Bellhollow's local Barnes & Noble is no different than any other book B&N in the country. It is filled to brimming with books, along with a section of novelties and games. Today, though, it is a bit busier than usual. The author Silas Kirkegaard is on site, signing copies of his latest fiction novel, Redwood Kingdom. It's a tale of friendship and betrayal, set in a  world parallel to this one. It has also garnered quite the fan following of bored housewives, as it does contain a rather torrid love affair that would appeal to anyone who is fan of soap operas.

His table is set up at towards the middle-front of the store, perfect for being seen upon entering but not so far forward that his table and lines will block the entrance. Silas himself is a friendly appearing, human male. He smiles and greets his fans cordially, brown eyes crinkling at the corners behind his spectacles as he chats. His clean cut, salt and pepper hair give him an air of dignity.

Already, there's a pretty impressive line at the table. A mix of all sorts stand and wait patiently, either holding newly purchased copies of his book or obviously old, and worn versions that have been read several times.

(Intro post)

Pearl curiously took note of the line of people as she approached the bookstore. It was a coincidence from her perspective - she'd just popped out for a breather and decided to check out the bookstore. Pearl wasn't much of a reader, honestly. She'd gone through a lot of culture shock catching up with the modern era, but as far as she was concerned, watching TV was easier than sitting down with some thick, boring tome. She'd come today because she'd gotten into a discussion of books with one of her servers, and found out some of them were essentially glorified picture books. If she could find one of those about ships or pirates or ideally both, that she would like.

She got a few looks from the people in line as she walked around them into the store, owing to her fancy but overlarge tricorne hat, but most of the locals paid her little to no attention. She was well known as a walking billboard for her restaurant by now, and she was dressed warmly but casually apart from that. Once inside, she took a curious, unhurried look around. The place had a nice atmosphere even if it was crowded at present, so it wasn't like she was in a rush to find a book, buy it, and get out again.

Dalion left the park quite pleased with how things turned out, with a full belly and a couple of names that might prove useful to him in the future. He looked up to the sky to see the stars for a moment, it is much easier to look for the constellations when one is away from the intense light arrangements of the festival, although a city street was not the best site to watch the stars either.

Dalion kept walking and walking until a familiar smell caught his attention, the smell of books old and new made him fall into a nostalgic mood. He decided to look around the bookstore, he guessed that his current appearance wouldn't get him kicked out of a bookstore. While thinking about appearances he saw someone that was certainly more conspicuous than him, wearing a big pirate hat, a little too big for his/her size.

Dalion approached the person from behind, swiftly trying to take their hat and see how it would fit him.
This message was last edited by the player at 02:55, Sun 31 Jan 2021.

     Bellhollow was familiar, but not quite as Ryan remembered it. He'd been surprised to find himself here, of all places, but it made sense, in a way. He'd grown up here, played in Gullbend Park, dreamt about attending University - until he learned that magic was forbidden to humans, unless you contracted with the Proctors, in which case you were little more than a slave, a conduit for Greater Magick without actually being allowed to touch it or truly wield it.
     There was a liveliness to the place. He could feel the magic in the air, the ground, and on the wind. So much potential.

     The bookstore was still there, though the names of the proprietors were different. A window display showcased gifts suitable for whatever festival was taking place. Another advertised the latest book by Silas Kirkegaaard, a continuation of a tale of star-crossed lovers set in a world parallel to our own.
     Ryan smiled darkly as he picked up the first book in the series. Forest Magicks was a typical setting and plot, but it was doubtful this Kirkegaard understood the truth he'd tapped into.
     "Who should I make this out to?" Ryan heard someone ask. He'd inadvertently been swept along with the line of the author's fans.
     "Do you really think this is possible?" Ryan challenged. "I mean, another world, so close ... but you can't quite get there unless you know the secret."
     Kirkegaard grinned. "Anything is possible with the right magic. Mine is the gift to bring these stories to my readers."
     He signed the book, To a fan who believes faraway worlds are as close as we choose to make them. Ryan was urged to one side by a bookstore employee, and another fan took his place to praise Kirkegaard's writing ...

Pearl was taken quite by surprise by the effort to steal her hat. On the other hand, it was the kind of thing she prepared for in general, considering how attached she was to her hats, and it wouldn't do for one of them to just blow off in a stiff breeze. As a result, the effort to steal her hat instead led to a hard yanking sensation on her head from behind, sending her toppling over backwards.

"Hey! What the hell?!" she exclaimed from the floor with a mixture of surprise and anger. A quick glance upward confirmed that she hadn't just snagged on something, but she had no idea who was attacking her or why. Or whether she'd be a match for them at all, Bellhollow being what it was. "Help!" she called out in hopes that someone in the crowd would come to her aid.

Dalion stood still, with his left arm extended and reaching in the direction of the toppling girl, who now seems to be scared and calling for help. Nervously smiling and with his eyes wide open in surprise of the situation he finds himself in and that of course, he brought upon himself.

"UUuuuuhhhhhhhhh" was the sound he emitted, unable to find a fitting response to the girl's strong reaction.

     It's a simple enough spell to provide a steadying hand to the young woman, though the rush of power Ryan felt was something else. So this was unadulterated magick. His mind raced at the possibilities, and, indeed, Kirkegaard wouldn't be writing romances if he knew the power he'd glimpsed. But mirrors existed to protect the minds of the mundane against the torrent of power that lay beyond.

     "Careful, now," he said, turning to regard the ... person ... who had snatched the young lady's hat.

Dalion recovered from his stupor and retracted his hand.

"Whoa! Hey relaaaaaaax, one would think that your head is glued to that huge hat of yours and that your brain would fall off if anyone took it from you" he joked trying to change the mood of the situation.

He then took a step forward and bent down a little, until his eyes were at the same level as hers, with his face closer to her now he could see her features, she was incredibly pale and had raven-colored hair, her eyes were beautiful but gave him a strange impression, they way they glowed was off and the color was strange, but he couldn't quite put his finger on what the issue was. So he LITERALLY extended his left arm and reached to touch the girl's face with his index finger, right on her right cheek.

After being caught off guard once by the assault, Pearl was surprised a second time when someone or something seemed to give her a hand to keep from toppling over entirely. She quickly regained her balance and adjusted her hat as she turned her angry look on Dalion. "What--" she started to reply to the man's bizarre statement, before interrupting herself to lean away as he leaned toward her.

"Call the cops," she said flatly, meaning the words for the other man standing nearby, before responding to the man reaching out to touch her with a right straight aimed at his nose. Modern era or no, pirate captains didn't just let bizarre strangers go around trying to rob and touch them.

Dalion got decked in the nose by the pirate girl. Caught completely by surprise (a surprise for him, but probably not for anyone else) he got sat down on the floor by the punch. With his eyes wide like plates, now looking up at her, he looked at her with fear in his heart, not because of the punch that was making him bleed a little from one of his nostrils, but because of what he realized after his finger touched the coldness of her face: she was not a living person.

It took a moment for Dalion to calm down, or at least to pretend to be calm. While still on the ground he said: "Damn! you sat my ass down as if I was a punching bag, are you the undertaker's daughter or something?" He smiled and laughed a little, and then he extended his left arm towards the girl again, this time in a gesture as if asking for help to get up.

   "Call the cops," the girl had said.
   Ryan didn't understand the word, but easily grasped the meaning: call a group like the Hunters. So there was some kind of authority to hold people to account. And he'd just used magic, thinking it was safe. It had to be, yes? With the fae frolicking about in the park, and magickal energy flowing free and wild.
   Still, he found it difficult to comply, feeling a twinge of remembered pain seared onto his right shoulder.
   "Cops?" he asked the store employee who had been directing guests away from the table after their moment with Kirkegaard.

The cold, silent look that Pearl gave Dalion and his outstretched hand was not charitable, to put it mildly. Running a restaurant meant dealing with a certain amount of thieves, drunks, and crazies, and the frequency of the experience made her less rather than more sympathetic to bad behavior. On the other hand, she'd quickly learned that the pirate's code of justice didn't fly on land, and it was best to let the police sort such things out. It added an odd element that she was pretty sure she vaguely recognized him from elsewhere, but she didn't think it affected the here and now.

She glanced over at the other nearby witness. She wasn't sure what he was up to, but he didn't have a phone out, which seemed to suggest she'd have to do the dirty work herself. So she shifted her eyes back to Dalion, in case he tried anything further, and pulled out her phone to dial the police non-emergency line. It wasn't like anyone was dying, after all.

   The other man notices Pearl glance at him, then at her own phone.
   He holds up empty hands as if to show he isn't carrying a phone, as opposed to complete disinterest.

Woah, you really got scared eh? sorry about that. Dalion slowly got himself up with a big, noisy exhalation. Once he stood straight he took a quick look around, a little worried about the attention he was drawing towards himself, he dusted himself a little bit in a ponderous manner.

He noticed the man gesturing with his hands, he was sharply dressed in a way Dalion liked, simple yet elegant, and the vibes he gave was quite interesting too. Dalion remembered a saying: "the cart that carries the least, is the one that makes the most noise", this man gave him the impression that he wasn't an empty cart, rather the opposite.

But Dalion was more interested in the undead girl at the moment, he bent down again lowering himself to her eye level, not as close as the last time, for surely the girl wouldn't allow him to get that close immediately after what just happened, he looked intently at her eyes.

"Those eyes are cold, and I'm not talking about your contempt towards me. there is something else I can't quite figure, is it because you died? strangely you seem more lively than most, I know my nose agrees with me. And your pupils are slit too... interesting, I've never seen that before, MMMmmmmm, how did you die little one? was it painful? You know I have thought a lot about death, ending it all ance and for all, but your very existence terrifies me and interests me equally because you standing here in front of me is a reminder that there is a chance death is no longer a way out from the pain and suffering of this world. How is it on the other side?"

As Dalion speaks, Pearl connects to the police department non-emergency number. A helpful voice begins to go through a list of instructions, informing her of which numbers to press to reach various departments.


Around them, the various bookstore some patrons have begun to back off, not wanting to get involved in whatever is happening. Others, though, have pulled out phones and are watching curiously from behind their screens, videoing the encounter either as insurance for Pearl, who may need it in court or for the sweet, sweet upvotes on social media.

A harried looking bookstore employee approaches them, her lips pressed together in an expression that clearly said she was not at all pleased with this turn of events. She looked back and forth between Pearl and Dalion as she snapped in a business-like tone, "I'm going to have to ask both of you to leave the premises."

    The stranger chooses that moment to back up several steps and fade into the crowd. But, as he turns towards the exit, he notices the angled mirror on the ceiling - meant to catch shoplifters - and regards it warily for several seconds before he moves to the exit, pays for his purchase, and leaves the store.