There was no way for Henri to truly know what the voice's intentions were, but listening to the simple, child-like explanation, he found himself feeling less threatened. Clearly, whomever he was talking to was already in some kind of discomfort. The idea that the voice was perhaps lonely also began to take shape in Henri's mind.

"I am sorry that you are here also but I do not know who or what you are," Henri said.  "And I also do not know if you are one of those who are a part of all of this.  So I think that perhaps we should part ways."  With that he began to head on the way that he had been going.  He did so with caution, carefully watching ahead as well as where the voice had come from.

"Don't stay out too long in the rain." The voice warned. "You could catch a cold."

Henri squinted. It was clear the voice was coming from behind the dart game counter. Somewhere behind that counter. The counter itself started to fade into the distance has Henri took steps into the muck.

Rain fell in crazy chaotic drops, the gusting wind carrying them against Henri's face in diagonal sheets. It ran down his face as a thin, cold layer. His socks squished with each step.

To his left, there were a line of prize booths with old, ragged stuffed animals. Some had cotton stuffing falling out, others with missing an eye where a matching button should have been.

After struggling through the rain for several minutes, Henri came upon a row of gaming booths on both his left and right that might offer shelter. He was deep in the maze of sideshow alley now.

There was the classic Fish ball toss booth, the ring toss, money wheel spin, five pin bowling, whack a mole, wooden nickel toss and even the spill the milk game.

Henri kept moving, looking for any sign of anyone that he had met in the cabin.

Henri walked for what felt like an hour in the rain. He weaved his way through the mass of gaming booths before arriving at an exit. From his position at the bottom of the hill, he could see a tent, obscured with red and yellow clouds, which lingered above it. It sat up upon the hill like a watchful hawk, looking down on the empty Circus below.



Henri saw the headlights of a car outside of that tent turn on. The sound of a Volkswagon Motor turning over.

Henri ducked down, to stay out of sight, waiting to see where the Bug with the midget clown went.

Henri ducked to the side of the Strongman game, his hand resting on a giant antique circus carnival mallet.

OOC: Henri Rolls Wits + Composure

22:20, Today: Henri Aiton rolled 2 successes using 4d10 with the World of Darkness nWoD system with a target of 8, rerolling 10s ((7,10(+4),8,4)).

Henri saw it. He saw it as clear as day. Others had alluded to it. April had said as much just before the Clown had attacked here. Before Naomi died. Henri watched as the boy on top of the hill stood peering down. Their eyes met.

It was Shawn.

The boy who had wrote his name in the Book. And if April was to be believed, then this was the boy that had send him, sent them to this place by writing their names in the Book.

OOC - now I'm a bit confused here.  As far as I can find, and I just went back and looked through this thread and the other thread, but April never did say anything about Shawn.  The clown on the unicycle made the claim that Shawn had sold us out, but no one else did.  Bradford made that claim, but that was somewhere that Henri/Naomi/April were not at.

OOC: Right. Sorry about that. Assume that April had mentioned it. I think I was sneaking that in there as backstory that actually was written in-thread. Sorry if it as confusing.

The car drove by and Henri, for just one moment saw Shawn in the passenger seat. Their eyes met and then Shawn turned away. Curiously, Henri saw a Clown driving the car. It's face was streaked with red, blood plike tears.

The car drove by and Henri, for just one moment saw Shawn in the passenger seat. Their eyes met and then Shawn turned away. Curiously, Henri saw a Clown driving the car. It's face was streaked with red, blood plike tears.

The car drove by and Henri, for just one moment saw Shawn in the passenger seat. Their eyes met and then Shawn turned away. Curiously, Henri saw a Clown driving the car. It's face was streaked with red, blood plike tears.

Not having seen any sign of any of the people he might trust, Henri headed back through the booths to the trailers.

Henri was looking for someone he could trust. But the rain was coming down stronger than ever as Henri left the hill. Storms brewed on the cold horizon promising nothing but winds to level even the mightiest of trees to the soil might not resist.. The darkness and damp-smelling air threatened to render Henri helpless beneath whatever pitiful shelter he sought among the booths. Henri  David his eyes to the charcoal sky, his attention held by a golden streak, a crack in the cloud layer where some version of the the sun, an angry red, streamed through as fast as water through a cracked dam.

But it didn't last. Soon the clouds overpowered whatever lay beyond them, casting the entire landscape in darkness. Rain pummeled Henri, and for a moment it looked like he might not make it to the booths. Henri struggled to move, forcing himself

OOC: Henri Rolls Dexterity + Stamina with the following results:

0 Successes: Swept away - The wind and water drag Henri down to depths unseen, washing him away like water down a drain

1 Success: Henri grabs on to something, holding on to the side of a structure (Henri will have to make the same roll again with more than 1 success)

2 Successes: Henri finds Shelter in the gaming Booths.

09:22, Today: Henri Aiton rolled 1 success using 6d10 with the World of Darkness nWoD system with a target of 8, rerolling 10s ((1,10(+4),4,2,6,4)).

Riiiiiiiiiiip. The sound of cloth tearing as Henri found himself lifted up by gale force wind. He managed to grab onto the flapping, weathered fabric of one of the Circus tents. Straining his eyes, he grabbed the the fabric, feeling it slipping through his fingers, the rain and wind pushing against him and threatening to take him away.

OOC: Henri Rolls Dexterity + Stamina with the following results:

0 Successes: Swept away - The wind and water drag Henri down to depths unseen, washing him away like water down a drain

1 Success: Henri grabs on to something, holding on to the side of a structure (Henri will have to make the same roll again with more than 1 success)

2 Successes: Henri finds Shelter in the gaming Booths.

19:44, Today: Henri Aiton rolled 1 success using 6d10 with the World of Darkness nWoD system with a target of 8, rerolling 10s ((8,5,1,3,6,1)).

OOC - still hanging in there, LOL.


19:46, Today: Henri Aiton rolled 3 successes using 6d10 with the World of Darkness nWoD system with a target of 8, rerolling 10s ((1,6,10(+9),1,3,8)).

OOC - finally shelter.

Henri worked his way down the fabric, pulling himself arm, over arm. He strained to see in front of him, the wind whipping about his face and hair. The muscles in his forearms burned as he drew himself closer to the canvass roof of the tent, legs dangling in the air as the wind threatened to take him away.

Then, with a last ditch effort, he reached out with one hand, grabbing the open, yawning hole in the roof of the tent, pushing himself inward.

Immediately, he felt himself moving downward in a sliding motion, the canvass below him giving way and pushing downward. Water rushed down in a torrent, Henri's legs now no longer dangling above him, but in the air in front of him as he slid downward. A sense of weightlessness gripped his stomach As he found himself in mid-air, only to hit something seconds later with a cloud 'clompffff' sound.

A stinging feeling on his backside, Henri was surprised to find that he was in a chair. A Victorian chair. Tea cups and saucers lay turned on their side. Stuffed animals, the kind that might be given away as prizes, were seated around the table. In the center, there was a tea pot which smelled of a rich, oak spice. A low candle burned in the corner of the room, giving light to the scene.

"What's this?" A smarmy, but refined voice said. A creature no bigger than a toddler sat itself at the opposite side of the table, starting to examine Henri with quizzical eyes.

"A guest?"

Henri wiped the dripping water from his face.  "Uh, hello.  I am sorry for dropping in so suddenly without warning.  The weather is unpleasent at the moment.  I will be leaving as soon as it is possible.  Please do not trouble yourself on my account."

"It's no bother, really. I do worry that you might not make it far in this storm. We get them now and then."

"You are welcome at my fire. I rarely get guests here and my hat goes off to anybody who can sit down and put their heads together. I am ready for something like that because I am free and I am happy and I have time. There were a lot of things in the way before. I have nothing but time, and I love getting older."

"I shall not disturb you, or any here.  I will leave as soon as the storm lessens."

"Time is a mind construct. It's not real. Who are you?"