The MIB escorted Abe, and perhaps Tom, into the elevator.

"Do you have eyes on Sandstorm," the MIB asks no one in particular and then presses the 2 button. The infrastructure glass luxury vinyl floored elevator rose smoothly and quietly and soon the elevator bell jingles just before the doors opened on the second floor.

The music hit when the doors opened, surprising as the elevator had been quiet just a moment before. Some band was playing downstairs, they seemed pretty good. And the dance floor was teeming with people so you weren't the only one to think so.

There were a lot of people on the second floor too. In all states of enjoying themselves.

More women than not kept their eyes on Abe, some even said "hi." While others used more subtle means to show their interest and availability. And by the stares the guys next to some of these women gave him, it was clear that some of them actually were there with a date.

The MIB escorted you to Sparrow who was seated on her own at a table for four, nursing a glass of white wine. A disgruntled man was walking away from the table.

Abe noticed all the ladies noticing him.  He'd gotten little notice from the fairer sex before - marine or not.  This was very strange.  When he saw a man walking away from Sparrow dejectedly, he had to smile, though.

He approached her table and asked, "Would this be a good time for an apparently now-handsome guy to sit here and fend off the uncommitted?"

Sandstorm? Maybe that was some kind of code in the elevator. Tom commits it to memory in case he needs it later.

The music attracts Tom, and he takes a quick glance downstairs, wondering what the band's name is.

"You're a popular guy, Abe," he says with a grin as quite a number of people seemed quite fascinated by his friend. "I'll go hang out and listen to the band while you talk with Sparrow. Come over and get me if you need me."

Tom takes a seat at a table with a view down to the first floor, orders a Coke, and sits back to listen to the music.

When Tom and Abe split up, the MIB requested backup, and soon another one of them came to watch over Tom while the first one accompanied Abe to Sparrow.

Abe asked for an invitation to sit down at Sparrow's table.

"Please sit down Abe," Sparrow says and smiles. "Beauty is what we are. It has always been that way."

The MIB remains silent and close by.

"So are you guys done then? Or is there more for the others to do?"


Tom gets his coke quickly. Next to new Abe, he doesn't stand a chance with the ladies, but he was strong and fit. And he did have a "bodyguard" keeping an eye on him. All of which he can use to his advantage. And this is a target-rich environment. In more ways than one.

The band was good and they had an excellent guitarist

Abe took a seat with a smile.  "It will take some time for me to get used to that.  We are done with the Baron, but the two not here are down testing out their new abilities to see which clan they belong to."  He responded.

He thought for a second then asked, "Are there multiple varieties of Fae or are we homogenously beautiful and magical?"

"Do you use words like that in mixed company," Sparrow says. Though phrased like a question, it's a reminder that there are people all around them. And that you never know what can be overheard. She makes a long pause.

"My family has its eccentrics like any family, but not like the family of your new friends. But beauty is one of our family traits, we can't help it."

Abe was about to question just what level of discretion Sparrow expected when he realized that he had said the F word.  Instead, he reddened slightly.  "Won't happen again."  He said quietly.

He looked out over the crowd.  "So do you do family business full time, or do you have a private gig?  Or is it taboo to ask about that: keep the two separate?"  He asked.

"Very few members of my family live here. And I don't go home very often. But the community I live in is good to me. Your new friends included. And if you play your cards right, they may become very good clients for you."

Abe smiled.  Her words were encouraging to him.  He wasn't sure what was going to happen as far as the other guys were concerned, but so long as Tom's nature didn't compel him to kill Abe, it seemed like he had walked into a world of win.  "That is very good news.  Is mobility with this clientele going to be a concern?  I'd kind of like to return to college in the fall and finish my degree.  It doesn't all carry over to my new company but I feel like my two worlds will complement each other well and each help me to thrive in the other... acknowledging that as a student and relative youth in both, I've got a very limited perspective."

"You know how they like my kind of mobility," Sparrow says. "So if mobility isn't an issue for you, you should still be able to work as much as you have time for. What are you studying?"

The MIB who was watching Tom heads over to the elevator and a new MIB comes up the stairs to take his place.

The elevator door opens and Dean looks mountainous next to the foot shorter Pakistani female. They could have put two of her in Dean with room left over. You recognize her as one of the vampires in the garage. Next to her right foot, a pure white, short-haired chihuahua kept pace with her.

The dog turned more heads than Abe had done earlier, but this time with negative reactions. Dogs weren't allowed in the club. But the petite woman in a black leather tank top, black leather pants, and a black cloak held a motorcycle helmet in her hand didn't care what they were thinking. Instead, she strutted through as if she owned the place.
This message was last edited by the GM at 22:56, Tue 12 Nov 2019.

Dean seems acutely aware of the attention the newly declares Sire was attracting as they exited the elevator.

To start, Dean is not at all dressed for a night out at a five star club. Maybe a jog, or a workout, but not anything like what the majority of customers were wearing.

Then he factors in the steely determination and purposeful gait of the petite Asali, her "cloak" and of course her chihuahua. Eccentric was one word that comes to his mind.

With the lights, and the music, and the crowd Dean has trouble seeing his friends, but he moves a pace or two behind the woman with an expression that appears serious and resigned.

When he does manage to catch Tom's eye, Dean tries to motion for him to follow with a jerk of his head.
This message was last edited by the player at 23:05, Tue 12 Nov 2019.

In reply to Dragondog (msg # 10):

"That's a good call.  I hadn't thought about high-speed travel.  I was thinking more about the *political* ramifications of being there, though."  Abe responded.  "I'm dual-majoring in Criminal Justice and Police Science, and have several years practical experience as an MP that it's building on."

As Tom sat at his table, listening to the band, he was thinking over what the others had said about being a Hunter. Thus far, of the four of them, he had the least clear idea of what a Hunter entailed. Abe had mentioned Van Helsing, and Sparrow had said that was a similar idea, but that Hunters typically killed each other. Weird. Vampires killed werewolves, and vice versa, but hunters tended to kill other hunters?

Surreptitiously, he pulled his phone out, opened up Chrome in incognito mode, and typed in "vampire hunter". Scrolling through the results, he nearly chuckled at the first result. Abraham Lincoln, Vampire Hunter. Now he regretted not going to see that schlock fest. Then he nearly smacked himself in the face. Of course. Blade. Alucard. Buffy the Vampire Slayer. Simon Belmont. Vampire hunters, or slayers, or whatever they were called were actually fairly common in TVs, movies, and video games.

This was actually pretty cool. He could get into being a modern-day Buffy or Simon Belmont. There was only one problem - all these characters hunted vampires, not each other, and if Tom wanted to stay in one piece, he was going to have to find something else to do with himself. Being a supernatural detector alone seemed kind of lame, and if he could heal his wounds instantly like Sparrow showed him, he'd made a first-rate blood supply for vampires, and that was even less appealing.

He next tried "hunter supernatural." Oh, right, of course, Supernatural. Tom had caught reruns of Buffy, but he had never seen Supernatural. Maybe he should add it to his watch list. Again, though, it seemed like those guys hunted other supernatural beings, not each other. There's also that girl who was in Warren Ellis's N.E.X.T.W.A.V.E. - Agents of Hate - Elsa Bloodstone. She's also a hunter. Again, though, a hunter of supernatural creatures.

One last search - "Hunters who hunt each other." That just gave him humans hunting other animals, wolf packs, prides of lions.

Shaking his head, he slips his phone back in his pocket and turns to see Dean exiting the elevator. Used to some of the feelings now, he can pick out Dean and the Pakistani woman. But that other, more muted cold - he senses two of them, but only sees the one bodyguard with Dean and the other vampire. Weird.

When Dean beckons to him, Tom slides from the booth where he had been sitting and falls in behind Dean. "Where's Jack?" he asks quietly.

"My family doesn't care where I live," Sparrow says to Abe. "But your new friends do care about where they live, so they may have issues with moving back and forth across the country. It shouldn't affect you directly though."



Thinking about his new life, Tom sees Abe's invitation and joins him.

Dean moves through the crowded club, a far easier figure to follow than the smaller attractive Pakistani woman. Complaints and comments about the dog trail in their wake.

Thankfully it's a huge space, and Tom is able to intercept the pair before they leave. Dean looks worried once more, rushed, but more out together than he had initially. Abe might recognize the demeanor of a young man going into a truly dangerous situation for the first time in his life. Or unlife in this case.

"Hey man" Dean greets Tom in the same muted whisper, glad to have somebody to talk with even for a few seconds. "Looks like we're leaving, don't know when I'll be back or where we're going, but I'll try to get ahold of you guys as soon as I can. Could I ask you to grab my stuff?" he asks as he side steps a bothered looking Hispanic couple.

”Sure, man,  no problem,” Tom says quietly. He looks down at the chihuahua. Is it his imagination, or is the dog a vampire, too? Or maybe not a vampire, since the bodyguard claimed to not be one. A pseudo-vampire? Quasi? Vampire lite?

”Be safe, big guy,” Tom says. He steps back and lets Dean and his escorts head on out.

Looking over, Dean sees Abe and Sparrow, thick as thieves, and so, grunting, he walks back over to his table and orders another Coke. What a place. Certainly not the kind of club Tom ever expected to find himself in. Nearly everyone here is either rich or stunning or both. And then there’s Tom. Perfectly normal, except for that weird feeling he gets in his head whenever someone unusual walks by. Oh, and the Wolverine healing factor, too.

Abe's jaw dropped a little.  "I didn't expect that I'd be able to learn to travel that quickly... so quickly.  Apparently I will have a good teacher.  I'm pretty excited and can hardly wait to start learning."  He said with a grin.

As the Asali/Dean posy heads for the door to the staircase upstairs, Tom returns to his table, and orders another coke, which arrives almost instantly. As he takes his first sip, Tom doubles over in pain, toppling his glass. most of the content is flung over the railing and out of view on its way to the floor down below.




"I'm good, but we'll have to see about that," Sparrow told Abe. "We all have our talents. Some learn some things faster than others."

An attractive Chinese female, with black hair down to her chest on her left and back, but completely shaved on the right side of her head with strange tattoos where the hair would have been, approaches Sparrow and Abe. She was dressed to fit in, but not to stick out. Sparrow rose with a smile and the two females embraced.

"This is Daiyu, a friend and my decorator. And this is Abe, a friend of mine."

[Edit: I added "friend" in the previous line to show that the two women are both friends and that Sparrow is Daiyu's client. I think their friendship was clear based on how they acted, but it should have been said too.]
This message was last edited by the GM at 22:10, Thu 14 Nov 2019.

The irony of the situation is not lost upon Dean as Tom says his goodbyes. Of all the people in the world his friend Tom was one of just a few that can understand best what Dean was feeling. They were also supposed to be enemies apparently, although Dean felt quite the opposite.

Tom is like a rock of normality in that moment, good, earnest, still alive. And Dean's appreciates that quite a bit.

"Hold up" Dean says to Asali, more a warning than any sort of command. The former football player turns at once and makes his way back towards Tom, trying to keep an eye on him through the shifting crowd. When he arrives, he uses what little medical knowledge he knows to assess what he finds there.

That feeling again, like he had experienced outside. Tom is used to the cold he senses from vampires and the laughter from Abe and Sparrow, but this feeling is different, intense, almost paralyzing. The college student nearly doubles over from the intensity.

Gasping, still a little in shock, he waves Dean away as the latter approaches. ”I’ll be fine,” he manages weakly. Scanning the room, he looks for new faces. One such new person is a woman approaching Sparrow.

”I’ll be okay,” he whispers to Dean. ”It’s just that Spidey sense or whatever I get. Each type of person feels different, and for some reason, some people feel like this intense pain.”

Managing to get to his feet, he walks over to where Abe and Sparrow are talking to the new arrival. ”Sorry to interrupt, but have we met?” Tom asks the Chinese woman. ”You seem really familiar. You’re, uh, not related to Sparrow, right?” He realizes the question seems ridiculous.

The Chinese female laughs a little despite herself and she looks at Tom. "I don't think so. I'm Daiyu Ming of the House of Ming. Are you here for me?"
This message was last edited by the GM at 18:08, Thu 14 Nov 2019.

"You sure?" Dean replies, feeling worried as put a hand on Tom's shoulder. There is not much he could do in any case about that sort of malady, but he seems concerned about Tom all the same.

"Alright...well hopefully it gets less intense over time I guess. You take care man, be safe. Hopefully I'll see you soon "

Reluctantly Dean turns to go, and once he was back with his Sire he nodded. "Sorry about that, we are all new to this". He seems ready to go

The Sire and the Youngling left for upstairs led by the MIB and followed by the tiny dog.

Abe stood to great the 'decorator.'  "It is a pleasure to meet you, Ms. Ming"  He said.  "Tom here is a friend of mine."

"Friends all around then it seems," Ming says. She keeps herself aware of her surroundings.

Blushing a little, Tom says, ”No, sorry. I just thought—no, it’s nothing.”

The woman probably thinks he’s hitting on her or something. How do you go up to someone and say, “Excuse me, I think your being here is blasting my brain full of pain sensations. Have you ever had that effect on someone before?” Too, perhaps the feeling he had almost been assaulted with had come from someone else. There’s no shortage of an influx of people coming and going at the club.

"So are you like Madonna, Prince, or Beyonce," Ming asks Tom. "Having just one name?"


Sparrow invited Tom and Daiyu to join her and Abe at the table.

"It is good to be surrounded by friends."  Abe said, but then he noticed Daiyu's cagey-ness.  "Is something the matter?"



15:00, Today: Abe Griffith rolled 13 using 3d6.  Detective! on Ms. Ming. - was hoping to determine what kind of motive she seems to have for keeping track of her surroundings - whether she's expecting something to go down, or is afraid of someone here, or what.  Fail by 1.

GM passing a message.

Tom colors again. Daiyu has him on the defensive, and he’s not quite sure why. ”Flanagan. Tom Flanagan. I’m a student at Croatan in North Carolina. My friends and I got caught up in some crazy stuff this week, and I’m still trying to wrap my head around all of it.”

He looks sidewise at Sparrow. ”You’re a friend of Sparrow’s? She’s been a great deal of help over the past 24 hours or so.”

"Yes," Daiyu says. "We are very good friends. And it doesn't surprise me at all that she has helped you." Daiyu looked at Sparrow and smiled.

She gives Tom a business card, neither of you saw where she got it from. Perhaps she does card tricks as a hobby. "You should come by the store sometime. I'm sure I can find something that will interest you."

"Nice trick," Tom says, reading the card and then slipping it into his pocket beside the coin Sparrow had given him. An antiques dealer. Maybe she has some old comic back issues he can check out. Not that he has the money right now to buy comics, but who knows? "Can you make other things appear out of thin air, too? I've always wanted to learn that trick where you pull a quarter out from behind someone's ear."

He takes a seat beside Abe. "Dean's apparently done downstairs," he says quietly to Abe. "He asked me to make sure I get his stuff out of the 6x6. You think Carson's still around? I need to get my bag out, too."

"I know many tricks," Ming says. "I had never thought I'd teach them to anyone. Perhaps you can change my mind."

She then faces the group as a whole. "It was very nice to meet all of you, but I'm actually here meeting a prospective client. As friends of Sparrow, I'm sure I'll run into you later. Sparrow." Ming then walked away from the table.

As Daiyu left, Sparrow sat down again.
This message was last edited by the GM at 10:04, Fri 15 Nov 2019.

Abe sat back down as well.  "Interesting lady.  I'd make some wild speculations but I was recently reminded to watch my mouth," He said, almost half-jokingly.

"Wild speculations," Sparrow asks quizzically. "Do tell!"

Abe nodded with a faux-serious face.  "Well, you introduced her as your decorator.  You stood when she arrived and stayed standing as long as she was here, so presumably: she's not.  However, being your decorator would imply knowledge of you - possibly somewhat intimate, but still a professional relationship.  Also, you did not invite her to sit, which also implied at least a little distance, however much knowledge she might have.  Tom clearly had some feelings for her if her appearance made him think of you.  But again, you said decorator, not in-law or family by marriage.  She also seemed kind of cagey here, so likely not a relative of my new friends."

He nodded to himself.  "Based on that... I can only wildly speculate.  Perhaps someone from south of the borders?  Or south of the eastern borders?"  He stumbled a bit as he struggled to find a public-appropriate way to say demon or oni... both to keep it out of mortal ears, and to avoid an untimely evisceration should Daiyu overhear and be insulted by his guesses.

Sparrow sat there, trying to figure out what Abe was saying. After some time, she started laughing. "That's so funny!" she says. "You couldn't be more wrong. I rose because she's a good friend and I was happy to see her. I invited her to sit after we were done with the introductions. And she is the most normal person I know, definitely not related to your new friends. And she is the best interior decorator and antiquities dealer that I know."

"Talking about that. Where are you guys staying?"
This message was last edited by the player at 20:23, Fri 15 Nov 2019.

Abe openly laughed at himself.  "Well, I'm glad I opened up with calling it wild speculation, then!  I am curious what made Tom think you were related, though."

Abe thought about living arrangements.  "I was planning to live with my family for the summer, but it seems I'll be keeping some strange hours if I'm in a vampire cohort.  I'm thinking it might be better for the four of us to look for a place together."

"How long have you known her, Sparrow?" Tom said curiously, watching as Daiyu walked off. "She seemed kind of formal. 'Daiyu Ming of the House of Ming.' I mean, it would be like me saying I was Tom Flanagan of the Clan Flanagan."

He shrugs his shoulders and smiles. "My dorm room doesn't need a decorator, but my interest is piqued." He takes the card out of his pocket and looks at it again. Funny how she pulled it out of thin air like that. "I guess I'll be stopping by her shop in La Jolla sometime soon."

To Abe, he says, "There's three different feelings I get now - laughter from you, cold from Dean and Jack, and this sense of pain. I felt it outside, and I felt it just now, too, but there are a lot of people coming and going. I just assumed it was Daiyu since she knows Sparrow."

When Sparrow asks where they're staying, Tom nods his head. "Yeah, I was planning on taking a bus back to Pasadena for the summer. I guess I need to call my folks and let them know I'm staying in San Diego, at least for the summer. And I need to go to Alabama in August to do an Air Force course." He looks at Abe. "Yeah, I guess you're right. It would be good to get a place for all four of us."

"That was a little strange," Sparrow said. "I've never heard her say her name like that before and we've known each other for years. But then, if people hear you talking about your feelings like that, they'll think you were strange too. And in a crowded place like this, you never know who's listening." She looks disapprovingly at Abe.


"Pasadena is way too far for your current circumstances," Sparrow pats Tom's hand, while looking at the both of you. "And your friends have probably already sorted their living arrangements. And as it may take a little while to find a place, you can stay with me."

Abe had thought he had everything under wraps.  He thought he hadn't been shaken to the core today like the others apparently had.  But his mouth just kept running in the wrong directions, as the sharp kick he took to the shin reminded him.

Sparrow had only kicked him once, but mentally he kicked himself repeatedly.  He had to get this down before he got someone noticed and killed.  He might have teased one or both of the other people at the table if one weren't his teacher... and if he had not been so busy kicking himself.

"Your friends will likely be busy for hours," Sparrow said. "You may want to contact your families before it becomes too late."

Abe nodded to Sparrow.  "Seems wise.  I'll be back in a few."  He stood and tried to find a quiet place to call from - one where it wouldn't be obvious to the person at the other end wouldn't immediately know he was at a club.  As a last resort he'd approach one of the MIB to ask where he could find such a place.

"Of course," Sparrow says. "Take all the time you need."

After thinking about it for some time, Abe opens the door up to the third floor. One of the MIBs follows him inside. And upstairs. He asks to be let into the private floor and he is. Now, he is far enough away from any noise from below and not where any of clubgoer can disturb him.

[Who do you call? Or do you call your parents' landline?]

[Parents' landline]

"Hello," Cale answers.

"Hey Cale.  It's Abe.  How are things going there?"  He asked.  He wondered if things could possibly be going normal in the rest of the world with how bizarre things had been around him for the past day.  Which made him wonder: Could anyone be turned into a Fae just like the vampires?  Or are Fae a bloodline within humanity... which might mean some or all of his family were suppressed Fae like he was until today.  He'd have to ask Sparrow.

"Hi Abe!" Cale says. "It's good. How are things with you?"

"Doing fine.  The truck is as awesome as we expected.  But I'll be visiting a bit with the guys I'm driving home with, so it'll be a day or two before I drop by the house.  There's no trouble, but I didn't want mom and dad worrying."  He explained, hoping to distract Cale from any probing questions with the mention of the truck.

"You're still bringing the car around before you deliver it right," Cale asks

"I wish.  Joyriding instead of just driving it on a rush-trip would be great.  There was a bit of an accident, though.  No one is seriously injured, and we weren't at fault, so we don't owe any money... but it means that us being early was betrayed to the customer, who didn't give us the option of driving it around for a few extra days."  Abe had gotten to enjoy the vehicle a bit, but nothing like they had planned to.  The disappointment was evidenced in his voice.  He also kept as close to the truth as he could about what had happened.  He even said "is" rather than "was" about the injuries since his friends had died but were doing fine at the moment.

"That's too bad," Cale says. "I really wanted to see the car. It's so awesome! I'm glad you're fine though."

"Me too!"  Abe responded.  "Could you pass along to mom and dad that I'm fine and I'll be by in the next few days sometime, just not as quickly as I had originally planned?"

"Of course," Cale says. "But you're not going to be busy all summer, right?"

"Not all of it, but possibly a lot of it.  I have an intensive internship opportunity that I might not be able to pass up... which might also lead to other cross-country driving opportunities, if I'm lucky.  There might be other stuff I can tell you about later, but I need to get the NDA issues sussed out first."  Abe  replied.

"I get it. I get it." Cale says. "Don't be a stranger though."

Abe nodded, though Cale could obviously not see it.  "No worries on that account.  I'll see you soon."

As he headed back to Sparrow he reminded himself of his question.  When he got back to the table he reported, "I'm set for a bit, but they'll be wanting visits."

He almost blurted more inappropriate words for the public.  His curiosity was going to be the end of him.  "So... is it possible to go somewhere the three of us can talk a bit more openly?"

Sparrow's offer to let the group stay with her had taken Tom by surprise. He hadn't expected her to be so generous. "Are you sure?" he had asked her doubtfully. "Having a bunch of guys crash at your place seems like a lot to ask."

The alternative, staying with a vampire somewhere, was far less attractive, however. Vampires' need to feed is a very real concern, but then again, Tom understood how his presence as a Hunter could be a threat to vampires, Fae, and any other supernatural creatures if he acquires enough training to be dangerous. For the moment, though, Tom has all the threat of a four-year-old in a wolf den.

When Abe returns, Tom slips Daiyu's card back into his pocket. Despite Sparrow's claim that Ming is just an ordinary person, Tom can't shake the feeling that Daiyu is more than what Sparrow says she is. "One of us should wait around for Jack and Dean," he says. "I don't have anything better to do for the moment, so I'm fine with sticking around here."

Abe smirked when Tom mentioned a bunch of guys crashing her place.  Sparrow had only invited two of them to stay at her place.  One was her mentee... and the other was the guy whose hand she was patting when she made the invitation.

Abe shrugged at Tom's offer to stay downstairs.  "Up to you, but I think the guys in black keep tabs on all the important people, and they're not subtle about it.  It'd take like ten seconds to locate us.  If you wanted to stay to listen to the music, I'd understand though."

"...Pearl Harbor. The terrorist nuking of San Diego." is the last thing Abe hears over the phone before he hangs up. Apparently his father is rewatching Babylon 5 again.

Abe heads back downstairs with a MIB at his heals and suggests to Sparrow and Tom that they'd go somewhere more private.

Tom wants to remain so that Dean and Jack will know where to find them and Abe counters that the MIBs can solve them for them.

"Yes," Sparrow says. "The two of you can stay at my place if you like. And De La Vega's people go wherever you go, so they will know where everyone is. Unless the others have left already."

"Thank you, Sparrow.  I will take you up on that offer."  Abe replied.  He awaited their replies about going upstairs.

The group heads up again. The MIBs don't leave them alone. Which is a good thing, as they wouldn't be able to enter the private floor without their access.



[Tom, it's up to you if you accompany them or not.]

Abe sighed with relief at being out of public ear-shot.  "So... we don't know where Hunters come from, and we know where the other guys come from... but what about us?  Are my family likely to be Fae?  Or could any person be awakened to be one?  Or just some but we don't know who until we see them?"

He thought about the massively complicated weaving she made to awaken him.  "Also: obviously we have the power of stunning good looks and magic, but is there anything else?  And is Strange's a good comparison for all of our magic - specific unrelated spells that do specific things that we learn individually over a long period of time but we can then pretty much deploy at will?  If not, how's it different?"

"You are and always were Fae," Sparrow said. "Half Fae to be precise. One of your parents is Fae and the other is human. Someone put a leash on you to hide that fact."

"In addition to that, we live for a very long time. And by that definition, our magic is very Strange-like. Not that magic can do everything they show you in the movies. Time loops and time travel are preposterous for example. And even if it was possible, manipulating time cannot change anything."

Abe's jaw dropped a little at the revelation.  That meant that Ja... he cut off the thought, not wanting to even think about the fact that he had siblings who would likely also be half-fae where there might be powers listening in on him.  He could talk to Sparrow about that when they were somewhere secure from anyone who might try to use his siblings.  "Would my parent having leashed themselves have passed it on to us, or would it be simpler for a full Fae to just disguise themselves as a human?"

He thought about how complicated the spell Sparrow had worked to free him was - he could remember the general shape it had taken, but not the details or most of the gestures she had made doing it.  It might be a very long time before he was ready to cast something like that.  "Is there anything I could learn tonight while we wait, whether it be something that actually does anything or just exercises to prepare for learning something?"

While Abe and Sparrow headed upstairs, Tom decided to stick around on the second floor to give Abe some privacy to ask whatever questions he had. Tom liked the band that was playing, and the guitar was tremendous. The moment provided a nice break from the craziness that had completely taken over his life, and for a bit, he could forget that he was in a club owned by a vampire and completely crawling with vampires.

OOC: Tom will hang out on the second floor for now and wait on everyone else. No need to throw things my way, DD. I'm fine with waiting on the others to work through their scenes.

"Full Fae cannot be leashed," Sparrow says. "It's the human blood of half-Fae that makes that possible. And even if a half-Fae was leashed, as long as their children were half-Fae too, they would be born unleashed. Any child less than half-Fae, wouldn't be considered Fae at all and would live their lives as humans."

"No full Fae would hide their beauty, but all Fae are not created equal."

"As for preparation, we can start with opening your mind."

Sparrow guides Abe in meditation, breathing, how to sit properly, and how to focus his mind on his mind.

And as he follows her instructions, the rest of the world fades away. Time ceases to matter. And there is only his mind and the visual depiction of his mind that Abe sees with his closed eyes.

An image that he reorganizes with her guidance. Opening it up to the unknown to the mystical.

Tom remains on the second floor as the rest of his party leaves. He enjoys listening to the band and it gives him some alone time. One of the MIBs remains with him, but at some distance. It appears that he is there more to keep an eye on Tom than to keep Tom safe.

Abe followed Sparrow's instructions and found the landscape he had made in his mind reshaping.  Instead of the grids and files, he now has the path leading from the road to the door of his family home.  Instead of the former rote organization that must be searched out and accessed by brute mental effort, information is now organized in strings along the path.  It was far from a true memory fortress but it was at least a foundation for one.

Abe opened his eyes, and the world around him seemed slightly more vivid, each individual part of it slightly more memorable.  "Thank you Sparrow.  It seems like I'll have an interesting conversation with at least one person when I get home.  It'll be whichever recognizes what's going on with me."  He commented.

"I hope meeting your family will go well," Sparrow said. "Someone has hidden a significant portion of who you are from you your entire life. Whatever could their reason be?"
This message was last edited by the player at 16:52, Fri 22 Nov 2019.

Abe frowned.  He hadn't thought about the reason behind the leashing.  He felt some irritation beginning to build but pressed it down, reminding himself that the reason could have been a very good one.  He wondered whether both parents knew, or only one.

"That tempers my feelings on the matter."  Abe remarked.  "At least until I find out what the reason was.  Wait... would one be allowed to let a normal spouse know about Shadowland?" He asked.

"No," Sparrow said. "Secrecy is key for all of us. Some might break the rules and pay the consequences if they are found out. Most will toe the line. But some will find a way. Generally, that means that the spouse will be changed to a supernatural creature. And becoming a vampire or one of their thralls is the easiest way to do that."

Abe rubbed his temples.  "Well.  That changes things.  It might have been one of them trying to keep the other both living and in their life.  Is there a way I can partially veil my changes, so I can let my new look out over time and make it less implausible seeming?  Especially when we - or I- unleash my siblings at some point and have them change dramatically.  If my parents aren't both aware of things, it might be for the best if I didn't come home completely changed."

"Unfortunately, I know no magic to disguise your appearance," Sparrow says. "Is it possible to attribute your changes to a change of style? Or perhaps use outrageous makeup to hide in plain sight?"

Abe thought for a minute.  "Well, as my sister is necessarily half-fae, and is the only one in my family who's seen me for months I think I'll call her and ask her to play along.  Otherwise playing it off as a change in style will fall apart when she gets home in a couple weeks and doesn't know about it."


"Excuse me just a moment."  Unless Sparrow raised some kind of objection to the idea, he dialed Jayne.
This message was last edited by the player at 23:53, Fri 22 Nov 2019.

Abe stepped away and called his sister.

"Miss me already," Jayne asked when she answered the phone.
This message was last edited by the GM at 00:13, Sat 23 Nov 2019.

"Yeah, Jayne.  I really do wish you were here now."  He replied.  He hesitated for a moment.  "Some odd stuff's been going on - you're tangentially involved, but don't know it yet.  As far as I can tell it's all good... well, mostly good.  Bona fide Red Pill/Blue Pill stuff.  We'll have to meet face-to-face to talk about it sometime this summer.  Until then, I need you to trust me and back me up on something.  Mom, Dad, and/or Cale might mention that I look different now.  Much healthier.  I'm playing it off as having had a lot more rest and good food this year than in recent ones.  Please pretend that you didn't really notice it."

"What are you up to," Jayne asked.

"You know I'd tell you if I could.  But it needs to be in person."  Abe said.  "When's a good time for a visit?  I can get you a plane ticket if you can think of an excuse and a time to visit for a few days.  Otherwise you'll have to stay curious until school starts up again."

"You're willing to spend that kind of money on this," Jayne asked. "I can get home over a weekend, but I can't be away more than that."

The MIB following you interrupts your phone call.

"It's time," he says. "Come with me." Then looking at Sparrow, "You can wait here."

The MIB watching over Tom approaches him. "It's time," he says. "Come with me."

Abe says, "Yep.  I'll have to call you later to arrange details, I've got a meeting right now.  Remember: if anyone asks I look healthier now.  I'll send you a pic in a bit so you're not too surprised when you see me."

He shrugged apologetically to Sparrow and headed after the MIB.