been around recently on the campus... Any other lead?"
Max responds on the comms. "Nothing that I can think of. Indarius, Horizon, you got anything? We should probably call Conflux and Femtite and being them up to speed, too."
"Have you checked this Clara girl and her boyfriend?" Caio replies on the comms.
”Not yet. I can see if I can track them down,” Max replies before heading to do just that.
Max finds Clara with the rest of the volleyball team, who are just finishing up with a group photo. She spots a small contingent of boyfriends waiting in the wings for the salvaged costume contest. She sees Shin in his Tarzan costume waiting for Grace in that group.
Clara is dressed as a zombie cheerleader, and she joins a boy dressed as a zombified football player, natch. Max recognizes him as Blake Hampton, a dominant defensive end on the football team.
Max pulls Blake aside, a stern look in her eyes. ”I know about the pills you’ve been distributing. The ones that ‘enhance’ athletic abilities. There are dangerous side effects you may not know about, and everybody who has been taking them could be in danger. I need to know where you’ve been getting them from. Tell me, and you won’t be in trouble. Refuse, and it may end poorly for you.”
Blake gives Max such a blank look that he either practices it or truly doesn't know anything. "Don't know what you're talking about."
Caio is just arriving when he hears the exchange between Blake and Max. He is certainly in the mood to punch the clueless a##$@#+ in the face, but he knows that he'd probably break his nose, and that was the best case scenario.
"Oh, perhaps the music is too loud here, Max, and he could not hear your question. Why don't you ask him again, louder?" Caio says loud enough for all the athletes to overhear. As he closes to Blake, he adds, now in a lower voice. "Dude, I'm not in the f!+@ing mood to be nice this night. I don't give a f*!@ about sports, so I don't care if the football, the volleyball, the basketball and the baseball teams will be burned for using the pills you are providing them."
"You either talk and we try to solve your s+!# before anyone else gets harmed, or we'll involve the school and the police. Your choice mate." He then crosses his arms, warning Blake against anything stupid, but in fact secretly hoping for an excuse to punch someone.
|
|
With Max coming up asking a few questions and then walking away again Percy sees that it's pointless to try and continue now. He finds a secluded spit, which is fairly easy given that everyone is at the ball, changes back into his costume and then heads to his room and sits down at his desk. Fuzzbat is meanwhile hanging out in the rafters at the ball listening in to the announced costume winners while Percy peeks through his senses.
Shin's trying to avoid calling too much attention to himself - however, he calls out to Blake. "Dude, don't know what's up, but these guys just saved the dance! You should help them so we can get back to enjoying it," He points out, aiding Max.
"Don't make us angry, Blake. You wouldn't like us when we're angry," Max says, eyes glowing yellow.
Blake remains cagey, even as some of the other athletes begin giving him warning looks.
"I got nothin' to say," he insists loudly so that everyone nearby can hear. Then under his breath, he says, "All right, fine. Meet me around back, after the contest."
The costume contest takes place, even though some of the costumes had gotten wrecked during the evening's earlier excitement.
While the judges tabulate their scores, Caio finds Blake where he said he'd be.
"Okay, you gotta keep a lid on this, all right? It's nothing, really, but you know how people freak out sometimes, you know? Anyway, it's just like an herbal supplement. Gives you energy, sharpens your focus, that sort of thing. No hormones, no steroids, nothing illegal. Rumor is, everyone's taking it now. All the schools. Halcyon North, Franklin, Rivercrest... All of them. So, you like, gotta take it to keep up!"
"Of course it is just herbal." He answers, clearly not believing that crap, even if Blake did. "Look man, we are not completely sure how bad this thing actually is, but there is a good chance it is turning-you-into-mutants bad, ok?" He looks the football player in the eyes, trying to make this feel as serious as possible.
"I need a couple things from you... first, I need to know how you are getting them and from who, and second, I need you to try to figure out who is taking them. This is serious, ok? If this thing is as bad as we believe, there is a good change we'll have to track down people who took it and give them some medicine."
Trying to sweeten the deal, he adds. "Also, if this s~*@ hits the fan, it will probably stink on all schools, but if the students from Halcyon Prep are already clear of it, you'll be in a very good spot."
Blake looks unsure and a little worried. "So, we should stop taking them, then?
"Pretty much the whole football team is taking them. Volleyball and basketball teams, too. Never got enough to add the baseball team, but they don't start 'till spring, so that was all right."
He gets a bit more cagey. "They come from this startup company, near Old Town. The guy was saying that they're looking to release it in all the big health food stores, and they wanted some testimonials, first dibs on sponsorships stuff like that... Lot of colleges are recruiting us, you know."
"If a finger sprouts on your forehead, would you be happy? Being able to flip the bird and look like an unicorn at the same time looks cool right?" Caio asks. "Of course you should stop taking them."
"And the name of this company? Their address? And this guy you are talking about, who or at least, how he is?" Caio adds, losing his patience as Blake starts to get cagey.
"Dude, I've been taking them since the season began! I don't feel any different! Nothing's changed! Clara's been taking them almost as long, and believe me, I'd know if she had anything different about her, know what I'm sayin'?"
Blake shrugs, remaining defensive. "He's in a big van! Has a picture of a butterfly on it, forming the letters 'C-P'. Meets me before school, I pick up enough for a few days for everyone, and I pass them out."
"Yeah, I do, you are saying you are an a~~~*~&."
"Dude, this kind of thing always ends up on the media, and when it does, those vultures will come eager for athletes like you. Keep taking them, or not, your choice. I made it clear I don't give a flying f%+% about it." He says as he turns back and starts to walk back into the ball. "Time to think about what else you are good aside from sports, because if you are still on these pills when the bomb explodes, how many colleges do you think will be interested?"
When Caio reports back, Max nods with satisfaction. "Good job. We should stake out the next handoff. Maybe Indarius can make us invisible so we can shake down Blake's supplier. I'm not sure there's much else we can accomplish tonight."
Max updates the others over the comms.
Caio leaves Blake with stuff to think about.
Caio gets back just in time to hear the results of the costume contest.
Best Overall Costume, Scariest Costume, Cutest Costume, Best Superhero Costume, Best Couples Costume, and Most Original Costume (plus two runners up in each category).
Best Overall Costume went to Jade for her Whippoorwill costume. Runners up were Ne'veah and a boy named Tom who had a Boba Fett costume made out of Dr Pepper cans.
Scariest Costume went to one of the Future Mads, Devin, who had psychotic doctor outfit. Runners up were Clara as the zombie cheerleader and Blake as the zombie football player.
Cutest Costume went to Chae-Won as a Korean pop star. Runners up were Ashleigh in a fairy princess dress and a boy named Keith who dressed up like Madonna.
Best Superhero Costume went to Brockton as Captain Stalwart. Runners up were Gini as Gothic, and Uma as Feya Firestorm.
Best Couples Costume went to Amber and Joshua as Tomb Raider and Uncharted. Runners up were Jaden and Gaven as Wayne and Garth, and A-Rob and his date as the playing cards. Sadly, Shin and Grace did not make the cut .
Most Original Costume went to Tiv Kruger as Vegas Elvis. Runners up were Hanna from the LGBT+ group as a rainbow, and a boy named Jaime who went as Dean Alameda.
The dance winds down after the costume contest winners are announced. Slowly, the partiers begin heading back to the dorms or outside to the rows of cars of parents coming by to pick up their children.
Caio doesn't stay for the results of the contest, instead returning straight to his dorm, not really paying attention to anything around him, as if in a haze.
He finds himself alone in his room. He can't think about anything else but Skyler and how crappy and hopeless their situation is. He feels the wolf angry inside of him, so he decides it is imperative for him to do something. He certainly can't sleep, so he starts packing all of his stuff...
Conflux and Femtite reach the gates and step outside the school grounds. As soon as they cross under the high, brick, ivy-covered arch with the wrought-iron gate, the sounds of the city recede as if they were passing through water. The building and street lights similarly dim, giving the pair the feeling like they've stepped into a dreamy twilight.
A soft buzzing darts between Conflux and Femtite, resolving into Tyg's spritely form. "Greetings, my pretties! It has been too long! Are you ready to dance, when they're playing our song? My side of the bargain has helped you, I see; now it is time to stay close to me!"
The fairy flits about and around the costumed pair. "What are you wearing? Please help define; why I see a lady and one part feline. Explain if you will, my puzzling mortals, while I ready you to cross through the fae portal!"
Femtite forgot about speaking in verse.
(And now she must improv—she didn’t rehearse!)
“The catgirl is Connie, whom you’ve already seen.
Mortals play dress-up when it’s Halloween.
She’s a cat girl now, while still big.”
Fem shrinks to fairy size and grows a pair of wings.
“Will she look like a fairy when dancing with Tyg?”
"But what looks like a fairy?
They are each alike as smooth and hairy."
As she rhymes, Connie peels off her jacket and begins unbuttoning the rest, her fur fading away as she goes, giving Femms a twirl of her finger to tell her to about-face,
"Though of course all have their beauty, from the great to the least,
whether their mien belong to noble or beast."
There's a muffled snap as she re-expands a pair of garments, settling them into place from where her suit had concealed them.
"So then shrink me once ready, and we'll dance our sonatas
Lest excitement be the end of my inamorata"
Without a doubt, Femms turns about.
”Wing and antennae are the pixite norm.
I will add my own feature to this pixyish form.”
Femtite sprouts a perfect spiral antenna from the right side of her forehead. The left is bent the way a number 5 bends. The glow of the antennae tips glows golden, like Femms’ wings and hair.
Her dress appears to be made of a rose blossom.
When Femtite shrinks down to her height, Tyg flits in front of her and takes her hand. "You truly are a sight to behold; meant for this realm, if I may be so bold." Her eyes, slightly too large for her head and completely opaque, widen to take in the Pixite when she adds her wings and antennae.
She blinks only once, and then she points upwards. "The big one now must be made small, then all together, we'll go to the ball!" Tyg flies several circles around Connie's head as sprinkling motes of light cascade from the fairy's trailing path and settle upon her head and shoulders. They sputter and spark, but nothing happens.
Tyg hovers in front of Connie's face, sounding perturbed. "Wards you have, that block faerie enchantment! What did you fear? Involuntary entrancement? Your promise you must keep, so to do so you must sleep."
The tiny fairy zooms in just at the end of Connie's nose. She winds up and hits the Brain in the eyes with a blast of pixie dust. Connie's entire vision goes white for an instant, and then her world goes black.
Femtite sees her girlfriend rock backwards like she took a haymaker punch to the bridge of her nose. She falls in slow motion like she was entering water, her feet lifted off the ground. She floats backwards, limp like a ragdoll, completing her arc and landing softly onto the ground.
Rushing up next to her girlfriend, Femtite sees that Connie is sleeping peacefully. Funny, she doesn't remember increasing in size -- and when Tyg steps near her also the same height as both of them, she realizes that Connie did indeed shrink!
Femtite kneels o’er her sleeping beauty.
She just can’t wait for her to awaken.
She thinks waking Connie’s a girlfriend’s duty,
And a poetry-slam might stir her unshaken.
”Wake up! Take a look!
You’re a few inches tall!
See the world’s little wonders
On the way to the ball.
“Look at how mushrooms tower,
How much room atop flowers,
Blades of grass, great as swords
Thanks to size-shifting powers!”
Connie comes awake all at once, hands quickly snapping to her top hat and ruffles to make sure everything's still in place.
Pins were a good choice
She reaches up for Femms's hand and stands, eyes twinkling when she notices something unexpected about the world down at doll-size.
"One thing I'd not dreamt of, that I can do tonight
Is to give you a smooch, while we're both the same height.
Then the sights we'll take in
Leas, as much as we can,
For the world's so much larger, and I can't take to the sky
It's too wide to traverse, just my moving my thighs"
Fem takes Connie’s hand, gives a little kiss and says,
”You’re so teeny and cute
In your bikini top suit
And I’m glad me and you
Match, clad in red hue!
“If I stand one foot high
We could take to the sky
You and Tyg in each arm
But… just walking’s no harm.”
Per the promise, Fem offers Tyg an arm, expecting the other arm goes to Connie.
"Heed me well, as guests you are mine. Let us be off; we have little time." Tyg takes the center, with an arm around each. They begin walking at a rapid but unhurried pace through towering blades of grass and the bits of trash that litter the grounds outside the school. An old, gnarled root of a great oak looms before them. Some of the soil has worn away beneath it, so the root appears to form a great archway that the tiny trio can pass under.
They do so.
The transition is instantaneous. Before, they had been merely on the cusp of the fairy realm. A transitional place where the mundane comingled with the fantastical. Now, they were wholly immersed in the otherworldly courts of the fae.
Shimmering trees of impossible beauty look over them, and gossamer spiderwebs glow with a soft ethereal light beneath pale luminous mushrooms. Straight ahead before them is a silver glowing palace that outstrips every concept of beauty.
Tyg leads the entranced pair forward. In the same way dreams can transition from scene to scene, the trio appear on the ornate palace steps seemingly made from living trees with silver bark twisted and grown into a wide staircase.
The sounds of otherworldly music fill the air as they reach the massive double doors flanked by faerie guards in iridescent armor and wielding halberds.
"Hold fast!" one of the guards demands. "State thine business and why thou hast brought mortals into the Palace of Night?"
Tug inclines her head and passes an ivory letter with gilt calligraphy. "One mortal only, the other is my guest. Both be bound, here on my behest. The queen has granted me leave to do as I may; now step aside you two! It's Tyg's time to play."
The guards comply, and the heavy silver-wood doors swing inward to reveal a massive ballroom filled with sprites, fairies, pixies and all other manner of fae, dancing and twirling on a shimmering glass floor.
Femtite is blown away! She looks past Tyg at Connie, finding more joy in Connie’s expression than the sight of the fey themselves.
Tyg willing, Femtite leads a dance for three while rhyming—
“Tyg, let us dance
As if throupled, not single
But soon, by some chance
Might we flit out to mingle?
“For pixites and pixies
Have similar features
Do I lack fairy dust
Or just lack fairy teachers?
“I care not for the
Halcyon Halloween Ball
Not as much as a night
With a Connie who’s small!
“And I know there’s a way
For this state to be savored
I can buy fairy dust
For the price of a favor!”
Connie's eyes shine nearly as brightly as a pixite's as she drinks in the sights and sensations of the ball, and she nearly vibrates from slightly guilty excitement at the idea of Femms finding a way to get more access to pixie dust.
"Before we go dance, even though it hurts me
Is there some fair gentle before whom we should curtsy.
As your guests, we owe you the best of our manners,
So let's take care of that first, forgive the directness, I'm a planner."
The dancing fey all pause and stare as Tyg leads the pair across the dance hall. The sprite positively beams with delight at having the two heroes on her arms. "Indeed, indeed! It is time to be seen! Thus we shall present ourselves to the queen!" Tyg responds to Conflux.
Long, diaphanous curtains divide the ballroom on to sections. Tyg guides the pair through one of the gauzy partitions that only faintly hides a dazzling white and gold throne set upon a high dais. The figure seated upon the throne is willowy thin, clad in effervescent fabrics that sparkle in impossible shades of color, and beautiful beyond measure. Her large eyes are pools of black so deep they don't just absorb the light but reach out and seize it. Her hair shimmers in radiance, glowing in a moonlight silver, casting her pale blue skin in an enticing glow.
Tyg bows deeply as an unseen herald calls out,. "Queen Ninavae, Ruler of the Seelie Court of the Western Realm."
The queen raises one delicate hand. "Present your guests, Tyg of the Lantern Poplar," she says in a musical voice.
Tyg rises. "My queen, standing on my right, is the Pixite known as Femtite. This one to my left you see, the mortal that is named Connie. Both are here, I present to all, that they be welcome in your Hall!"
Queen Ninavae inclines her head at the pair. "I bid them welcome. They may address the throne, if they wish."
Femtite does a proper curtsy—she spent her whole life studying how, as she was destined to travel among clothed titans!
Noting, the queen does NOT speak in verse, Femtite matches her tone (while minding her place).
“It is my great pleasure and honor to meet you, Queen Ninavae. I am Femtite, first-born daughter of Queen Millie of the Lavender Spire.
“Thank you for making us most welcome!”
Queen Ninavae inclines her head once more in greeting. "I know." She smiles enigmatically, and the presence of sharp teeth make it somewhat sinister. "I've discussed your impending arrival with my other esteemed guest."
All attention in the throne room turns to another partition as a herald announces, "Queen Millie of the Lavender Spire!"
"Hello, daughter."
What does she do?
Of course I'm meeting Femms's mom while I'm all-but t$#& out.
”Mommy!” Femtite is about to run up and hug, but catches herself.
She smiles widely, but remembers to curtsy and speak a little more formally. “Oh Mother, you are indeed ravishing. What a pleasant surprise to see you among the fey.
“Surely you remember Connie Westcott Mathers, towering over the horizon of our world, communicating via text.” She takes Connie by the hand, gently encouraging her to allow Mother to take in the view. ”What a privilege to introduce her to you in-person! I’d not dreamt this possible!”
Queen Millie inclines her head toward Connie in greeting. She walks forward, the long train of her dress flowing outward behind her. As she passes by Femtite, she leans over and whispers, "You know that's not true."
She stands regally before Connie and holds her arms out wide. "It is my deepest pleasure to finally meet Connie Westcott Mathers. And on behalf of the Lavender Spire, I thank our gracious host for this momentous occasion. And on my own behalf, I thank Tyg of the Lantern Poplar for bringing me my date to the Ball." She extends a hand towards Connie. "Shall we adjourn to the ballroom floor, my sweet?"
Oh, Mommy, what the H, E, double…?
Femtite has no idea how to deal with her mother going after her girlfriend!
Queen Millie twists to look over her torso at Femtite. "My dear, the Faerie world has rules allowing the bartering of debts. If you won't bring your girlfriend to me, and I can't go to her, I just have to take what opportunities come along, yes?" She turns to Connie once more. "Come along, my dear. We have so much to talk about. I believe the humans have a tradition called, 'baby pix?'"
Femtite starts to panic internally. Oh, mother… you’re not doing what I think—???
Tyg steps next to Femtite, offering her his arm. "What a delight! Reunions be blessed. Now let's dance for hours before we rest!"
Fem replies,
“I’ll do as I must
Per your silver thread
Push feelings of dread
Right out of my head
“We’ll dance through the night
We’ll dance hand in hand
But what’s with my mother?
I don’t understand.”
Connie spares barely a look back to Tyg to make certain she's not being unconscionably rude, and then gleefully takes Queen Millie's arm and glides off with her.
Fem continues her rhyme as she watches Connie with her mother.
“Look at how they flow and ebb
My girlfriend with my mother-queen
Like flies upon a tangled web
So brazen in its silver sheen!”
The shrunken Love Bug, The still has the Silversheen tech. Femtite was saving it for her next favor, but she wants to know now where her mother’s thread leads? From on queen to another, or more complicated? And what of Connie’s and mine? We came arm in arm with Tyg—are we debt-free?
The Silversheen is switch on, making fey threads visibly silver to the naked eye!
Tyg takes Femtite's arm firmly, and flies them both into the ballroom. "My deal was with you; Connie was the bonus.
'Twas my right to trade, for upon you was the onus.
You fret too much; your bargain was a steal!
Indeed, I look forward to making our next deal!
Some dust you want, for your lover's delight;
Well, what are you offering, dearest Femtite!?!"
Fems activates her Silversheen switch and sees a veritable cris-crossing network of silvery threads between the fey. The tangled web anchors all of them to Queen Ninavae in myriad fashion, and only less so between the members of the court. Queen Millie has only a few strands, mainly threads going to her, and not away. Though there is a complex woven strand between the two queens that Fems cannot parse.
Meanwhile, Queen Millie leads Connie through some complicated waltzes and other ballroom dances that strangely the guest manages to keep up. The Pixite queen is quiet for the first dance, then she breaks the silence early in the second. "Did my daughter extend my invitation for you to come and visit?"
Just then, Connie gets a message from Indarius. "Hey you okay, saw you and Fems leave earlier everything good?" Queen Millie frowns. "That was rude."
Femtite relaxes somewhat, seeing promises are quite normal here and her mother seems to have built an alliance of some sort. So my idea may not be so far fetched…
”I don’t mean to be so nervous
About dust paid for via service
But how to serve? What do you need?
Might I perform a hero’s deed?”
Tyg's smile grows wide, bearing a mouth full of sharp teeth.
"A price for a deed, or a gift for a favor
called forth later at need, if that be your flavor.
Business can wait, for the dance has started,
we'll must savor this moment before we've parted."
"Forgive me, your majesty" Connie gives a quick curtsy, with one hand fanned over her cleavage. I would never needlessly risk your daughter's safety, so I made sure we had sufficiently hefty backup if the dance turned deadly though it seems like maybe he forgot I told him that?"[/b]
"Yeah Perce, we're fine. Doing the fey thing I told you about. It's still Halloween over there, right?"
"It is a journey we hope to accomplish, but I have certain biological necessities that are difficult to come by at that scale."
Fem agrees to just dance, except for one important reminder:
“The deed must be heroic
To honor the deal
Not selfish, not hurtful
I’m not gonna steal
“Nor do I feel I must
Name the conditions
Don’t trick me—no traps
Just a heroic mission”
Tyg gives her a feral grin as she leads her in the dance.
"What conditions you place! The fun is in not knowing!
I can see it on your face; the fear you have is showing."
Connie gets another message from Indarius. "Yeah things have been good so far. Caio's getting a bit handsy with Skyler and vice versa but that's whatever everyone having a decent night."
Queen Millie's mouth is set in a tight line. "If this is going to keep happening, I'm going to be upset that I'm not getting you all to myself." She lets her irritation slide off of her and resumes her pleasant countenance. "My dear, I'm surprised you're underestimating the capabilities of Pixometric technology. I've made all the arrangements. And you needn't worry about 'biological necessities.'
"So, tell me about yourself! I need to get to know my Femmi's harem of one!" She leads Connie across the ballroom floor.
Femtite replies,
”You’re right that not knowing
Is fun, so—surprise!
You’re dance partner’s growing
And shrinking in size!”
Femtite first grows only an inch (which is significant to fairies), and if Tyg likes it, she doubles in size and gently picks her up like a child… then shrinks until they are equals.
She shrinks two inches, and if Tyg likes it, she shrinks to a small fraction of an inch and dances in Tyg’s hand, up her arm, across shoulders…
Was Femms wrong? Or is Millie underestimating the difficulties of keeping a human alive while she's like a hundredth the size of an atom of oxygen...
"Well... What's to tell? I'm a self-taught sorceress essentially with a particular focus on enchantment and other methods that utilize enhanced conductivity. I grew up in the system with a few fostered interludes until I was adopted by my Dear Old Dad when I was nearly twelve fun fact, it is very difficult legally speaking for an eleven year-old to turn down an adoption, and then I lived on the streets for the last not quite two years, cause sometimes things get better, and then I met Femms in that big clash with the Confectionist, we hit it off, and I tried to show her around and get her nicely set up for self sufficiency, and then we got offered dorms and a stipend, so... Yeah, sometimes things get better."
Tyg delights in Fem's display of size changing, as it draws the attention of the other dancers at the ball.
Queen Millie smiles at Connie. "Indeed they do. They can get much better, my dear. You clearly are special and unique amongst the titans in order to catch Femmi's eye so. This has been a lovely meeting. I cannot wait to show you around the Lavender Spire. Please encourage Femmi to use the gift I gave her."
Femtite sees Connie and her mother enjoying each other. Ooh! Good rhyme—using that…
Femtite reverts to fairy-size and says to Tyg,
”I’m having a ball
And as we danced nearer,
I saw my mom’s smile
I no longer fear her
“I’m glad you arranged this
For Connie and mother
What a beautiful sight!
They’re enjoying each other!”
The All Hallows Eve ball is a surprisingly stoic affair as it turns out. For the immortal fae, they seemed to enjoy the novelty of having a mortal dancing with a Pixite queen and a size-shifting Pixite princess as their guests. But alas, scandals and super-heroic brawls were not to be had.
The two dance and dance as if but a dream. Then, they blink and Connie and Femtite are swaying together, full-sized, in a courtyard on the campus grounds. Before they head to their dorms, Femtite feels a soft weight on her hip. Tied to her waist is a small bag of what feels like dust.
Max retreats back to her dorm room to brood for the remainder of the night.
Femtite embraces Connie. “I had no idea that’s what the sacred code would do. Connie… I can make you a real pixite! You can eat sweet-spotted fungi, or become Fire and consume a germ from within! Those little amethyst gems will seem to dwarf Mount Everest! Atoms will dwarf us!
”Oh, and you’ll be naked. We don’t wear clothes.”
Femtite is ready to crash at the dorm, unless Connie wants to check on the others.
The night draws to a close. Halloween, with its promises of tricks and treats, scares and delights, has ended.
Will what comes next be even more terrifying? Time will tell.
==============================
At the end of every session, choose one:
• Grow closer to the team. Explain
who made you feel welcome; give
Influence to that character and clear
a condition or mark potential.
• Grow into your own image of yourself.
Explain how you see yourself and why;
shift one Label up and another down.
• Grow away from the team. Explain why
you feel detached. Take Influence over
you away from another character.
"Yeah, sounds great..."
Femtite walks Connie home. In the dorm, she says, “Hey, sometime this weekend, we gotta talk about pixite anatomy… now that I understand my mother’s intent is to temporarily change you… and so you can survive on our world.
“Can we just… cuddle through the night? That dance with you and my mother repaired a relationship you didn’t actually know was damaged. I can see she truly respects you, and she gets that I don’t want a harem.
“I misunderstood things she said. It’s a heavy topic. I mean… even the truth, and the intent behind it… I would like to tell you in the morning. Maybe take the Bug far, far away and tell our friends we’re off for the weekend? Text our friends see-ya-Monday?”
Whippoorwill takes Horizon out on patrol. It's a cold, blustery day. Thankfully, rather quiet.
=================
If anyone follows Blake in the morning, he has a brief rendezvous with a van like he described a few blocks away from the campus on his morning run. The van continues on its way as Blake resumes his jog.
Max is in hoodie stealth mode as she shadows Blake from a safe distance. As the van pulls away, she does her best to keep pace with it, cursing her lack of wings or supernatural mobility options.
If she’s unable to keep up, she will give into her dark visions, hoping to get insight as to its destination...
Horizon on the patrol seems more than a little amped up. He wants to find trouble to deal with today that's not too complicated. There's a tension like a taut wire in his flight in the air around his mentor.
Unfortunately for Max, the van gets on a road that allow it to pick up speed. She can't keep up and is just able to see it take a ramp onto a highway before she loses sight of it.
Max focuses on the van, getting an eerie bird's eye view as if she's hovering above it. It glows red where the rest of the city is in a washed out black and white. She tracks it while it travels to a street just a few blocks away from Halcyon North High School, and then when it drives to Old Town near Franklin High School. Each time, it makes a short stop.
Its errands complete, it drives to a warehouse near the rail yard and enters through a garage door. The outside sign reads, CHRYSALIS PHARMACEUTICALS.
What do you do ?
Max toggles her comms. "Heads up. I've got a lead on tbe pills' source. Chrysalis Pharmaceuticals."
Caio woke up early on Saturday... well, in fact, he wasn't sure he had fallen asleep at all, his mind always returning to Skyler. He was able to hire some moving crew to help him move away from the dorms. He took care to keep all his tattoos covered and was wearing a baseball cap and sunglasses during the whole moving.
Since he could not ask them to unload his stuff on Unity Station, he chose a nearby warehouse that appeared to be abandoned, planning to do the actual moving in the middle of the night, hopefully with a help from the bots on the base.
He had just paid the workers and closed the warehouse door when he gets Max's message. "Chrysalis? Like when a caterpillar turns into a pupa and then into a butterfly?"
Max toggles her comms. "Heads up. I've got a lead on tbe pills' source. Chrysalis Pharmaceuticals."
Max can't tell right away -- it's not a real company. But she does get a name of the owner of the building: Lester Lawrence.
"Just like that. And look up the owner of this warehouse--Lester Lawrence," Max tells Caio.
"I'm by the base, so I'll see if I can find something."
With that, Caio takes a couple boxes of his most valuable belongings and heads towards the Unity Station and when there, he tries to search for anything both on the company name and on this Lester Lawrence guy.
The Unity Station computer pulls up a file on Lester Lawrence, revealing a criminal record for drug manufacturing. He spent four years in the state penitentiary for the crimes, having been released this past summer.
He officially deals in known street drugs, but Clocktower has a special file from Whippoorwill showing that he was part of the brief period when the street drug Wy was rampant in the Halcyon underbelly.
Wy was a extremely mild and temporary version of the Wyvern Serum, giving those who take it short bursts of strength and toughness.
"Right... so, this Lawrence has a record on drug manufacturing. He was in jail until last summer." He informs the others via his comm. "There is a file from Whippoorwill that states he also distributed Wy for some time, which was a milder version of a Wyvern Serum, giving those who take it short bursts of strength and toughness..."
"I don't know, perhaps these pills are this Wy again, or a version of it." He wonders. "Will try to get an address."
Clocktower locates the warehouse and provides an address. It's in the warehouse-filled industrial section between Old Town and Rustside.
Caio sends the address to the others. "So, who is up for some investigation, aside from me and Max?"
Steel Guardian replies with a synthesized ”I’m in.”