[open] january catch-all

[birdflipping]

Who: Nero and you
What: New Year's celebrations and assorted quests
When: Throughout January
Where: Camelot, the Edge of Dusklight Woods
Warnings: Nero's potty mouth, prompt 3 will include mentions/depictions of character death

1. FIREWORKS
a (closed to Alice) - [Nero's not the type to get excited about fireworks, of all things, but he knows a certain someone who might appreciate the show, considering she's never seen a fireworks display before. So he takes Alice to the crowd gathering around Camelot's castle. Nearby, there's a board displaying the minutes and seconds left counting down until the new year.

He's keeping hold of her hand through the crowds so that they don't get separated, at least until he finds what seems to be a good spot to get ready for watching the display. Then he looks down at her, and grins.]

It'll be really loud, and it might seem scary at first, but I promise it'll be fun when you get used to it.

b (open) - [Feel free to spot Nero around! Perhaps you bump into him during the fireworks display, grabbing a midnight snack at a stall somewhere, or maybe once the crowds are starting to thin out and people are heading home.]


2. QUEST - SHADLIN SHOWDOWN
[It's quite the trek from the city to the edge of the woods, and Nero is yawning, bored already. He figures it'd be easy money, so he agreed to it, but he's not expecting much from how vague the description was.] This quest kinda seems like bullshit to me. Eyes watching people? Weird noises? Who the hell cares. There's probably all kinds of monsters hiding in there.

[Nero is already complaining to whoever his partner is for this quest, as they travel to reach the Edge of the Dusklight Woods. He has his blade and his (thankfully now enchanted to magically reload) gun in tow, but it's more of a precaution than anything. It's starting to get dark as they arrive, the sun dipping low below the horizon.]

Maybe if we ask 'em nicely, they'll mind their manners and stop staring.


3. MIRROR, MIRROR
["Brave of soul" is a trait Nero is confident enough in, so he agrees to help with at least this portion of the quest ("pure of heart"... not so much). He'll go right ahead and lead the way into the cave, cocky grin in place.]

Come on! Worst fears? Bring it!

[For all his bravado, he soon goes quiet when he hears a certain song begin to echo through the cave. He squints, looking around for the source; evidently the voice is deeper within.]

... You hearing this? [He mutters to his travelling companion. He's apprehensive, but he knows he doesn't have a choice but to press on ahead.]


4. WILDCARD
[Anything else you want to play out? Write your own starter! Feel free to shoot me a PM or PP over at moonsilver if you want to plot. I'll match brackets or prose if you have a preference.]

Comments

B

[whatsamada]

[Ken didn't want to admit it but after spending a month here, he was starting to get a little homesick. Between not knowing when he would be able to return home (and fulfill a certain promise) and being uncertain of how to manage his duties, he just wanted someone to tell him things were going to be okay.

However, he didn't want to say that out loud. He would much rather just keep it to himself as there were a bunch of others who had troubles of their own. Even after the fireworks were over, he still kept on staring at the sky as if he were deep in thought.

Was this really how it was going to be?]

[birdflipping]

[Nero hadn't expected to run into Ken here, expecting him to think that fireworks were too childish and not bother showing up. He's proven wrong when he spots Ken standing alone and evidently spacing out.

He sidles on over to him, waving a hand in front of Ken's face.]

Hey, Earth to Ken. [Or should that be 'Avalon to Ken'...?] You all right?

[whatsamada]

[With the hand in front of his face, he blinked for a moment or two before trying to find the source of said mysterious hand.

Was he staring for that long?]

I'm all right, I was just tired. [From trying to deal with school, work, quests, and generally burnt out.] Sorry, I didn't mean to worry you.

[birdflipping]

Guess it is pretty late. [Though something tells Nero there's more to it than just the fact it's past midnight. Still, he keeps a lighthearted grin on his face.]

If you're gonna fall asleep standing up, I'm not gonna be the one to carry you home, you know.

1-B

[phoenixwiz]

(It is nearing midnight as Harry lines up to get something to eat as the fireworks are flying to the skies. Nothing that a turkey deli sandwich wouldn’t fail to do. While at the area, he is able to see Nero lining up for another stall nearby that he waves back at him.)

Nero, hi. It’s getting really festive tonight, doesn’t it?

(Thank Merlin that Rose is small enough to ride on his head, squeaking her little heart out as she enjoys the night’s festivities, her eyes widened in joy.)

[birdflipping]

[Nero looks around at the voice, spotting Harry nearby. His own familiar is nowhere to be seen, given that Nero has no idea how Geryon would handle crowds -- or the crowds would handle Geryon, for that matter.]

Hey Harry. Yeah, nice to see they still know how to throw a party here even with all the doom and gloom.

[phoenixwiz]

Yeah. I got to admit, it is a miracle that they are able to put all the baggage aside for one night. Rose has never seen fireworks before, so she got super excited when they started to light up the sky minutes ago.

(Rose happily jumps up and down as more fireworks show up. Harry couldn’t help being happy for his little familiar seeing her first fireworks and New Year’s celebrations.)

I see you’re getting super excited for the fireworks, Rose. Just don’t fall off from my head, okay?

@ Credo

[birdflipping]

[Nero had visited the Elphame Traders before they closed up shop for the end of the year, and when he returns to his apartment, it's with a couple of new additions in tow: an infinite ammo enchantment on Blue Rose, which he'd look forward to testing out later, as well as something else he intended as a gift.

He kicks the snow off his boots as he enters the apartment, calling inside.]

Hey, Credo! You busy?

[Some things never change, and Nero's total lack of manners is one of them.]

[honorkept]

I'm not.

[ He calls from the kitchen.

Seeing all the snow coming down, he thought that it would be a wise idea to make something warm for everyone. It isn't anything overly fancy -- just hot milk and melted cocoa pieces. ]

I finished the task I set out for myself. [ Does he need to make it sound so serious? Yes, because that's the kind of person that he is.

So, when he comes around, he is already holding the cup out to him. ]

You don't have your same abilities as before so drink this first before you report whatever you need to me.

[birdflipping]

[If fuel weren't such a limited resource right now, he'd love to ignite Red Queen and use her as a portable heater while he's wandering around outside, but as is Credo has a point. He shakes some of the snow off his coat before hanging it up by the door, then dumps his bag on the couch before heading inside.]

Cocoa? Thanks. [He looks a little baffled that Credo is being so serious about it, but takes it with a grateful smile.] Your timing couldn't have been better, I was freezing my ass off out there.

[He's exaggerating, but he'll just play along with Credo's Serious Mission for now.]

2

[scotch_egg]

Chances are if they think it's a threat it likely is. It pays to be cynical but if the locals tell you there's a bloody bear trap in the woods and to be careful and you step in it because you didn't believe in the bear trap, whose fault is it?

[he doesn't want to send anything in there to see, and he doesn't know where his familiar is if he even has one, but he might use some of the animals already present if he can]

Wish I had a baton or something.

[birdflipping]

That's not anything like the same thing-- I mean, who the hell would step in a bear trap?

[He throws up his hands, baffled.]

Anyway... I've got kinetic magic. If you spot anything weird, let me know, and I'll try pulling it out into the open.

[scotch_egg]

It's a metaphor, for God's sake. Keep up.

[he squints into the darkness]

Pull it out into the open and then what?

A

[madcuriosity]

[Alice held onto Nero's hand tightly as they moved through the crowd, partly to keep a hold of him while the crowds pushed and pulled apart, mostly because she was terrified of the dark.

When they sit down to watch, she was quick to sit right next to him, shivering a bit from the cold as she yawned and tried to stay awake.]

And people do these all over?

[birdflipping]

[Noticing she's shivering, he wraps an arm around her so she can huddle up to him to keep warm. He'll have to make a note to get her some warmer clothes while the weather is this cold.]

For New Year's? Yeah. In my world, all the big cities would have fireworks displays to celebrate. It's like having a big party.

[madcuriosity]

I've never been able to stay up late enough. I always wind up asleep... and I'm not allowed to go to adult parties.

[What with being, you know, seven.

When he wrapped an arm around her, Alice immediately cuddled in closer, her arms wrapping back around Nero to be as warm as possible but also because she just liked cuddling.]

I wonder if London does this as well, then. It's the biggest city I know of in England. So everyone in the entire city gathers to see these? Or can they be seen from everywhere?

3

[mithrarin]

Yeah, that's... a little weird.

[Whatever Dust might have expected on a quest, music is not on the list. Do they have to fight a bard or something?]

It must be a clue. Let's follow it.

[birdflipping]

I know that song.

[Nero mutters, by now getting irritated by whatever this cave is inevitably going to throw at them.]

This'll be my fear, not yours. You can stay here if you want. [...More like he doesn't want anyone else to see it.]

[mithrarin]

Do you want me to? Otherwise, it'll be a lot easier for us to handle this if we do it together.

[Dust isn't even certain what his worst fear is. Given what he'd been through already, the idea of 'fear' seemed well out of his reach.]

2

[kiss_it_better]

[Chang Geng listens to his companion's complaints with calm patience.]

I think they care precisely because there are all kinds of monsters hiding in here.

[He says it mildly and there's no telling what he actually feels about it. He has a sword strapped to his belt, though it's not currently drawn. Despite that though, he has a look about him that seems more like a scholar than a fighter.]

It's like being worried to hear howls in an area known to be home to wolves.

[birdflipping]

As long as the wolves stay on their own turf, is it really a big deal...?

[Well, big deal or no big deal, they're getting paid for it, he supposes. He shrugs and glances across at his companion as they approach the forest.]

Honestly, I'm more used to demons than magical creatures. They're a lot more straightforward to deal with.

[kiss_it_better]

People are not often thinking logically when it comes to something potentially dangerous.

[Which is to say, it's not actually such a big deal but people do tend to make it into one.

Though he's intrigued by that comment.]

Such things do not exist where I'm from. What is the difference between demons and other magical creatures?

@ A KNOCKING WE WILL GO (QUEST) - Ken

[birdflipping]

[Nero hadn't intended to do this quest, as such, but when the brownie and dust bunny invasion spilled over into their own apartment, it became impossible to ignore. Plus, he wasn't about to let Ken do all the work on his own. So when Nero had first spotted a dust bunny or two scurrying across the floor, he'd managed to chase them down with a broom -- only for them to hop away and hide under the couch or under a bed, making them impossible to reach.

The brownies are even more annoying, hiding under floorboards or in the walls, and Nero is doing his level best not to lose his temper at the giggling he can hear coming from the little creatures.]

All right, next one of you I find is getting the vacuum. [Nero grumbles, on his hands and knees as he peeks under the couch at a group of bunnies.] Hey Ken, can you talk to these annoying little things and tell them to get lost?

[whatsamada]

[At the same time, Ken had been busy trying to get himself settled into the apartment. Hoping to provide some support to his new environment, he was in the kitchen trying to see what they had. He might not be the best cook but he could at least try to make something for everyone. That was until he heard Nero running around with a broom in his hand.

As he made his way into the living room, he could hear the giggling from a couple of creatures. This was going to be one of those days, wasn't it?]

I can try, Nero but I can't make any promises they'll leave. [He said before looking under couch. He really hoped this will go well compared to the last time he had to talk to some animals] Excuse me, what are you doing over there or why are you here?

[birdflipping]

[The dust bunnies are by this point huddling together and staying very still like -- well, cornered rabbits -- but when Nero moves out of the way to make room for Ken to speak to them, they at least stop quivering enough to reply.]

We're building a nest! We live here!

[On closer inspection, one of them seems to be guarding what looks like a small pile of socks, an empty candy wrapper or two, and... some shredded paper? They've been busy.

Heaving an annoyed sigh, Nero runs a hand through his hair.] Well? Did they say anything?