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Visitor :  Dice Roller| Game Info| The Cast |
| 02.02: Morning in Magnuson Park (Marcus) Posted by Narrator. | Group: 0 |
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| Author | Message | [bottom] |
Building 9 stood, red-bricked and boarded-up, looking all but unattended. Marcus knew that, late in the morning, Angus would be working in the remains of the South end chapel with one or more of the blighted, the addicted with no further recourse to their drug of choice. Some days, Angus had a handful of supplicants, other days, none at all. But still, after a month and a half of tending, he still made the pilgrimage from Tacoma. Every day. The loss of the Red Court had had a serious impact on the people of Seattle, even among the people of Oz, though it was rarely acknowledged. Ozma had a very special treatment for those too far gone. All Marcus knew was that the afflicted in Oz were sent to a facility along the Munchkin River, within the woods of the talking trees. This message was last updated by the player at 07:04, Fri 27 Oct 2017. | |||
When Marcus emerged on the main floor, most of the place had cleared out. There were two men having a loud discussion about funding the rehabilitation project for the barracks, but Marcus knew that the project would end up mired in delays and problems. The Oz legal department knew how to do it's job, on both the material and immaterial levels. "Marcus." Delilah, one of the occasionals sat by the entrance they used, one of the boarded doors in the rear of the building. She appeared as a teenaged girl, pink-haired and cowled in an over-sized black hoodie with white skull printed across the front. The Misfits hoodie was her favorite and she'd worn it consistently for weeks. She thought it made her look tough. But she could hardly be anything more than cute. "Prince Marvel. He... Delilah said, something approaching a quaver of awe in her voice. "He came through last night. He asked me to tell you... he was seeking the scarlet lady. He wished to meet with you tonight, at sundown." | |||
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OOC: Prince Marvel... you got the reference. It's a lesser mantle taken on by "adventuring faeries" outside of Oz. Typically for those who don't normally go outside the confines of the emerald empire, allowing them to explore the mortal world. Magnuson Park had been hailed as a standard for urban ecology. It created high performance wetlands on what had been 12 acres of impervious concrete. Through the creation of an ecologically rich wetlands, sports fields, and paths for exploration and education, the park provides an integrative space that meshes the ecological and human needs with great success. That Marcus had taken residence there had not gone unnoticed. And in the weeks that followed, others of Oz had followed suit. The wetlands of Sand Point was ripe for annexation by Oz, and Marcus knew that Ozma had her eye on the space. She hadn't yet extended her protection over the area, but it was coming. Perhaps in another five to ten years. One of the oddities of recent times was there remarkable growth of a small copse of five white poplar trees in the middle of the central wetlands, a little east of Frog Pond Trail. Some of the homeless and tourists had taken to leaving flowers at the base of the trees--one large tree surrounded by four younger poplars aligned with the cardinal directions. And in recent months, some of the far had also taken to using the poplars as a meeting place. Donna Devia had suggested that she thought it was perhaps the birthing place of a Leuce, though she hadn't seen or heard of one outside of Greece. OOC: here's a good map of the area: www.seattle.gov/...magnuson_map.pdf This message was last edited by the player at 22:19, Fri 10 Nov 2017. | |||
Straightening with a faint twinge from his back Marcus stared off into the middle distance as he considered. The Marshal had the keys and would be most likely to be able to follow up on that side of the investigation. He needed to arrange for the promised chaos to the inhabitant of the golf course which would mean some brief dealings with some of the smaller fae and probably the need for a bribe or two. Best thing was to take a walk by the poplars first, skirt to one of the more visited areas of the park for a bit of panhandling and then on to fulfilling his end of the deal. Looking across to the two men still engaged in their discussion to make sure things were not escalating to a full blown argument Marcus nodded to Delilah before heading out, striding along with surprising enthusiasm for a man his age. | |||
Magnuson park was a tiny little fiefdom, man-made recovered from garbage and disarray only a decade before. Seattle was proud of it's accomplishment and Marcus knew that the park itself did a lot more than just mitigate the drain-water issues of this part of the city... Healing happened in all sort of ways, and beacons of hope were desperately needed. The poplars were where they'd been before, looking to Marcus like four children surrounding their mother. But the mother tree had little yellow buds on her branches, just barely breaking open to expose the white tufts of cottonish fluff within. All around the trees, there were other flowers--roses and petunias, rare avenias and lush verbenas. It looked all the world like a shrine. As he stood a while in thought, a young woman come into his view. She'd come off of 65th Ave, and picked her way along the mounds and hills of the wetlands clearly moving toward the poplars herself. As she got closer, Marcus could see that she was a young asian lady with dusky skin and very red lips. She wore a little red beret and a black and white skirt with touches of red on it. Red tights and combat boots. Her black jacket obscured whatever she might've been wearing undernaeth. This message was last edited by the player at 11:46, Fri 17 Nov 2017. | |||
As she climbed the hill toward Marcus and the poplars, he noticed that she carried a bundle of wild-flowers, herself. And a heavy strap over her shoulder, that he now recognized as a camera-bag. "They're beautiful, aren't they?" she nodded at the trees. | |||
When the visitor arrived he was still somewhat distracted and he turned a faintly distant smile on the lady addressing him before blinking a couple of times and aligning his thoughts back into place to address her, "They certainly are. And getting more so each day." Marcus nodded at the main tree and its slowly budding branches, a sign that the tree still was working towards its growth. He noted the woman's carried goods and smiled again, a great deal more focused now, "Here just to get some shots of it or have you been taking pictures elsewhere first?" | |||
After a couple of moments Jaslene nodded toward the trees and the flowers laid at their base. "Do you know why the flowers?" It sounded like an honest question, not a lead-in to anything. Entirely your call how you answer. This message was last edited by the player at 02:45, Sat 06 Jan 2018. | |||
"The flowers are here...they're here because you are. And I am. Because while beauty may be in the eye of the beholder some sights are near universally accepted as worth taking a moment to appreciate them." Stepping slightly closer to the polars, raising his hands up to move near without ever actually touching the budding leaves of new life on the main tree Marcs expression lost the smile and he spoke with a lower tone, half to himself and half not, "We all pause to appreciate a sunrise, or the beautiful sound of someone playing music. But they are brief moments of wonder and we can move on afterwards. More permanent symbols of beauty like this we struggle to move on from. So we leave things behind. People graffiti monuments, toss coins into fountains and leave other similar signs of their presence as tribute at places that move them because otherwise if they move away they are abandoning something beautiful without leaving anything in exchange for how it made them feel." He turned his gaze back to Jaslene, "It's a similar thing to graves and flowers. We cannot stay there lost in memories forever so we leave something behind to feel a link even after we leave the graveyard." This message was last edited by the GM at 02:45, Sat 06 Jan 2018. | |||
Side note: That was beautiful! Jaslene smiled, nodding. "Great Monuments are the results of hard work, effort, a testament to the person or event that inspired it. But nature's beauty... especially in an urban environment. There's a contrast there that I really like. I think people need reassurance, that there is beauty in decay, hope in darkness, and peace despite our inner turmoil. We get faster and faster everyday. So, I'm all about taking a moment. " "Do you know if they were planted?" Jaslene asked. "Or was it random chance, do you think? City planning did't plan for them, but they aren't moving to do anything about them either." What I find really intriguing is that there's mention of the poplars on the internet. FourSquare had an entry. It seemed like a good idea to shoot them. May I photograph you with them?: This message was last edited by the player at 02:43, Sat 06 Jan 2018. | |||
"Sounds like you found the right calling. Always good to see that." There was no irony in Marcus voice, he had seen enough people in his previous life stuck in a position of necessity rather than something they wanted to be doing. The question of if they were planted or chance he considered for a moment before answering, "I don't think they were planted but I think it's not chance alone they've survived this far and bloomed. I would bet some people have been keeping an eye on them and if the surroundings were not the way they are they would not have gotten this far." The reference to FourSquare flew over his head. He tended not to work with apps at all and while he did not miss all of them that one at least Marcus did not recognise, "The internet's a chance for anyone to share their lives so I suppose it makes sense they showed up, given it seems they're getting a bit of local attention." The question of if he could be shot with the plants was an easier one. "I've no problems with the photo. But I'd take one without me too. People should be able to appreciate them without anyone detracting from them in the picture." | |||
After several minutes, Jaslene smiled and offered to show Marcus what she'd shot via the little LCD screen on the back of her camera. In all but one, his face was turned and he was an accessory, complementing the trees, not overshadowing them. In the one that showed his face, he looked almost serene, but aged, wise and innocent at the same time. "Ah, That's awesome!" Jaslene said. "Now I've captured your soul!" Jaslene asked if there were other places Marcus knew that she could photograph. There's a vibe about the poplars that she'd like to follow-up on. Slight Retcon: Changed Tanjin to Jaslene. Don't know why I messed that up. Probably created both the characters at the same time. This message was last edited by the player at 02:46, Sat 06 Jan 2018. | |||
The question of where she could take further photos gave him brief pause. If Jaslene were to tread too closely to the supernatural then she ran the risk of catching some things on camera that would lead to trouble. That said if nothing else it was rarely a bad idea to get some publicity to the right places. He suggested a few places in the safer sections of town that had similar setups, due in some cases due to supernatural presences but most simply those bits of wonder entirely down to mundane origins. Those he recommended with fae presence he made a mental note to stop by at some point in the future to see if she had stopped by. There was nothing that exactly matched the poplars in his initial suggestions but he paused at the end of his suggestions before adding, "If you do not find anything with quite the same vibe then stop by here again and I'll see if I can suggest anywhere else." | |||
The morning had become brighter, crisper, full of promise and Marcus felt a lightening of his soul. It didn't last long. When he returned to the barracks, Delilah was sobbing. She sat in the doorway where he'd left her, huddled over herself as if she were sheltering a small animal. She pulled away when he approached. and wouldn't meet his eyes. There was blood on her fingers. "I didn't know what to do." She said, "I thought it as you. But you aren't so mean. You--he-... I think the hard-hat guy is dead!" | |||
His other hand tightened around the cane he carried and it was only as he felt pressure beneath his grip Marcus was able to stop himself from shattering it in his hand with the power of his mantle. That someone would enter this place and violate its sanctuary was an insult to him and his patron both and the power he bore reacted accordingly. Combined with the anger that someone would attack those under his protection and he had a lot of rage that at this point he was in danger of wasting. It needed to be directed at the correct target rather than wasted. | |||
Delilah motioned with her chin out beyond. She'd dragged the body of the construction worker into the barracks. "Stabbed him.." She said. But she still couldn't bring herself to look upon Marcus. "I didn't want to leave him. Others saw them talking. And if you killed him, I didn't think you wanted his body just lying out in the open. He was really fragile, wasn't he? Really slow." The body was inside the first doorway. There was no blood on the ground, no indication that the body had been moved. "There's going to be other people looking for him." Delilah said. "The city." She might've looked small and slight, but Delilah had a solid grounding and a strong backbone. She was more concerned with protecting Marcus than with the swiftness or brutality of what had happened. | |||
Straightening he looked in the direction she had indicated the body had been moved to, mind working calmly. The body had to be disposed of, the best way to move it would be one of the heavier duty carpets that were being ripped up for replacement in the building carried by some people willing to not ask questions or look too closely. Once it was clear in one of the skips then it was just a matter of hunting down something hungry enough. A rawhead would be best but there were few of them around, a Gozzle Goblin would chow down on anything it would get though most of them kept their heads down to avoid trouble so he would need to put some time in to find one and if all else failed there were enough fae out there willing to try anything once as a meal. "I'll take care of it." He forced as much warmth and appreciation into his voice as he could. Delilah had potentially saved what was being done here. There was still hope for it to work even if this was a major problem. And, even more importantly, someone's life had been taken and as such retribution was required. People needed to feel safe here and if anything that threatened that safety needed to be removed. |
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