It was a sunny afternoon. Shawn could feel the hairs on my body raise as he eyed the playground for any signs of Ralph. The wind hit his face as he sat on a swing in the local playground off of Miller. Small children were playing on the various, colorful, play equipment, as their parents kept a watchful eye on them. The noise of dogs barking at each other playfully as they chased each other in circles almost drowned out the cries of a baby whose Mom was too busy talking to her friends to notice the baby had lost its doll.

Two or three kids had just bought ice cream from a truck parked near the slide and several adults took notice and made their way towards the ice cream truck. After purchasing some vanilla cones, they took a seat at bench near the swing where Shawn was sitting.

Shawn looked around for big things, like trees or small buildings, that Ralph could be hiding behind...

OOC: Shawn Rolls Intelligence + Wits

OOC: 20:08, Today: Shawn Cramer failed (no successes) using 3d10 with the World of Darkness nWoD system with a target of 8, rerolling 10s with rolls of 5,6,5. Intelligence + Wits.

Shawn looked all around, in all of the logical places. But there was no sound of Ralph. Then he heard a sound.

"psssssst."

It was coming from his left.

"psssssst."

There it was again. The sound of a whisper. A child's whisper by all accounts. The same sound a kid might make a school when trying to get the attention of a friend without the School Teacher noticing.

"pssssst." It was coming from the direction of the ice cream truck.

Shawn had no other leads, so he walked over towards the ice cream truck, curious as to who was making that noise.

The interior of the ice cream truck was opaque. Shawn could see that now there were no customers waiting and that the adults and children that had bought ice cream from the old truck were busy enjoying the sunshine on park benches and on picnic blankets.

The noise came again, this time clearly from whomever was inside the truck.

'psssst.'

It was a low, almost inaudible whisper from deep within. A cloth canopy, green and weather beaten protruded from the roof to protect would-be ice cream buyers from the harsh sun. It cast a long shadow across the pavement that Shawn stepped into. The exterior of the truck was adorned with stickers of various ice cream for sale. But the stickers themselves were worn, their colors faded, their edges frayed from years of abuse at the hands of the weather and sun.

Shawn approached the ice cream truck curiously. Was this person just really aggressively trying to sell ice cream?

Shawn walked towards the truck. It was a hot day. And Shawn began to catch the smell of something rotten in the air. It smelled old. Like rotten fruit. The smell got stronger as Shawn approached the truck.

Standing in front of the truck now, Shawn stared into the inky darkness of the interior which was completely covered in shadows.

"Psssst..." The voice said as Shawn approached. "You lookin'...for someone?"

Shawn felt a little bit weirded out by the smell of rotten fruit - it smelled like something a legit ice cream truck proprietor wouldn't let happen. He stopped just out of reach if anything tried to lunge out of the truck, just in case.. "I am, yeah." Despite his concerns, outwardly, he tried to look curious and largely unworried, albeit a bit preoccupied with his search.

OOC: Shawn Rolls Socialize + Subterfuge + Striking Looks + 1 (Specialty - Hiding Emotions)

The interior of the truck was silent as a shadow. There was no answer for another five or six seconds. Shawn could hear the collective laughter of children playing on the swing set, the chatter of doting parents sitting on park benches.

"OK. Gimme' a second kid...**cough**..**cough**.." The harsh voice from the interior of the ice cream truck said.  There was the sound of paper rustling. The slippery screeching sound of something soft on glass.

"I got somethin' that can help. Who is it?" the voice asked.

OOC: 08:45, Today: Shawn Cramer rolled 7 successes using 7d10 with the World of Darkness nWoD system with a target of 8, rerolling on 9 or more with rolls of 9(+10,7),10(+7),10(+4),8,6,2,10(+10,5). Socialize + Subterfuge + Striking Looks + 1.

Shawn gave no indication of how he felt. He was a stone-faced as the Sphinx.

There was a shuffling of paper again followed by scratching sounds. Shawn could envision some kind of library inside the truck. Or at least that was the way it sounded. A gentle breeze came and blew through Shawn's hair.

Then the voice signaled that it was ready.

"Got it. OK Kid....*cough*...*cough*...who ya' lookin' for?"

"I'm looking for my brother. He's about yay high, he's got brown hair, and he's wearing a blue shirt and brown shorts? He ran away, but he comes here a lot." Shawn tried to squint into the ice cream truck.

OOC:

1: Shawn Rolls Wits + Subterfuge + Striking Looks vs. ?

2: Shawn Rolls Wits + Composure - 2 (dark) with the following Results

0 Successes: It's too dark and spooky to see anything else than pools of shadows inside the truck

1 Successes: Shawn can make something out...

2+ Successes: Shawn sees something!

OOC: 22:48, Today: Shawn Cramer failed (no successes) using 7d10 with the World of Darkness nWoD system with a target of 8, rerolling on 9 or more with rolls of 2,2,6,5,7,5,5. Wits + Subterfuge + Striking Looks.

22:48, Today: Shawn Cramer rolled 1 success using 2d10 with the World of Darkness nWoD system with a target of 8, rerolling 10s with rolls of 9,1.  Wits + Composure - 2.

Shawn gave his best description, even going so far as to refer to the missing kid as 'his brother.' As he did so, he could make out a silhouette figure within the truck. The outline of an adult, for sure. An adult that was wearing some kind of baggy outfit or clothing. Ragged hair fell in clumps out from an unkempt head, hanging low just above the shoulders, which were broad. The rough outline of cuffed sleeves that sprouted out at the wrists.

"Kid...you can't fool me so quit tryin." The harsh voice said. "We both know it ain't **cough**..**cough**..your brother."


The voice went from harsh, to a shrill, angry whisper. It was filled with such rage that Shawn could see the outside of the van vibrate.

"I should cut your nose off...for...what...you did....**cough**...to Gaggles." The voice strained in a whisper.

Then the voice cracked. The sound of someone on the verge of a hysterical breakdown. "They got Mr. Pibbles too." The voice said, and now it sounded like it was choking, on the verge of crying. "She got the whole crew..." the voice croaked, and Shawn thought he heard a few sniffles.

"Pibbles an I were good friends...and now he's gone. He ain't comin' back. Not this time. She packed him off with the rest of the souls for the Proprietor to consume. So he's gone. I'd say good for him. But it isn't. It's worse bein' consumed by him. The souls he takes. He makes them a part of him. It's worse then....**cough**...**cough**..**cough**." The voice broke down into a hacking, coughing fit before recovering.

"Worse than bein' cursed by the Circus kid. Much worse. Once you're part of him. Your evil just like us. But you aren't even you anymore. You're somethin' else."

"But it doesn't matter now." The figure in the ice cream truck said, resigned to what was going to happen. "Now she's gonna turn this place into a livin' hell. You watch. I was going to feed the Circus' need from places all around the country. Spread out the misery that we live on. But her? Ha..ha..*cough*..*cough*. She'll do what she always does. She'll make this town into her own personal hell."

"So who ya' lookin' for kid? I'll help you out. And you don't tell no one that I'm hidin' here. Fair?"

Shawn felt an almost Pavlovian sense of fear as the bottom dropped out of his stomach. "You..."

But as the seconds passed and Shawn realised the figure wasn't going to go after him in broad daylight, he decided to play along. For now. "It's Ralph. I'm looking for Ralph. You remember him, right? I hope you do, you took him hostage to make me and Eric kill each other."

"Ralph." Mr. Cherrywinks' harsh voice from inside the truck said. "Yeah. I know Ralph. All too well. Yeah I took him. Yeah its true." He agreed with Shawn.

"But you watch how bad things are...**cough**...**cough**...**cough** gonna to get under The Fortune Teller's reign." Cherrywinks warned.

"And just to prove myself right, and to show I'm tellin' ...**cough**...**cough**...**cough** the truth, I'll tell you were your precious, stinkin' Ralph is, kid. And if he's there, then you know what I'm tellin' you is true."

There was the sound of creaking wood and squeaking glass like a windshield wiper.

"He's at the school. Out back. Behind it. Where kids play at recess." Cherrywinks finished.

“If he’s there, I won’t mention I saw you.” Shawn was a liar, and Cherrywinks would know it. But in this case, he was being honest. Well, to a point, at least; as long as he could plead ignorance. Hearing about what his nominal boss might be up to worried him.

The squeaky Windex on glass noise was replaced by a ruffling of fabric, and Shawn sensed some kind of movement inside the truck. Then there was the slight sound of wood creaking.

"Just remember what I said kid. She's a tyrant. Things are gonna get much, much worse around here." And with that, Cherrywinks voice devolved completely into a hacking fit that sounded phlegmy and wet.

"Are you staying here?" If Cherrywinks was sticking around, that made Shawn think maybe he didn't have much choice, considering.

"No kid. **cough**...**cough**..." Cherrywinks replied from deep within the truck. The truck itself creaked a bit as if whatever activity that was going on inside involved the movement of several objects, the shifting of weight.

"I gotta keep a low profile kid. I'm hunted now. This time **cough**...**cough**...its different. This time, it ain't about gettin' noses and open'n up the Circus like it should be. This time its about Survival."

"I gotta keep movin.' I gotta stay one step ahead or I'll be down in that Well like the others. She's already gettin' rid most people in the Circus one by one."

Shawn didn't look sceptical so much as confused. "If you want to run from her, you shouldn't be in the city she's going to target, right? And what do you mean getting rid of people?"

"Uhhh...Your right kid." Cherrywinks said, sounding suddenly confused. "Your right. I gotta get a beat outta here."

"Getting rid of people. Sendin' 'em down to the Proprietor. I mean, have you heard about her takin' the Old kids and pushin' them down the well. And she's invitin' new Kids to your neighborhood. She's gonna kill all of them. You watch."

"I will." Shawn had a feeling that despite his words, he'd see Cherrywinks here in the city again. Something about his expression when he'd asked why he stayed told him that. "I've gotta go get Ralph."

OOC: Shawn Joins Thread

Shawn: Looking Behind the School...