Shawn wondered why Hogwash wanted acorns so badly, and kept and eye open to see what other things the children were gathering, in case it was important later. For now, he had to keep quiet and observe.

The kids shuffled through the muck, picking through sticks and rocks. One kid found a shiny bicycle part. Hogwash came up running behind the kid, swiping out of his hand and holding it up to the light, and smiling a greedy, crooked smile.

When all the baskets were full he said



"Make it faster next time my pretties. We have a lot of work to do. I want those acorns stored in jars. Any pieces of metal or scrap paper should be placed in the round bins next to the balloons and darts when we get back. Now MUSH!" And he jerked the chains, the the fist kid nearly falling over as he stumbled forward.

Soon all the kids made their way back into the hole in the earth, the leaves made slight, unsettling hissing sound as the formed back together, appearing as normal.

Everything was quiet for a bit until Eddy got up slowly. He peered around the rock to check that the coast was clear. In the distance, high up above in a tree, a bird was tweeting.

"What the heck was that? It was like a ...big..a big...SHIT PIG!" He announced, voice partly fascinated, other part mad with fear and disgust.

"Friggin' acorns and all get-out! Jesus titty-Christ!" He said, running his hand through his hair. "Did you guys see that? I mean did you just friggin' see what I just saw? I big SHIT PIG! And he's got kid slaves? Can someone please tell me what is going on here? This is really gay guys!" He said with disbelief.

"It's magical." Erica chimed in. "I know about magic stuff. And that was a magical event. That's what they call it. An 'event.'" She instructed.

"It's the Circus." Ralph said in barely a whisper, though neither kid was listening.

"You can call it whatever you want. Whatever you want that makes you feel better. Jesus! Can you believe that?"

He turned to Erica to make his point more clear, shaking his head in disbelief

"You can call an 'event' if you want. I'll call it gay. 100 Percent, balls-to-the-wall gay! That was what that was. I mean, a pig in forest? That was probably the strangest, gayest thing I've ever seen in my life. What are we gonna do about it?" he asked the group, demanding some kind of answer.

Shawn kept silent, even after he was absolutely sure the pig monster was gone. At Eddy and Erica's reactions, he just looked confused and bewildered; he didn't want to bring them into what was going on with the Circus.

"Can't do..do..do..do..nothing about it." Ralph chimed in.

"Shut up." Eddy said, silencing Ralph. "I'm not talking to you. This is big kid stuff. We have to handle it. We have to come up with a plan." He said, and he started to pace back and forth.

"pig...shit...floor..forest." The words coming out of his mouth like different pieces of a puzzle, his face screwed up as if he was trying to solve a difficult math problem. His feet were shuffling through the debris of leaves and stick on the forest floor, a detective, trying to work it out.

"Maybe we can find some kind of sport thing to deal with it." He proposed.

"Huh?" Erica said. "I think we just, I don't know, go home or something."

"Can't do..do..do..do..nothing about it." Ralph said again. A mouses voice.

But Eddy wasn't listening. "No, hear me out." He said to Shawn and Erica.

"We come here tomorrow. Same place. Just like today. And we wait for it. But then I'll wait behind that tree. And when the Pig thing comes, I'll bull-charge it! Then I'll tackle it like its the Super Bowl!!"

He waited for Shawn and Erica's approval or applause, based on the way he was smiling, hands in the air.

Shawn looked at Eddy, a little confused and very worried. Would the pig monster even come back tomorrow? "That seems really dangerous, Eddy. I know you're brave and all, but what if he chains you up?"

Eddy looked upset. Whether it was because he didn't like what Shawn said or because he feared the Pig Monster, or perhaps both.

"No way. Don't be gay." he insisted. "You saw it. And I saw it. We can't just walk away from it. That would be...would be..." he pondered, thinking of the right word.

"That wouldn't be American." He finished, satisfied that he added that word into the mix.

"But we don't even know what's going on..." Shawn was lying, sure, but he was more worried about what might happen if they came back. Even if somehow they could release the other kids, they'd all be in the Circus' sights. He had to convince them to forget this ever happened.

The weight of that pressure came down on Shawn's shoulders. The feeling of responsibility. Shawn mounted a convincing argument, trying to get Eddy to think differently about what he was suggesting.

OOC: Shawn Rolls Manipulation + Socialize + Striking looks

Shawn laid out his argument with all the conviction he could, trying to sew doubt in Eddy mind.

OOC: 07:46, Today: Shawn Cramer rolled 2 successes using 7d10 with the World of Darkness nWoD system with a target of 8, rerolling 10s with rolls of 6,3,9,2,1,10(+7),2.  Manipulation + Socialize + Striking looks.

22:22, Today: Shawn's Acquaintance - Eddy Hughs rolled 1 success using 3d10 with the World of Darkness nWoD system with a target of 8, rerolling 10s ((8,4,6)).

"Ughhh!" Eddy relented. "If you say so. Fine. Not today, but maybe tomorrow or the next day. Or next week for sure. I'll figure something out. Maybe something with a better plan to it. Honestly, we're only here because Erica's dream told us to come."

"It's true." Erica mused. "I had another magic dream. A deep voice told me to come to this spot in the forest. I didn't want to show up alone. So I brought Eddy."

"You ever had that happened to you Shawn? A deep voice from under the bed or the closet?"

Shawn was glad Eddy decided against his plan, but it seemed like the idea was still in his head. He'd have to see if he could talk privately with him, away from the others. Part of him wondered if Eddy would act so brave and rash if he didn't have an audience.

"I have weird dreams sometimes. But I usually forget them when I wake up." Shawn lied so often now it was almost becoming second nature. "Maybe you shouldn't be listening, you know?"

"This sucks. Why did we even come out here?" Eddy complained.

"You're probably right." Erica said more towards Shawn than Eddy, actually completely igonoring Eddy's thoughts. "You know what? I'm a good magical dream interpreter. Oh yeah, I am. How about that? Do you want me to read your palm or translate your dreams. I'm good at that stuff. One time I went to a fortune teller at the carnival and I learned how to do it."

Erica seemed to be pretty levelheaded, much to Shawn's relief. Hopefully he could stay on good terms with her and she wouldn't walk into any Circus problems. In keeping with that sense, he held out his hand. "Give it a shot if you want." He glanced over at Eddy to see if he was getting bored enough to go home. Shawn still wanted to talk to him privately.

"Palm reading? What the heck is that? That's for fags. You don't want her to read your palm, right? I mean, not really? That's not tough at all. That's lame gay stuff."

"Do I need to remind you guys that we just saw a Pig Creature!?" He asked with shock that both Shawn and Erica would consider such a trivial exercise in the wake of such an astounding discovery.

"Yeah, but its only going to take a second." Erica said. But Eddy kept complaining.

"Look, if you keep distracting me, it will take longer" She pleaded.

She examined Shawn's hand.

"Oh my God!" she exclaimed, running her index finger across the straight line that Shawn had on his right hand. "You have a Simian crease! That's really rare for a heart-line. It means that you are a person who is really in control of their emotions. Someone who keeps things under control."


Shawn looked at his right hand. It was a straight, simple line. Running from one side of his palm to the other.

Looking at his other hand, he had two curved lines. The top one was concave up and the lower one concave down. They nearly touched at the center.