Ceres: June catch-all

[avowedvengeance]

🧙 WHO: Ceres and, unfortunately, you
⚔️️ WHAT: Questing, training, working
🕒 WHEN: Throughout June
🗺️ WHERE: The seedier areas of Camelot
⚠️ WARNINGS: Bad words :(


I. creaper
[ Scare some people? Easy.

Don the cloak and put on white, ghostly makeup. As the sun sets, knock on the door, but vanish before the victims open the door. Watch them as they settle into bed. In the middle of the night, knock on the bedroom window. And when they wake up and look, grin. Open the hand, upon which a jinx is drawn, which causes intense fear in whoever looks at it. Disappear before they become awake enough to investigate.

That's been her routine throughout the night, at least. Maybe you're (un)lucky enough to be Ceres's target tonight. Or maybe... ]

Ib. backstage
[ ...You catch the half-elf in an alleyway after she's done her job. She's wiping off her makeup and scrubbing that stubborn ink off her hand to remove the magic circle. She fishes a rucksack out from a hidden spot and stuffs the big, oversized cloak inside. Time to get outta here before anyone finds her... ]


II. ringside popcorn
[ This prompt comes from the test drive meme.

Ceres's presence among the more unsavory sorts on the dark web has earned her an invitation to the underground fighting ring. She sidles into her seat in the crowd, large bag of popcorn in hand. She feels like she recognizes a few of the poor souls getting chucked into the ring, but, no matter! She's here for entertainment, not justice.

Besides, the popcorn's great. She feeds her baby hydra familiar a few pieces and holds out the bag to her neighbor to share. ]


III. training
[ Despite having the drive and worth ethic to get a hold of this new magic, it was still hard to override instincts built up over years. And in hindsight...how quickly she mastered the magic she had in her home world probably had something to do with how it was "divinely" bestowed to her. Probably.

The biggest frustration came from how it seemed that her new set of powers didn't quite match up with how she was used to fighting. She wanted to see her enemies suffer. She wanted the abyss to strangle, devour them. But it felt like all she could do was cause them minor inconveniences. What the hell was the good in that?

Ceres faces the training dummy and extends her arm towards it, bending her hand into the shape of a claw. She imagines how it would have happened at home--a burst of shadow, eldritch whisperings would have lunged forward and ravaged the dummy.

But her powers now don't react. That's not how they're meant to be used. She knows that already. Regardless, she walks towards the dummy to see if any harm was done, but it looks fine. She hates that. The rage boils up inside of her and it manifests in her fist, and she punches the dummy over. ]

Fuck off!


IV. can i take your order?
[ It turns out that trying to save enough money to get her own place was going to take her at least twenty years if she stuck to odd jobs she found on the questboard. The city was big, much bigger than Veah, which meant securing exclusive rich patrons and lucrative jobs was...difficult.

What did that mean? A part time job.

She must have misread the advertisement, because she's here in this cheap diner, standing at your table with a notepad in hand, and not cooking in the back, where she'd rather be.

She was going to at least try and be personable, though. ]

Are you ready to order?

Comments

Ib

[flapsin]

[There's someone else who happens to be prowling the night, trying to strike his own brand of fear! That person happens to be... a costumed duck, complete with a cape and a fedora.

As part of his nightly patrol looking for crime to battle, he's combed a number of rooftops and alleys. And he happens to end up in this particular alley just in time to witness someone doing... something. Undoing some sort of disguise?!]

Halt! Who goes there?!

[avowedvengeance]

[ Ceres doesn't jump or particularly react to the voice. As she's finished putting her cloak in her bag she slings it over as she stands up. She's...more surprised to be confronted by a talking duck, but she'd think about that later. ]

Who the hell are you?

[flapsin]

[He is so glad that she actually asked that question! Perching one webbed foot atop an overturned trash can, he dramatically raises his cape with one hand.]

I am the terror that flaps in the night!
I am the garbage truck that blocks villainy's traffic.
I am Darkwing Duck!

[He pauses for a moment, just in case there's any applause, before he affixes a suspicious look towards the human.]

And you had better not be up to no good!

[avowedvengeance]

Nope, not here. [ Her tone is casual and confident. What she considers "no good" is...uh, way worse than sneaking around and scaring people. It doesn't even cross her mind as bad. ]

You just accosting me to perform poetry, or?

[flapsin]

[He steps back and props his hands on his sides as he responds defensively.]

No, I was announcing my presence as a warning to any and all evil-doers. If there was anything poetic about it, then it was the poetry of justice itself in motion.

[A beat.]

So, nothing... nothing evil going on here? You sure? [He really hopes he didn't waste an introduction like that!]

[avowedvengeance]

Poetic justice, right. Makes sense. [ She nods in understanding. She doesn't really understand.

She glances around the alleyway, peering over each shoulder, tilting her head as though trying to listen out for something. She shakes her head. ] Nope? I don't think so? Nothing's going on here. Wait-- [ With a chuckle and a little grin, she places a hand on her chest. ] You don't mean to say...you think I'm the evildoer here?

[flapsin]

[He gives a sheepish laugh and waves his hands as he backs up.]

Well maybe, maybe, I might have had a suspicion or two! I mean, most people operating in dark alleys at this time of night are... typically up to no good! But, um, uh, I'm not here to make any... potentially false accusations!

[Darkwing makes some quick glances around. This wouldn't be the first time he's accidentally barged in on someone who's actually innocent - but that's assuming this person really is innocent!]

If you did happen to be to no good, then I'd have to battle you! It's as simple as that.

[avowedvengeance]

Well, I wouldn't like to fight, that's for sure! [ That's a lie. She loves fighting.

Ceres chuckles again. ] So you did have suspicions, huh? Was it 'cause I'm hanging out here in an alleyway? [ She shifts her bag to gesture to it. ] Just heading home from work. You wanna see what's in my bag? Trust me, there's nothing interesting in here.

[flapsin]

To be honest? Yeah. [He rubs at the back of his head a little awkwardly.]

In this alley, at this time of night, doing something that looked slightly shifty - can't blame a crimefighter for having a little suspicion or two! [He tries to laugh it off sheepishly. But then he goes.] But I mean, if you do want to show me your bag, just so - y'know, just so the record's clear...!

[avowedvengeance]

Fine. But I get you.

[ She slips the bag off her shoulder and places it squarely in front of the duck. She undoes the top and flips it open, revealing inside a thick, hefty tome decorated in silver filigree, the cloak she was previously wearing balled up haphazardly, a dirty and still-damp cloth, and a litter of crumpled receipts at the bottom.

Ceres stands up, arms folded, eyebrow raised, watching carefully to see if he tries anything funny. ]

[flapsin]

[Darkwing tries to look all official as he steps closer and peers into the bag.]

Hm... Hmmmmm! ....Hmmmmmm... [He gives a few nods.] Yup, yup yup yup. This bag seems to be... sure seems to be in order! [Nothing that looks like stolen jewels or plans for doomsday weapons, nothing that's obviously been used for a crime! Still, he tries wondering about a few of the items.]

You've got a book there, some nice light reading. And... some kind of garment in there. In case you get chilly...?

[avowedvengeance]

Nah, it's for work. [ She says, deadpan. It isn't a lie--she did literally just use it for a job. Maybe not the kind of job this duck would approve of. ] Maybe it'd come in handy if it got cold, but it's summer. It's kinda thin, though.

[ She keeps watching him, patiently, but with a sharp eye, trying to suss out if that's good enough for him. ]

[flapsin]

[Darkwing nods along. His suspicions seem to be satiated for the most part.]

Yes, that makes sense. There's not enough of a breeze this time of year, even at night. [Even in this world, summer seems to work the same. Of course, Darkwing's still dressed up in his usual outfit regardless.]

...What kind of work do you use it for, may I ask? [He actually sounds genuinely curious rather than suspicious with this question. Because he hasn't seen much to make her suspect her, and so the main possibility that comes to mind is that she might be a fellow actor, so that could be interesting to learn about!]

[avowedvengeance]

[ Ceres does briefly take note of his definitely-not-summer-appropriate outfit, but she doesn't think much of it. Duck physics probably worked differently. Maybe.

She pauses as she considers how to word this. "I take odd jobs off the quest board" was probably more questionable. "I'm going around scaring people for cash" for this particular job was probably even worse. She blinks before settling on her answer and says flatly, ] ...Street performing.

[flapsin]

[It's somewhat balanced by his lack of pants, but that's probably its own headscratcher altogether.]

Ooh! [He sounds intrigued by this!] Now that's really neat! I don't want to make you work off the clock, so I have got to check out one of your shows sometime!

[avowedvengeance]

Oh, sure. [ She grins. This is kind of funny. ] I usually perform in this area. Usually around sunset. I'm off tomorrow, though. [ She wanted people forgetting about her before she showed up again. ] So come back another time. I'll be here. [ It was unlikely, but now she had the idea, she could try it for kicks. ]

[flapsin]

[He nods along.]

Sounds like a nice way to end the day! I'll have to keep my eyes open for you later this week. [He's pretty excited to check this show out! With a smile, he steps back.]

For now, I should probably let you go. You... do seem to be completely innocent! M-my bad. But you know, the avian avenger of the night must check around every corner for traces of the criminal element...! [He raises his cape dramatically as he says that!]

[avowedvengeance]

No problem. Looking forward to seeing you in the crowd. [ She grins. There is no crowd. ]

I get you. But don't let me keep you from the real crime, now. [ She steps forward to collect her bag with a brief wave. ] Good luck.

[flapsin]

[He will end up searching tirelessly for her performance!]

Thanks. It was good to meet you! Stay safe out there, intrepid citizen! And should you face any danger, you know who to call out for!

[But he doesn't consider that he never got her name. Regardless, he's off to continue patrolling the night!]