21:04 <Crion> This place is starting to look a little bit more like home. It's been a week or two at most since the newly-joined motley found the warehouse -- might need a better name for it at some point -- and turned it into somehwere safe to spend time. In fact, it's been about as long as it would take the five of you to turn the hollow into a cozy little fortress protected almost completely from the 21:04 <Crion> predations of the outside world. 21:04 <Crion> So what have you done with the place? 21:11 <banana> Set aside the weirdness of being handed a group and told to form it into a team. Learn the basics of 'hedgespinning', the art of allowing-but-guiding the incessant transformations the landscape wants to make. With fae will and a bit of elbow sap, Melanie's turned a corner of the warehouse into a pair of rooms. 21:11 <CBN> Tony is a simple man, of simple tastes. However, it's also a huge pain in the ass to carry a full recliner into the Hedge. So for the moment, he's got his little space, some secondhand carpets draped over clotheslines for walls, a beaded curtain for a door (fuck yeah), a lawn chair (moderately comfortable if you don't mind a numb ass after an hour), and a minifridge. Currently hosting enough beer for a good party for one, or one each at 21:11 <CBN> a party. 21:13 <banana> They're hers, but only semiprivate - she has no real use for locks in a place like this. The outer and larger space is a library-cum-study area, with shelves all around the sides and a couple of standing desks. One of them is mostly reserved for Melanie's chromebook (not working great in here yet) and current papers; the other has a bunch of knicknacks and personal possessions. 21:15 <banana> Beyond and within the library space is a small garden, its walls reaching up to the top of the warehouse where a skylight lets in unpredictable moods of sunlight. Little shrubs and flowers are planted around the edges of the soil-filled space, but the centre is clear dirt; the only furniture in the garden-room is a mirrored dresser. Melanie doesn't own a lot of clothes anymore, but she has 21:15 <banana> to keep them somewhere. 21:18 <trenchfoot> Nels' space is still a work in progress. There's an old record player she found at a pawn shop and some albums she picked up on the same trip, reissues of albums she knew and some pieces that look familiar if she stares at it for too long. Her furniture is just a simple cushion pressed up against a wall, and she keeps a guitar she wouldn't mind losing nearby, hoping that she's far enough away from the others to avoid bothering them, but 21:18 <trenchfoot> she hasn't really made a home here just yet, or even a place she could hide out in for too long. Would hardly do to hide from the world with nothing but a sleeping bag. 21:19 <Crion> Over the course of the week, Lauren Ipsum is in and out constantly, helping set up the cantankerous server and its Hedge-side clone, and generally making time with Stewart to the extent either of them are about. 21:19 <dammitwho> Maggie has just moved all her furniture directly into a section of the warehouse - but she's not in her room very often (and when she is the door is usually open), preferring to stick to the common areas, especially once she's managed to wangle together a stovetop/oven. 21:19 <dammitwho> Making time, eh? *eyebrow waggle* 21:20 <Crion> Ugh. Moms. 21:20 <VoxPVoxD> Come onnnn 21:21 <VoxPVoxD> Despite not moving in, Stewart is around a lot, helping set things up with Lauren, making sure all the electronics work, and of course eating Maggie's cooking. 21:22 <dammitwho> Of note is that the battered acoustic guitar Maggie got from her Spring party has been propped up with a bunch of pillows like a cat bed, with the word TOPPER written on it in elaborate black calligraphy. 21:22 <banana> The first time Melanie sees that she's going to be interested. "Do you play too, Maggie? We almost have enough people for a band." 21:25 <dammitwho> Agreeably: "Oh, sure! Though when I've got other things to hand, why, I just let Topper play himself for a bit. How about it, Topper?" 21:25 <banana> What 21:26 <dammitwho> A quick strum echoes from the guitar's strings experimentally, and then it begins playing on its own, still sitting in its little cat bed. 21:26 <dammitwho> https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7IkvAb6THQY 21:26 <CBN> The first time Tony saw it, he bite back hollering 'free bird' but just barely. He's been spending a fair amount of Hollow-time tidying up the main area, which always seems to go so quickly when no one else is paying attention. He even makes his bags of empties disappear! 21:27 <trenchfoot> Nels, moving some more pillows into her room, freezes for a moment before hurrying past. 21:28 <VoxPVoxD> Stewart also freezes when he hears it, looking around for Nels. 21:29 <banana> Melanie: "That's cool, in the classical sense. It's good study music too." 21:30 <banana> "I should let you know, I'll be spending a lot of time just cooped up reading and typing, it's, I'm not trying to be antisocial. It's actually really nice to have people around and things going on. But I have a lot of work to do." 21:32 <Crion> The internet installation takes a couple days of work; first there's the technical stuff of getting the servers attuned, which is easy enough, especially once Lauren takes the Hedge-side server over to Santander and comes back with it in "working order." The restore goes well enough too, and the sympathy principle is sound: the server on the other side of the Hedge attunes perfectly with its 21:32 <Crion> double, and the internet comes through -- immediately firewalled, of course, and then routered -- very well, if somewhat slower than the upspeeds advertised by Verizon. 21:33 <dammitwho> Maggie: "Oh, no doubt. Are there times when we should try to keep it down out here, so as not to bother you?" 21:33 <Crion> Of course, then the real problems begin. The servers begin spamming each other that night, then stop talking entirely the next day, and then begin trying to send each other malware. Lauren and Stewart have to broker something of a peace treaty, conducted entirely in hexadecimal entries into the command line. 21:33 <Crion> Eventually, however, both grumpy machines agree to get along. 21:34 <Crion> The Autumn Court would be pleased: another changeling has made peace with its fetch. Sort of. 21:34 <VoxPVoxD> Friends! 21:35 <banana> Melanie: "No, I can focus. Even if there's nothing to focus on, I can keep it up for a few months." 21:36 <banana> "Oh! But no incense please." 21:38 <trenchfoot> Nels finally pokes her head back out, looking less alarmed. "No incense from me, then." She eyes the space - someday she might want a still in here. Probably safer than her apartment for that much. 21:41 <dammitwho> A STILL YOU SAY sorry caps 21:41 <banana> Melanie wants to explain: some incense is fine! It's just the kind with pine needles or cedar twigs, any burning wood. She's.. vulnerable. But that's not something to spread around carelessly. 21:42 <banana> "If we're talking about roommate stuff, I brought a TV. Do you both want me to set it up in the common area?" She's not clear on who's moving in, only that Maggie is and Stewart isn't. 21:42 <Crion> The good news for Melanie of course is that nothing in the Hedge catches fire so easily, and even if it did, none of it is...wood, precisely. 21:42 <Crion> So as long as you don't bring it in... 21:42 <dammitwho> Mags: "Ooh, that'd be nice. We could connect it to Stewart's media server there. I'm sure there's some computer program that makes files play on the TV." 21:43 <CBN> Tony's unerring dirtbag sense picks up enough that he hollers "WE NEED A COUCH BUT PUT THE TV IN THE DEN UPSTAIRS WHERE I MARKED OUT THE ENTERTAINMENT CENTER" And then he goes back to sweeping some more in the first floor common area. 21:43 <banana> Melanie: "Yes! I was talking to him about- oh, okay." 21:44 <banana> To Tony: "How do you feel though about having the room taken over on gamedays?" 21:45 <CBN> "HEY WHATE-" He pauses and just walks over to them so he doesn't have to yell, broom in hand. "Hey whatever sure. Just nice to have a place for things and things in their place though." 21:47 <dammitwho> Maggie: "Game days?" 21:48 <banana> Melanie: "Well, yeah. That's the only thing I really watch, Chicago Sky mostly or NBA in playoff season." 21:48 <trenchfoot> Nels: "What are those?" 21:48 <banana> Sadly some months over. 21:49 <CBN> "NBA's basketball and...Chicago what now?" 21:49 <banana> Melanie: "Basketball games.. um, did you have basketball?" 21:49 <banana> How old is Nels, anyway. 21:50 <banana> To Tony: "WNBA. My team. Used to be." 21:50 <banana> Technically this is a lie; it's should-have-been rather than used-to-be. 21:50 <trenchfoot> Nels: "I - maybe?" It's vaguely familiar, but she never saw a game. 21:51 <CBN> "Cool beans, cool beans. And the W is...Women's...NBA?" It is very clear that this is a good-natured but entirely shooting-in-the-dark guess on the nature of sport. 21:51 <VoxPVoxD> Tony's putting out a really chill vibe, and Stewart respects that. 21:52 <banana> "Oh wow, you have to be here on Tuesday. There's a great fixture. I- I wish I could show you what it's like in a pickup game. Haha." 21:54 <trenchfoot> Nels smiles. "I'll make sure to be here." 21:55 <Crion> You don't have a cable connection...but luckily, Youtube TV exists, and you can just buy what's essentially a live sports cable package from them for $60 a month. Santander has already greenlit doing subscription costs through the law firm, because they're basically nothing and he is incredibly entertained by the servers. 22:04 <trenchfoot> Does that just get regular TV channels, or do we need to be careful what we watch in here? 22:05 <dammitwho> Maggie: "Melanie, are you gonna be using all these planters here or is it alright if I plant some valerian root and such?" 22:05 <Crion> Where the great rolling steel loading-dock door would have been in a normal warehouse, there's instead, a pair of large panel wood doors. Stepping through those takes you into a well-appointed but nondescript hallway, with a great elevator door in it. Pressing the call button on that opens the rear doors of an elevator somewhere in Baltimore -- in the real world. This door is a portal, and 22:05 <Crion> can only be opened by the application of glamour. Should there be people in the elevator when you step through -- mere mortals, of course -- all they will see is a normal-looking hallway behind you, so long as you remembered to close the wooden doors. 22:05 <Crion> The big question, then, is: which building is this elevator in? 22:08 <banana> Melanie: "Ah. Well," But: this was going to come up the first time Maggie decided to get a midnight snack or something. "May I show you something for a moment?" If Maggie's amenable, Melanie will lead her into the garden room and close the door behind them. 22:10 <dammitwho> She'll shrug and follow Melanie for whatever this is. 22:12 <banana> It's: Melanie taking off her shoes, then stepping into the middle of the garden room. She raises her arms toward the skylight and seems to sink into the earth a little, becoming thinner, feet shifting apart - the soil writhes, a little. 22:13 <dammitwho> "Oh my. Well, isn't that something." At a loss for further statements, she strokes her chin. "I suppose I'll get some separate planters then." 22:15 <Crion> It turns out it's in Lexington Market, a legitimate but disused and cranky elevator in the rear with quick access to the back of the lot, and unless some cleaning people get really suspicious and snitty -- which you should be able to defuse by just, changing your schedule for a couple days -- you should be fine. It's not like them locking up for the night is going to stop you. 22:15 <banana> "I need about this much space at night." Melanie doesn't exactly gesture, as her arms are sort of fused in place right now, but she's nods at the fairly fixed amount of room she's taking up. "Anything in the corners is fine.. herbs add interesting tones to the space." 22:16 <banana> Wow, it feels weird to be doing this with clothes on. 22:16 <Crion> Uh huh. 22:16 <dammitwho> "Alright then. I'd hate to be crowding you, is all." 22:17 <VoxPVoxD> Stewart catches up with Nels. "Hey, how's studying going?" 22:18 <banana> Melanie's unstiffening, reshaping into something more human in form (if not in material). "I mean, I could totally beat any little plants that try and get in my space, but then your seeds would have gone to waste." 22:18 <Crion> Here's a curious question. How much time have you all spent out in the surrounding Hedge since settling in? Have you been scouting it? You can't learn its layout, really, but you can learn its temperament. 22:19 <trenchfoot> Nels: "Huh? Oh, it's - still exhausting. I've been switching between history and trying to wrap my head around science when that gets too frustrating." 22:20 <CBN> Tony's definitely spent some time outside, staying within sight of the building the whole time though. He hates to be idle, and you can only make a mostly-empty-and-being-moved-in building so tidy at the moment. 22:20 <trenchfoot> Nels has probably done a bit of scouting, in between studying, getting everything settled, and trying to spend some time relaxing. "They figured out a lot of stuff, I guess." 22:20 <banana> The Hedge still worries Melanie conceptually; she associates it with memories of failure, and outside this safehouse it's a step closer to Arcadia. She hasn't gone out at all. 22:24 <VoxPVoxD> Stewart's spent as little time in the Hedge as possible. He didn't make Lauren do the server setup herself or anything, but he hasn't gone walkabout. 22:27 <VoxPVoxD> To Nels: "It was a weird century." 22:27 <trenchfoot> She sighs. "You're telling me." 22:28 <banana> At some point after that first conversation, Melanie's going to go and find Tony. She has a feeling he's actually around a lot, just.. overlooked. 22:28 <trenchfoot> Second World War. Unbelievable. 22:28 <VoxPVoxD> Stewart: "Anything in particular giving you trouble?" 22:29 <CBN> Tony has also spent some time leaving out half-open beers, stale perfume ads, all that sort of thing, in the service of luring some of the more easily-swayed-but-also-attentive-enough-to-catch-it hobs nearby. People: Hard to make friends with. Weird demi-people that operate under inscrutable rules and arbitrary laws? Well, that's still people, but at least hobs know stuff. Sometimes. 22:30 <trenchfoot> Nels: "Still in the 40s for history, but - chemistry. All of it." 22:33 <banana> What the heck is he doing? Tidying up parts of the warehouse and then setting out mess in others.. it's probably a magic thing. Saucers of milk for.. cobblers. Melanie can't remember the details. "Hello Tony. It's Melanie." 22:34 <VoxPVoxD> Stewart: "Chemistry's just a lot of memorization. Have you ever heard of Khan Academy?" 22:35 <trenchfoot> Nels: "No, what is that?" 22:35 <CBN> When Melanie finds Tony, he's wandered out back of the warehouse and is currently performing something between an elaborate handshake and a basic dance with a knee-height, bipedal avian wearing a floppy hat that covers its face and rests on its beak."Oh hey Melanie!" He concludes the greeting and addresses the birdthing, thumbing towards Melanie. "No bogue, she's ace." And facing Melanie, nodding to the hob "Yeah I can't 22:35 <CBN> pronounce this lil fella's name so it's Steve now. Say hi Steve." 22:38 <banana> "Umm." Well, Melanie wouldn't want to be bogue. "Honk to you too, Steve. Tony, I'm taking some notes." 22:38 <VoxPVoxD> Stewart will sit Nels down and put his laptop between them, navigating to Khan Academy. "It's on the internet, it's got free study resources and lectures for basically anything. There's a whole chemistry section here with videos." 22:38 <VoxPVoxD> "If hearing someone talking helps you learn. It does for me." 22:39 <banana> Melanie: "I mean.. I'm making a chart. It's kind of, in my thesis I'm trying to integrate some ideas from our, you know, view of the world.. I'd like to get some numbers straight. But is it okay if I ask you something." 22:40 <trenchfoot> Nels nods gratefully. "It's got to be better than just staying in my own head about all of this. I can't - keep it all straight." 22:40 <CBN> "Yeah go nuts. Steve was just about to tell me...what's up lil guy?" 22:40 <banana> Looks like he's come over all shy. 22:40 <banana> Melanie hopes the thing isn't thinking of nesting in her. 22:42 <banana> "So.. you know about NBA, but not WNBA.. that's a range, and I think you fit into a point on our, um, scale, I have a theory about it. So! You don't have to answer this, but when are you from?" 22:44 <VoxPVoxD> Stewart: "Yeah, it's hard. Most people forget this stuff six months after they learned it, and they got to learn it over four years." 22:44 <CBN> "Would've been...October of '75?" And half-under-his-breath, at Steve. "Yeah man I know I know, new hat later-not-now, you know the deal." 22:45 <banana> Melanie: "Okay. I'm 2016, Stewart was around 2010, and Nels.. it's a geometric progression as long as Maggie fits. Hmm!" 22:45 <trenchfoot> Nels: "Then... why learn it?" 22:46 <CBN> Tony: "Yeah that's...cool? You want that to be cool? Cool? What'll that prove if it fits, or disprove?" 22:47 <VoxPVoxD> Stewart: "There's... a lot of answers to that question. The main one is, because they say so. There's all these standards and tests you have to pass. Having a high school diploma is almost like a permission slip to be part of society." 22:47 <VoxPVoxD> "A lot of people get forced out of the system before they can get that, and then they spend the rest of their lives fucked." 22:48 <banana> Melanie: "Well... I think maybe we've been put together according to a bunch of mystical rules about complementary syncreticism? It's basically Eclectic, like more Cicero than Socrates." 22:49 <banana> "Um, the kings admitted to synergy, 'party roles'. Kind of giving the game away! So we should expect to see more stuff like this, more five-equidistant-points." 22:50 <trenchfoot> Nels thinks this over. There have been a lot fewer family stores around, but surely apprenticeships... "I guess I don't understand why this specific stuff to learn. I - wanted to catch up, but it's sort of overwhelming all at once." 22:51 <CBN> Tony: "That's...good? I'm gonna level with you, I haven't been in school in 40 years and I mostly got through that on the strength of my coach's say-so. But if you need me to do something with that information just point me at the problem?" Not dismissively, he's trying to relate to Melanie through acts of service, his sole way of engaging with people meaningfully most of the time. 22:52 <VoxPVoxD> Stewart: "The idea is to get people to learn a little bit of everything. Or try to, anyway." 22:52 <banana> Melanie grins; it's slightly manic, but the effect is tempered by how slow she's moving. "Yes, I'm thinking out loud! Sorry about that. And actually, I- know exactly what you mean." 22:53 <banana> "Like." A pause. 22:54 <CBN> Tony's listening but he's also shooing Steve away, trying not to offend the hob while also keeping the damn thing from stealing his shoe laces. Which Steve is trying to do, also. 22:54 <trenchfoot> Nels: "The English is fine, at least. And history - well, there's too much of it now, but I can handle that, too. I haven't opened the math at all, I wasn't even good at that as a kid." 22:55 <VoxPVoxD> Stewart: "The math's gotten more complicated, but they've gotten better at teaching it. And we have machines to do all our arithmetic." 22:55 <banana> "I did the same thing. I went to college on a basketball scholarship and got through about a year of it without really taking a class where you have to think. And I was totally fine with that, it's... freeing. The world needs people who do stuff." 22:57 <trenchfoot> Nels: "Could you show me?" 22:57 <CBN> Tony, between quiet hisses and waves at the not-goose. "Yeah doing stuff is the best not in front of my friends Steve c'mon man I thought we were cool. Anyway how're you liking the space yet? He sighs and just un-laces his boots and hands them to Steve. "Getting your space all set up nice?" 22:58 <Crion> honk 22:59 <banana> Melanie: "I like it a lot. We have to go out into the world, but there's somewhere to retreat. When we're, you know, defeated." 22:59 <banana> "Who came up with this though." 23:02 <CBN> "Uhhh hopefully somebody who doesn't want it back, because it was a pain in the ass buffing out the dents in some of the...I know it's not actually aluminum siding, but it doesn't have to look like shit, you know?" 23:02 <VoxPVoxD> Stewart takes out his phone. "There's a program on every phone, for starters." He opens the Calculator app. "Do you recognize the symbols?" 23:03 <banana> Melanie: "It's probably made out of like mythic metal. Quicksilver or something." 23:04 <CBN> Tony: "At least it didn't scream when I started in on it, floors either. Which was nice." 23:04 <Crion> Steve sort of wanders around for a bit. Is Tony going to let him? 23:05 <banana> Melanie: "I mean.. who decided it was a good idea to burrow into the hedge? That you could be *safer* in a twisted realm of narrative and abandon than hanging out in the boring actual world, which has no natural defenses." 23:05 <CBN> Tony looks down at Steve. "Hey you know the rule, wipe your feet, don't steal anything. Melanie can you get the door for us? Love this lil guy but he's got sticky feathers you know what I mean, so I'm keeping my eyes on him." 23:06 <Crion> Steve tilts his head and honks twice. He promises...not to remove anything from the hollow...? 23:07 <CBN> Tony: "Don't touch anything except to walk on it, AND not remove anything from the hollow." He nods. 23:07 <banana> Melanie: "Oh, yes." She'll hold open the flyscreen door, which didn't exist yesterday, to let a goose-shaped demon into her home, where she lives in in a planter box. 23:07 <trenchfoot> She takes a look at the phone. "Addition, subtraction, multiplication, division. This little thing can just do all those? And it's a phone?" 23:07 <banana> Occasionally philosophy seems inadequate. But that just means you haven't done enough thinking. 23:08 <Crion> honk honk 23:08 <VoxPVoxD> Stewart: "It's a computer. Math is the most basic thing a computer does. Every other thing you see a computer do is math." He remembers his conversation with Maggie. 23:08 <Crion> When Steve returns a few minutes later, he is rolling/walking on a beer from Tony's fridge. 23:08 <Crion> He looks at Tony with flat, questioning black eyes and a slightly tilted head. 23:09 <CBN> Tony: "Swear to---fine, great. Fine. You can have it IF you tell me something that you think I would think is interesting or new that you saw in the Hedge today, and do not say the hollow or anything in it." 23:10 <Crion> honk 23:10 <Crion> The hobgoose lifts the beer up -- ah! And here are the shoelaces. He has fashioned a sling to hold the beer in. 23:11 <banana> Melanie: "How does it even know what beer is." 23:11 <CBN> Tony gestures with a wave. "Melanie, you're smarter than I am, so I don't need to tell you this was a mistake that I'm leaning into, do I." 23:11 <CBN> Tony: "It's cheaper than a firstborn child or whatever some of the others ask for so I'm not asking questions I don't want answers to." 23:11 <banana> Melanie: "No, I get it. You've got to live your truth." 23:11 <trenchfoot> Nels: "Will I have to learn how to do that computer math? Because it still looks more like magic than anything else." 23:12 <VoxPVoxD> Stewart: "Not if you don't want to." 23:12 <CBN> Tony: "Steve pace yourself you weigh less than my left leg. So what's up lil buddy?" 23:12 <banana> Melanie: "Anyway, I told you I'm not smart. I was a jock who never had even one thought apart from boys, parties and ballgames." 23:13 <CBN> Tony: "That is three entire thoughts, don't sell yourself short." 23:13 <trenchfoot> She lets out a breath she didn't realize she was holding. "Thank goodness." 23:14 <banana> Melanie: "You're right. Someone has to do it!" 23:14 <CBN> Tony: "And, I was reading that I guess football kills your brain? So if you didn't play that, you're probably smarter than me because of science now, too." 23:14 <Crion> Between leveraged sips of beer, Steve honks conversationally. 23:16 <CBN> The color goes out of Tony's face, which given that it's...dirt, and nails. Not a great look. "Uh okay, that is...that's a big 10-4 there Steve." 23:16 <banana> Melanie: "Just basketball and lacrosse. But I'm thinky because like.. a faerie turned me into a tree and I couldn't do anything else for multiple lifetimes, and I got addicted to it." 23:16 <banana> "What's he saying? Is he actually saying something?" 23:17 <Crion> Steve just merrily sips away. 23:18 <CBN> Tony: "Thinking's good, I'm glad someone is. Yeah he's saying he saw a pair of changelings running from a group of...he says 'as many as more than one hand of a person has their fingers but less than two hands of a person has their fingers' so let's say a half dozen, whatever? Other changelings." 23:18 <CBN> Tony: "But, and he insists this is good news, they'll probably die soon without help so there probably won't be anyone higher up the totem pole than folks like us, except, you know. Asshole ones." 23:19 <banana> ... "Where are they?" 23:19 <CBN> He looks around the room then back at Melanie. "Can you get everyone together while I get that part? I don't want to holler and spook the lil guy." 23:20 <Crion> honk 23:21 <CBN> To Steve: "That's great and all Steve, any idea where, anything else you want me to know? So that if I go looking for them I won't get murdered by them or the other ones, so that I can keep you in hats and beer and shoelaces, of course." 23:21 <banana> Melanie: "Yes." She can't hurry inside, so she'll call out. "Stewart! Nels! Maggie! There's an emergency." 23:22 <trenchfoot> Nels quickly hands Stewart his phone back and moves towards the common area. "What kind of emergency?" she says, as she pats herself down for her revolver. Ah, there it is. 23:22 <Crion> Steve waves a wing and honks -- and is interrupted by, in the distance, the sound of an echoing gunshot. 23:22 <VoxPVoxD> Stewart follows Nels out. 23:23 <Crion> It's weird: it comes in even through the walls. It's like because you're aware of it, you can hear it now. 23:23 <banana> "Changelings under attack, maybe by other changelings. Out in the Hedge." 23:24 <CBN> Tony stands up right quick and looks around as the others assemble. "This is going to sound stupid and I'm sorry, but we should follow the gunshots, Steve says. This is Steve by the way everyone." 23:24 <VoxPVoxD> Stewart: "....hey, Steve." 23:25 <Crion> This is what you know about geography around here: there's a trod to the east, not major, not minor, kind of odd how it moves about, but it's really you moving about -- it's in the same place. The gunshot came between you and the trod. 23:25 <Crion> To Stewart: honk 23:25 <trenchfoot> Nels: "Um. Hello, Steve. Tony, you've been exploring a bit, right? You and I take the lead?" 23:25 <Crion> To Nels: honk 23:25 <CBN> Tony: "Thanks Steve. Next time you are entitled to a beer again when you visit. But if we're heading out, I need to lock up behind us, okay?" 23:25 <Crion> honk honk 23:26 <CBN> To Nels: "Sounds like a plan." 23:26 <Crion> Steve trundles out into the Hedge, beer in sling, sipping and honking softly. 23:27 <dammitwho> Maggie peers around a corner, holding one of Tony's brooms. "I hear a dang goose inside?" 23:28 <CBN> To Maggie "Sort of long story, I can catch you up after we go save some lives. Grab something kill-y if you've got it though." 23:28 <VoxPVoxD> "His name is Steve." 23:29 <dammitwho> Maggie: "Oh no! I'm not really one for fighting, but I'll toddle along anyhow..." 23:30 <trenchfoot> Nels apologetically gestures to her revolver. "Something we might need for the future." 23:31 <banana> Melanie lags a little behind; she can trudge along at a reasonable speed, but it took a few moments to get going. Her face is set (grained?); who will these people be? Are they in time to help, if help is merited? 23:34 <CBN> Tony heads out with everyone presumably following, listening to the gunshots as he goes. 23:35 <CBN> They sort of echo off the sort-of buildings, but gunshots are, at least for the next minute or two, rare enough in the Hedge that it's not too hard to follow along. Could be easier, but what couldn't be? 23:35 <banana> Alleyways filled with organic shadow, streets empty of cars and overgrown.. the city-hedge is the worst of both worlds it lies between. 23:37 <trenchfoot> Nels is a little too focused on keeping the group together and close to Tony, and not quite focused enough on sneaking. Quick and quiet gets her halfway there. 23:38 <CBN> Tony leads the group along the trail, such as it is, with urgency but not haste, and despite the urban environments begins to blend into the background in that particularly Tony way. 23:38 <Crion> They eventually arrive at the scene: a great, burned out section of midtown real estate, almost correct but not quite, all the signs in foreign languages that don't exist, all of the doors looking painted on, and all the mailboxes -- there are too many of them -- looking like they're itching to get up and run. In this environment two changelings in their early twenty-somethings -- a fairest 23:38 <Crion> boy and a beast girl, hard to tell too much else from a distance -- are fleeing a posse of changelings who are frankly just sauntering down the street, laughing and firing rounds occasionally from their guns. 23:40 <dammitwho> Are any of the changelings recognizable from the local Courts? 23:41 <banana> Why are they fighting.. are there loyalists involved in this? Can there really be people like that? 23:42 <Crion> The boy keeps running to doors and banging on them, and the girl pulls him away. Of the pursuers there is an old white-bearded wizened man with a long-slide M1911 pistol he occasionally shoots off while sneer-grinning; a buff ogrish lady with a pink buzzcut, a similarly bad news grin, and a chainsaw; a tittering little reddit fuckboy with a laptop stapped to his back and a Glock in his hand; 23:42 <Crion> and this weird inbred Tory looking motherfucker -- darkling? -- with an honest to god dueling sabre. Following behind them is a cowed, shivering elemental, and she's the only one who's watching. 23:44 <Crion> They certainly look like how you'd imagine loyalists. 23:44 <VoxPVoxD> Stewart is quiet as a mouse. 23:45 <Crion> "Ohhhhhhh, lad and lass. You're in trouble now," says the white-bearded man. 23:46 <trenchfoot> Are they. 23:46 <Crion> "You can't...just...go walking around some places. But keep knocking, young man, keep knocking. Shit in one hand, knock with the other." 23:48 <Crion> The woman with the pink hair revs the chainsaw. 23:49 <Crion> The kids keep scrambling down the street, but they've obviously had problems with the thorns, and are exhausted. This is the end of the chase. 23:49 <Crion> So, what's the play? 23:54 <VoxPVoxD> Stewart creeps toward a nearby alley, trying to catch the kids' eye in a way that says, This way is safe! 23:55 <CBN> Tony, quickly and quietly, swallows a penny. If any of his friends see it happen, they also see the nails jutting out from his soil-flesh grow longer, barbed, and coiling more-a-skeleton-than-exoskeleton around his frame. The most jarring part is that now he's got a face: It looks pretty close to his Mask, just cast in copper mottled with patina. 23:55 <Crion> The kids see you and after a moment's hesitation, immediately run for you. The woman with the loyalist sees you, too...and does...nothing? She even makes eye contact. 23:55 <Crion> The old man, however, rolls his eyes. "One last hunt, then. After them!" 23:56 <CBN> He circles around the side of the group, catching sight of the laptop and lining up a good line of attack on its bearer. Stewart's their wizard and he likes computers. Obviously, this is their wizard. And you always kill the wizard. 23:56 <Crion> The five of them -- the four who seem to care, and the fifth bringing up the rear -- storm forward towards the alley... 00:01 <banana> Melanie made a promise to the dying season, to protect and be protected. She made a promise to herself, to get involved. She steps totally unarmed from the other side of the street - wasn't really hidden anyway - and says, "You'd better piss off." 00:04 <trenchfoot> Nels looms from her position in the shadows. It's - not quite as hidden as she'd like, but her revolver's drawn and she's aiming... 00:05 <Crion> The weaselly hacker: "What the fuck is this?" 00:05 <Crion> The big woman with the chainsaw: "Meat." She revs. 00:05 <Crion> The old man looks a bit concerned, however... 00:06 <Crion> Not the aristocrat, though. "On your guard. Be pleased to know you die by the hand of the Cambridge Son." 00:09 <Crion> "Yeah yeah yeah," says the hacker, choosing one of the ladies at random and opening fire...on Nels. 00:11 <Crion> The bullet hits her in the chest. 00:12 <trenchfoot> Fucking rude, and this is why she wore armor-- "God - shit!" 00:16 <CBN> Tony emerges from the shadows, coming at a distracted passer already looking downfield. The refs are nowhere to be found, and Tony launches himself, all metal and dirt and fury, at the little asshole who just shot his friend. He bellows his ancestral warcry. "FUCK YOU NERD" The nerd eats turf. 00:16 <VoxPVoxD> Wow. 00:21 <Crion> The nerd's gun and laptop both go flying, and he groans and curls up into a ball. 00:21 <CBN> Tony, breathing heavily out of anger and not exertion, not yet."And STAY down. And the rest of you!" 00:21 <CBN> "Stop being assholes!" 00:21 <Crion> The old man: "Kid Kid Kid. The fuck do I take you places for, lad?" 00:22 <Crion> To the lady with the chainsaw. "K.I.L.L." -- he pronounces each letter -- "please rid us of these--" 00:22 <trenchfoot> Well, that takes care of him. So, next up we have the lady with the chainsaw, so-- Nels quickly pulls her revolver back up and shoots her through her shoulder before ducking back behind some form of cover. "That is not your name." 00:24 <Crion> "Ugh!" the woman with pink hair grunts. "Fuck!" 00:24 <Crion> "Ugh," says the old man. "Fuck." 00:25 <banana> Melanie steps... back, not forward. But roots burst from the ground, wrapping the poorly named chainsaw artist and then constricting with crushing force, the force that tears down civilisations left untended. "And I'm not meat." 00:27 <Crion> "AAAAAGGHHHHH!!!!" The woman screams and swings her chainsaw around, but it's not fast or anywhere near enough. She might get out of this with only two broken limbs, if she's lucky, but 'K.I.L.L.' is fully out of the fight. 00:29 <Crion> "That's fucking enough of this," says the old man. "Cambridge Son, get the bird. Come here, you fuck," and he grabs Kid Kid Kid by the hair and starts dragging. "Consider this a truce," he says to the lot of you, "in that you can have the kids, and maybe we won't come looking for you. You come looking for us, and maybe you don't like what you find." 00:31 <VoxPVoxD> While the battle's being won, Stewart is dumpster diving, pulling garbage bags tied with mistletoe away from the alley wall to reveal... an uncovered sewer grate and a ladder down. 00:31 <banana> Melanie: "You bastards. You get away with this once." She's stumbling over to Nels, looking for injuries. 00:32 <CBN> Tony's standing in the middle of them glaring and huffing. "And barely that." 00:32 <trenchfoot> She's bleeding a bit, and bruised badly, but it could have been much worse. "I'll be fine. Check the kids," she says. 00:35 <Crion> Cambridge Son, as he lifts K.I.L.L. and takes her off the field. "Be seeing you. Chaps." 00:35 <Crion> "Shut the fuck up," says the old man. 00:35 <dammitwho> It all happened so fast. Maggie couldn't even process what was going on before it was all over! 00:35 <Crion> The cowed woman rushes to help the Tory, and he looks almost disgusted at the proximity. 00:36 <Crion> Where did Stewart's ladder lead? 00:36 <VoxPVoxD> The idea is that it leads to a tunnel that will give them a straight, safe shot to the Hollow. 00:37 <banana> Melanie watches the - other - elemental. She doesn't know enough about these people, what their dynamic is, why they're hunting down other changelings for sport. But it's worth noting. 00:38 <Crion> Sounds good. If he remembers how they found the entrance to the Hollow the first time -- a sewer tunnel with five locked grates, a bank vault door, and a ladder up -- he'll find the two young changelings waiting for him at the first of those locked grates. They'll open on his -- or any of the motley's -- touch. 00:38 <VoxPVoxD> Stewart: "I'm Stewart. We're taking you somewhere safe." 00:39 <Crion> The boy is incredibly beautiful, male model handsome, tall and completely fucking terrified out of his mind. He's Fairest and wearing torn, expensive clothes. The girl is also pretty in her own way but more subdued, with hints of fox ears and lupine eyes in her mien, and while the boy hyperventilates and asks Stewart, "Oh god, is it okay? Who are you?", she clams up. 00:39 <CBN> Tony lets his rage chill and ice over as his copper features chip away and flake off on the breeze, leaving the soil beneath. He lets the others do most of the talking from here, as he's watching their backs and keeping an eye on the loyalists until they're out of sight but good. 00:40 <banana> Melanie watches them leave, too. She wants to kill them. She could have kept them there, there's a contract Summer taught her... it would have been a needless risk. It might not have been the right thing to do. 00:41 <trenchfoot> Nels watches them go, hand still on her gun. That last one - the one who wasn't fighting. Something to ask about later. 00:42 <VoxPVoxD> Stewart: "We're like you. Where did you come from?" 00:42 <banana> To Tony: "That was a nice tackle." 00:42 <Crion> The boy: "I walked out on my girlfriend. Well, not really my girlfriend. I. I don't know. I don't even know where I am--" 00:42 <Crion> The girl: "The Bleakest House." 00:43 <Crion> "I'm Gemma," she says. "I think he's Peter." 00:43 <CBN> He nods at Melanie, thinking to himself, still got it. 00:43 <trenchfoot> Nels: "Knocked the hell out of him," she nods. 00:43 <VoxPVoxD> Stewart: "Yeah, that sounds right. Come on, we'll get you somewhere safe. Are you hungry?" 00:45 <VoxPVoxD> Stewart passes a hand over them in a vaguely healing gesture, and their spirits swell with fresh glamour. Meanwhile, as the vault unravels itself behind him, he listens... 00:45 <dammitwho> Maggie: "Heavens, yes. You two must be exhausted, let's get you something to eat, at least." 00:45 <banana> Melanie shakes herself - a few nuts scatter - and walks to the alley. "Maggie's a great cook, and we've got a pretty comfortable space on the edge of the city." 00:45 <Crion> Gemma: "Yeah. And tired." 00:45 <Crion> Peter: "I'm Peter." 00:46 <Crion> Gemma: "Can we trust you?" 00:46 <Crion> She doesn't sound like she's expecting an honest answer. 00:46 <VoxPVoxD> Stewart: "I hope so. We don't mean you any harm. We heard you were being chased and came to help." 00:48 <Crion> Gemma Franklin: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8ZwypOmPKoE I wanted you to know that I put up a fight; but everything goes missing when they dim the lights. 00:48 <Crion> Peter Montgomery: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5pxfx1kFXIo Saw Cinderella in a party dress; but she was looking for a nightgown. 00:48 <dammitwho> Maggie: "If you're confused about what's going on, we can get you into the more-normal world to some people who can help explain..." 00:49 <CBN> Tony: "And you can crash with us if you need to, if you don't mind floors. And geese." 00:49 <trenchfoot> Nels takes a few more deep breaths - that's going to bruise - and she makes her way over to Stewart and the kids. "I think we're probably about done for the day here, anyway. Did anyone else get hit?" 00:49 <VoxPVoxD> Stewart: "You got hit?!" 00:49 <Crion> Kid Kid Kid: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mvJjmWTg7Qo If I could burn this town, I wouldn't hesitate to smile while you suffocate and die. 00:50 <dammitwho> "Goodness, Nels, it's a good thing you wore your vest." 00:50 <trenchfoot> She grimaces. "Yeah." 00:51 <banana> Melanie: "I guess we're making four different calls.. or one to Autumn." 00:52 <Crion> Gemma grimaces, Peter sort of sputters. "Fine," she says. 00:52 <Crion> "But no one touches me." 00:52 <Crion> She doesn't seem to give a shit about him. 00:52 <Crion> Which is odd, considering she saved his life twice while she didn't know you were watching. 00:52 <Crion> He, on the other hand, doesn't seem quite to know where he is, and is amenable to just being led by the hand. 00:52 <banana> You don't need to care about people to do that! 00:54 <VoxPVoxD> Once they're inside, Stewart says: "I'm going to go get help. You guys - there's a shower that way, we'll get you some food." To Maggie: "I'm gonna pick up blankets. We gonna need anything else?" 00:54 <Crion> Peter will go wherever he's led. Gemma's going to find a room with good sightlines, and sit in the corner. 00:55 <Crion> Oh hey. While Tony's walking into the Hollow, Steve will try to walk in with him. From out of nowhere. Will Tony allow this? 00:56 <CBN> Tony will. "Hey there sport! He's pretty satisfied with how this all went because of Steve. "I'll grab you a sixer. Can someone watch Steve so he doesn't steal my chair?" It's unclear whether he means 'sit in it' or 'take it away.' 00:57 <Crion> honk 00:57 <banana> Melanie's not sure what to do here. She'll write another email to Langford, quickly - not that he's answered her last one, but this is important. Then.. "Do you guys want something to read? I've got..." Biology textbooks, fairy tales and continental philosophy. 00:58 <dammitwho> If Steve's the one that led us to rescue these two poor babies, Steve's alright with Maggie. She'll happily feed him lil niblets while she's baking. 00:58 <VoxPVoxD> After he gets his answer, he'll pop out cityside and text Lauren while driving to the store. <the others saved a couple of kids from loyalists. they're fresh out. who can we get to pick them up> 00:58 <Crion> Steve is uninterested in stealing...a chair. Instead he nods at the sixer comment, then waddles over to the mini-fridge, opens it up, pulls out another beer, and drags it over to Gemma. She looks confused. 00:58 <Crion> He pops it open and leaves it sitting next to her. 00:58 <Crion> honk 00:58 <Crion> Then he waddles off. 00:58 <Crion> Didn't close the fridge, though. 00:58 <Crion> Hobs. 00:58 <CBN> He hollers from the other room at Melanie. "We've got old Newsweeks piled up by the stairs if they want that! Ask them if they want that!" He returns with a sixer of MGD for the hob of the hour. 00:59 <CBN> Closes the dang fridge. Gonna be reflex soon. 00:59 <Crion> Lauren: <gerald is coming by. lexington market?> 01:00 <trenchfoot> Nels retreats into her room for a moment, carefully placing her revolver down and removing the vest. Then she's back out like nothing happened. 01:00 <VoxPVoxD> <yeah. eta?> 01:00 <trenchfoot> Her shirt's rumbled, but otherwise doesn't look like she's been in combat, so there's that. 01:00 <banana> "Yes, and magazines. Um.. people who can help you will be here soon, and we could answer questions you've got. To be honest only Stewart is good at that. Answering questions." 01:00 <Crion> <5m, he's at the office and already headed for his car> 01:00 <Crion> <maybe 10 if traffic sux> 01:01 <Crion> <also: fuck> 01:02 <trenchfoot> Rumpled. Not rumbled. That's the word that refers to shirts. 01:02 <VoxPVoxD> Not gonna need blankets then. <theyre in rough shape. gemma and peter> 01:02 <CBN> Tony awkwardly mills around in the main area while the kids do whatever it is they're doing. Attempting to be helpful, he offers, "It's 2019 now I think. I hope that isn't fucked up for you." 01:02 <Crion> <kk. have someone out front to let gerald in> 01:02 <banana> "It's fucked up for everyone else... um, Donald Trump is the President." 01:03 <VoxPVoxD> Stewart, who wasn't even a block away yet, just turns around. 01:03 <VoxPVoxD> He'll meet Gerald outside. 01:03 <CBN> "I still don't know who that is and I'm not going to learn." 01:04 <Crion> Peter is calming down, getting less shellshocked; Gemma is sipping her beer. Both will want to hang around for the food, and when Stewart lets Gerald in, he'll graciously sit through the meal. 01:04 <banana> Melanie: "Have you seen reality TV yet? Like Survivor?" 01:04 <dammitwho> Maggie: "Hey now, I can answer questions! Unless it's about modern history!" 01:05 <trenchfoot> Nels just keeps quiet. If they want to know, they'll ask. 01:05 <dammitwho> Maggie's making burgers. Kids love burgers. 01:07 <VoxPVoxD> Once Stewart's back, he'll make conversation over dinner. "Maggie, you haven't given me your reviews yet." 01:07 <CBN> Tony's wallflowering it up with the best of them, making...whatever the hob-equivalent of small talk with Steve is. 01:09 <Crion> Gerald's very polite; he'll eat as well, while making conversation with the kids. Generally doing the same thing he did with Stewart with them, except without having to explain guns. 01:09 <Crion> Steve is indulging in his beers, and is very festive. He's not even destroying things! 01:10 <banana> Is that.. the Autumn king?? No, he's not even Lost- ahh. Melanie gets it. That's......... interesting. 01:11 <banana> She's going to retreat to her library and think about that. 01:12 <dammitwho> Maggie's fussing with the condiments, cheese and sliced tomatoes and such. "Hmm. Well now. I expect you already know that I liked that Myst game quite a bit. Sort of like wandering through a fantasy story, which of course they made obvious with the traveling books and whatnot." She chuckles. "Very soothing, you know? To just sit in the Channelwood Age or what have you and muse on what 01:12 <dammitwho> you have to solve next." 01:15 <VoxPVoxD> Stewart: "Myst is really pretty that way. Did you try Portal yet?" 01:15 <dammitwho> "Portal I had a bit harder time with, but I suppose that's what practice is all about, and once I got it figured out it was delightful to get a room all set up and just run through it like a machine, flying zip! zip! zip! all over the place and landing at the door." 01:16 <dammitwho> "That robot-" She pronounces it 'robit'. "lady was a hoot! It was almost a shame you had to beat 'er at the end." 01:17 <VoxPVoxD> Stewart: "Did you listen to the song that plays after you win?" 01:18 <dammitwho> "Witness... Now I'm sorry, but Witness I could take or leave. I didn't mind the puzzles, you understand, they got the noggin' a-joggin' like you'd want, but the way they were placed in the world... I dunno. It didn't seem 'real' the way Myst did. Could be I missed something there." 01:18 <dammitwho> Maggie: "I did! It was cute." 01:18 <VoxPVoxD> Stewart: "It sets up Portal 2, which is a longer game that's also very good." 01:27 <Crion> Eventually, dinner's done and Gerald leads the kids out. Before he goes, he tells Stewart, in private: "You did well today. Doing well's not without its own problems. These loyalists, they weren't known to us. King wants to make sure they are, now." He grins. "That's what you get for giving a fuck when it wasn't your turn to give a fuck." 01:27 <Crion> --Fin.