August 26 2007

Who: Cowrin/Mya
Where: In cyberspace (Oooo high tech!)
When: first email sent at about 5pm

To: Corwin
From: Mya
Time: 5pm

Dear Corwin,

Hello, I've just recieved the message you left with Domino. While I am a little unsure as to what exactly you meant, I have my ideas. I was told you wanted me to contact you, so here I am. Please email me back.

-Mya

Who: Herbert and Stacey
Where: The phone
When: 7:30PM or so

The talk with Olivia-- and the phone call that had started it off-- had one unexpected but probably good consequence: it reminded Herbert that he was supposed to call Stacey to tell him he was alive and well and not buried under a cave in or behind a mysterious disappearing tunnel. Like some people.

Since he didn't want Stacey to worry, he retrieved the phone from his bedroom, stood in the hall for a moment before deciding he liked the bedroom better, then went back to flop onto his mattress-and-sleeping-bag bed. He dragged his binder over and pulled out Stacey's number, making shorter work of dialing it than he had Olivia's number, and waited for someone to pick up.

Who: Peyton
Where: Isaac's voicemail
When: Evening

Hey, it's me. I know you have like, ten missed calls from me, or whatever, but your phone is going directly to voicemail and I didn't want to leave ten rambling messages, so I thought I'd wait, but now I'm getting worried. Tyler called Thom to see if he knew where you were, and Thom's not answering either so...if you get this, call me and at least let me know you're okay. Okay? Anytime. Like, two in the morning, I don't care. Seriously. Just call me back.

Who: Joshua and September.
When: Nighttime.
Where: Their apartment.

September was very quiet as she and Joshua went home, off deep in thought. They had things to talk about, but she wouldn't bring them up until they were safely inside their own home. There was also no little amount of guilt in September. She had thought she was doing the right thing by not worrying everyone at the time, but perhaps if she had spoken earlier... Can't think about that now. "Joshua," she said, sighing slightly as she locked the door. "We need to talk."

Who: Peyton and Caleb
Where: Caleb's room
When: Midday

Who: Val and Jocelyn
Where: Park
When: Late

Jocelyn was aware that it was far too late to be out wandering after dark. If the streets weren't as brightly lit as they were, she would have never stepped outside of Babylon. As it was, she followed the streetlamps until she came to the park. She'd needed some time to be alone. To think. And ever since her last encounter with Val, she'd been having more and more trouble just staying in and reading the way she used too. But she hadn't really dressed up for a night of fun, despite her initial intentions of doing just that. Jeans and her leather jacket, her hair pulled back in a ponytail. There really wasn't anyone out she was looking to impress, that was for damn sure. Her mood had shifted considerably before she'd even left the club. It could have been the argument she'd had with her brother on the phone moments beforehand. It could have been the exhaustion she was beginning to feel with her job. It could have been a lot of things.

She sat on the grass, beneath a tree near one of the streetlamps, her knees drawn up and her hands curled together. She conjured the flames in her hands, held them, let them illuminate her face, and then let them disappear before repeating the process. There weren't many people in the park anymore, at this hour. The ones she could see were far enough away that they'd never get close enough to see the magic, or bother her. She just needed time to work through her mood, and then she would be all right. And then, maybe, she would find something worthwhile to do.

Who: Herbert and Olivia
Where: The apartment
When: After 7PM

It had taken Herbert a good two hours to finally call Olivia. He'd been waiting for her to come home so he could just talk to her in person, but it looked like that wasn't happening. He didn't know where she was, whether she'd decided to go to work after all or whether she was out with friends. The sad part was, he realized unhappily, he didn't even know if she had any friends to be out with, much less who they were. He'd have to remedy that.

He'd have to remedy that some time that wasn't now. Because he doubted he could really hold that kind of a conversation at the moment.

Right then, he was sitting on his sleeping bag and the bare mattress under it, portable phone in one hand and Olivia's cell phone number in the other. He'd transferred it to a neater piece of paper than the old receipt she'd written it on, and boy was he glad they'd finally gotten a telephone, even though it was "just" a landline. He hadn't called yet, trying to think of what he could possibly say to her when she picked up. If she picked up. For all he knew, she wouldn't.

But he wanted to at least call. At least try. So he carefully punched in the number and waited while it rung.

Who: Dr. Jericho Zaitsev
Where: His home office.
When: Late afternoon

With no appointments this day, Jericho had set his alarm for four-thirty in the afternoon. He'd have liked to have slept longer on a day off such at this, but he desperately needed a secretary, and unfortunately the newspaper's classified department held banker's hours, even on weekends.

Once a classified representative from The Mining Journal was on the line, Jericho rattled off the verbiage for his help wanted ad:

Administrative Assistant Needed For Solo-Practice Physician. Candidate needs to be efficient, energetic, reliable, and flexible. Computer proficiency required. Must be open-minded and willing to learn new skills. Part-time work for full-time pay, pleasant working environment, attractive surroundings. Full health benefits, two weeks paid vacation and all major holidays. Please email your resume with a brief cover letter describing why you should be my first choice. An equal opportunity employer. Email: Dr_J_Zaitsev@mghs.org

Who: Shannon and Aiden
Where: Shannon's Hotel Room
When: Night - Around 10:30ish

Silence had pretty much trailed them from the exterior of the hotel to Shannon's room. And she knew it wouldn't last but mere seconds once the door to her room had been closed after their entrance into it. She knew Aiden would have much to say about her being outside of the hotel at night, and in the company of strangers, well, stranger as she knew full well that his lack of acknowledgement of Eric and Theresa was a clear indication that he hadn't seen either. She also knew that she had much to say to him, not that she would be all that comfortable talking to him about it. What she was, what she was capable of. But she knew with the return of her voice she could no longer keep the secrets that had burrowed deep down inside of her from her brother.

Hearing the click of the door as it was closed behind her Shannon settled down on the edge of her bed and started gently stroking multi colored fur of her cat as he circled, and then curled up on her lap as her blue eyes cast upward to watch her brother.

Who: Shannon, Corwin etc, and then Aiden
When: A Little Before 10pm
Where: Lobby of the Ramada

This was starting to become a nightly routine for Shannon, the redhead finding her way down to the lobby when the time was nearing ten o'clock, so routine that the night clerk on duty barely gave Shannon scant notice when she stepped past the front desk on her way into the hotel's lobby.

Who: Dessicant and Mike
Where: Babylon
When: Around 5PM

It seemed that Ethan had figured out exactly when Dessicant wanted to be somewhere else, and made sure he was needed at home or on some errand of his own. He'd had all morning to himself, which was a waste because his intended destination, Nevermore, had been closed, but as soon as two came around and Mike would be at Babylon, the phone had buzzed in his pocket and he was off catering to the whims of his idiot employer.

Who: Caleb and Mathias
Where: telephone call
When: Evening

As Caleb heard Leija's phone click to voicemail again, he growled in frustration and hung up the phone hard enough that the receiver gave a little ring. He got a Look from one of the nurses, though she didn't actually reprimand him for it, and he gave her what he could muster for an apologetic sort of look, not that he managed it very well. He dragged his fingers through his hair, wondering just how much of an asshole he was being right now. Probably on a scale from one to ten, somewhere nearing a thirty two. But he couldn't help it. He was worried. She wasn't...really the kind of girl who'd just ditch, and definitely not to the point where she wouldn't even answer his calls, right? That's what he kept telling himself.

Who: Peyton and Dessicant
Where: Lakeshore
When: 7am

It took Peyton awhile to roll out of bed when her alarm went off. The effects of drinking a few beers and making out with her boyfriend until the wee hours of the morning took a toll on her sleeping schedule, but she was determined not to waste a whole Sunday in bed. Forcing herself up, she turned off her alarm and changed, muffling several yawns behind her palm. Pulling her hair into a ponytail, she wandered downstairs to where Tyler was still curled up on the recliner, snoring loudly. She grabbed a trash bag, several actually, and began the tedious task of picking up the plastic cups scattered about the house. It took about an hour to do everything, including running the dishwasher, taking out the trash and scrubbing a few stains off of the carpet. If Tyler wasn't awake by the time she got home, she'd wake him up to get rid of the kegs and few bodies still sleeping on the couch and floor.

Yawning again, she slipped her earphones in and left the house. Per her usual routine, she jogged toward the lakeshore, feeling a bit more sluggish than usual. But she didn't stop once. At least not until she hit the third mile mark. It was then she slowed down and turned to walk a few minutes along the water. Eventually she knew she would get to the point where she could just run non-stop without the break. Maybe if she just pushed herself a bit further. Maybe she could join track or something this year...do something actually worthwhile in school rather than just showing up.

who: Natalya, Kurt, Thom, Leija, Isaac & Kaysen
where: twisty tunnel of doom
when: afternoon

Thom had been momentarily worried when the suggestion of splitting up into groups had been made and he'd held fast to Leija's hand while standing as close as he could to Isaac and Kaysen - at least until the moment he realised that someone was going to have to speak up about groupings and then he'd just jumped in as though it had just occurred that he, Leija, Isaac and Kaysen would be a group - though they'd eventually ended up with the guy Kurt and Natalya as well, which he was fine with. Their's seemed to be the biggest group, but there was no way he was going anywhere without Kaysen, Leija or Isaac - they came as a package deal, even if Thom was the only one who would be aware of that.

who: September, Oz, Maddie, Lullaby, Dean & Joshua
where: tunnel numero uno
when: afternoon

Madigan was up ahead, not that anyone else knew that. Or, not by sight anyhow, considering the twins had been kind enough to play interpreter for her to say she was going to go ahead, and people could follow if she called to them that there weren't any disasters waiting to happen or anything. Oz was bringing up the rear, in his handy dandy wolf form, and the group seemed to have grown exponentially since yesterday. Well, at least they'd split up so if disaster happened, it wouldn't be happening to half the bloody town.

She was fairly sure someone might want to pop her one for that sentiment, but it was true. Better only a few people than everyone. Let no one say Maddie was overly given to sentimentality. As she walked further along, the first thing she noticed was that she wasn't actually having problems with the whole not being able to carry a light things. That was because the cave was giving off sparkly light of it's damn own. As she walked further up the tunnel, the walls smoothing out like a bloody concrete tunnel, only prettier, she was hearing water. Now, that made her a bit nervous. Flooded caves? Really weren't good things, really. It wasn't as if anyone could swim for the surface, and if there was a heavy tide, then they'd just be bashed back and forth on the rocks, and there'd be that whole death thing again that they all wanted to avoid. Eventually, though, she managed to get to the end, where there was...a rather pretty waterfall and a spring. I never trust shite like this. It's always somethin stupid. she thought sullenly, but looked back towards the blackness she'd come from, and manifested just long enough to shout, voice echoing up the tunnel.

"All clear!"

who: Eva, Doc, Seph & Syn
where: mine of crazy doomness
when: afternoon

Seph was bemused as he entertained the thought that walking down into a mineshaft was something like a comfort. It wasn't their dreamscape, by far, and the flashlights kind of ruined some of the effect, but there was something about being underground in tunnels that made him feel better. It felt weird, granted, spiritually speaking. Like the rhythm was off somewhere vital, but the feeling wasn't strong yet. The whole place still felt kind of familiar to his crossed wires. They'd grown up in a cave, after all, and their secret mental landscape was mostly under the surface. Part of him half-expected to find the room at the center, where both of their labyrinths met. Their shared space. It wouldn't happen, and he didn't want it to with other people there, but still. He glanced over at his sister as he walked, arm that wasn't holding the flashlight extended to one side so his fingers could brush lightly against the jagged rock walls. What do you think of her? he posed to his twin, referring to Doc's knockout of a girlfriend who had unexpectedly turned up with him. Maybe an inanely odd question for their situation, but hey.

Who: Dorian, Mathias, Harper, Herbert, Charlotte, and Fallon
Where: The Mine
When: Afternoon

Until he'd been trudging through a small, cramped tunnel with them, Herbert had liked Mathias and Dorian well enough. Dorian was friendly, if kind of quiet, and looked out for shy little Harper, and Mathias was charming and one of the other more concerned people on this endeavor rather than one of the excited or jittery ones. Someone else who was going to be careful and concerned was, to Herbert, a very good thing.

Who: Caleb and Melia
When: Late afternoon
Where: Ze hospital!

Melia had indeed ended up finding shoes; she'd taken a detour to a deserted-looking back road and happened upon a girl about her height, whom she promptly bopped on the head in order to steal her shoes. They were the irritating kind, with the hook in between the first and second toe, and made a stupid sort of flopping noise when Melia walked. She didn't understand why humans wore this type of junk.

Who: Chance and Jezebelle
Where: Phones, Car, then Chance's House
When: 11:45am

The alcohol the night before helped Chance sleep, and for once in a really long while, he actually slept in on a Sunday, waking up around eleven. It wasn't as if he'd been depriving himself of actual sleep, he'd just hadn't been needing it as much as before for some reason. Either way, it left him feeling a bit groggy, but by the time he showered and dressed in clean clothes, he felt more awake, more refreshed and he dug his phone out of his jeans he had thrown on the bathroom floor. Kaysen would be busy all day apparently, and he made a mental note to call Jordan by the end of the day, or at least find her at school tomorrow since he hadn't really talked to her since their visit to Devon. At the moment, however, he punched in Jezebelle's number. She'd been a bit, er, buzzed the night before when he'd dropped her off and he found himself grinning at that memory alone as he lifted the phone to his ear to listen to it ring. At least if she was up, maybe they could hang out. He didn't care what they did. He just wanted the company.

Jezebelle was awake, though barely. She was huddled beneath the covers, her room still dark, and she wasn't sure she was coming out anytime soon. She'd woken an hour prior with a bit of a headache, taken a couple of Advil, and climbed back in bed. When her cell phone rang, she reached for it on her bedside table, knocking over a glass of water in the process. "Shit... Hello?" she said, pulling the phone under the covers with her. She was warm and cozy, just how she liked it. The only thing that would make it better would be some thunder and lightening. "Chance?" she said, his name lit up on her phone.

Who: Olivia and Judiel
Where: Olivia's Apartment
When: Morningish
Warning: NSFW

Olivia waited until Herbert left the apartment before she did the dishes, cleaned up the mess she'd made cooking and found herself pacing for a few minutes in the living room. She'd decided during her shower earlier to go see Judiel, since she hadn't done so the day before, but she suddenly felt as if she should have some excuse. Though she knew she really didn't need one. They'd slept together already - in the technical sense. So it shouldn't be so hard just to walk a few doors down and knock to say hello, right?

But five minutes later, she was still pacing, chewing on her thumbnail and wracking her brain for valid reasons to throw at him should he question her being there. Which was as equally ridiculous, because he wouldn't question her, and she knew she'd really have to get over the panicky phase of this entire...thing. Whatever it was. And then her eyes fell upon the television he'd brought her, and the box with the game console still inside. And as easily as that, she had her excuse. Within seconds she was barefoot outside of his door, readjusting her ponytail and smoothing down her t-shirt before she knocked.

Who: Brian and Manhattan
Where: The Long Shot Bar
When: 8PM

Sunday night wasn't the most crowded night at most bars, and the Long Shot was no exception. So, when Brian came in, he felt very conspicuous: not many people came wandering into a bar with a fluffy, white cat at their side. Torziel had refused to be left behind, or even be left in the truck, and Brian had a couple scratches across the back of one hand to prove it.

For his part, the damn demon-cat was prancing in like he owned the place, nose and tail high. Brian tried to ignore him as he headed for the bar itself, looking for Manhattan.

Manhattan was there, the hunter perched on a stool at the far end of the bar with a direct line of view of the door. She had only arrived a few moments before Brian entered the establishment, and her first beer of the night had just been delivered and set down on the bar in front of her. It was true she had been expecting Brian to show up at the bar, they had after all had made plans to meet up at The Long Shot, but what she hadn't expected, nor could figure out, was why the hell had he brought the cat with him.

Who: Aiden and Eury
Where: out
When: Afternoon

Eury had claimed she would be working today. Had told Aiden to come by whenever and so he did, closer to two, which really wasn't lunchtime, but he hoped she'd wait on eating until he saw her, at least. It had taken him awhile to actually get out of bed and find the courage to drive over. He'd almost bailed - twice, but he knew he couldn't. Not with something this important.

He pulled up in front of the shop, got out and threw his cigarette away before walking inside. Strange, that the last few times he'd been in the shop it had been to fuck her, or fight with her. He had no plans to do either this time around. Honestly, this time he just wanted to talk. He'd woken up that morning, convinced that he'd been dreaming the whole encounter the night before. That she was a Gorgon. Something that didn't exist to so many people. People who believed in everything else. She was claiming to be a myth. An untruth. But he knew she was real. It was impossible to ignore it now that it was in his face. She was a Gorgon, and Dorian was half demon and...his whole world seemed like it was tilted into chaos. He killed people like them for money. He viewed people like them as nothing but things. Creatures. Less than human. Jesus. He still wasn't sure he was dealing with it very well. It was like getting punched in the gut twice. Or shot in the gut. That was much more painful. Still, he had questions. He wanted to at least see if he could do this without letting the night before get to him. It felt necessary to talk this out. And then he'd call Dorian later. He needed to sort things out, deal with them. And then decide what to do. Aiden walked through the store looking for her, keys to his car dangling off his fingers. "Eury?"

Who: Alejandro and Eris
Where: Babylon
When: Late afternoon, around 4

Though it wasn't on his list, when Alejandro found the bar named Babylon after being turned away again at the place near the angel-decorated diner, he wasn't about to turn down a new opportunity. He didn't think he'd been in this one, but if he had, he'd forgotten it afterwards. He certainly hadn't remembered any bars being on this particular street.

Inside he went, through a coatroom and to the main floor of the bar. Given it was still afternoon on a Sunday, it wasn't exactly crowded. It was old-fashioned, inside, with gas lamps and everything. Huh. Interesting place. Examining the decor wasn't his goal, though, and he'd be perfectly happy to work anywhere as long as it paid enough to cover his bills. Anywhere except angel-decorated little diners, anyway. Old-fashioned, he could handle.

So he headed right up to the bar to ask the current person behind it, "Hey, I was wondering if you're hiring?"

Who: Mike and Jay (NPC)
Where: A street downtown
When: Mid-morning

She crouched in an alleyway, hiding from the light and watching people go by. There weren't many. People, that is. Which was a huge shame because she really needed some people, and soon. Ish. Well, more than soonish, because she didn't have any money and people did.

Who: Brian and Mya
Where: Mya's place
When: Early afternoon

The minute his shift was over, Brian called Mya. He wanted to make sure she was awake, and not wanting to kill something, before he showed up on her doorstep, after all.

After a few vibrated noises on her bedside table Mya picked up the phone. "Hello?" She asked, doing her best not to threaten whoever called before they explained -why- they were calling.

Who: Ash and open!
When: night
Where: Babylon

Babylon was a place that Ash had discovered one of his first nights in Marquette. The town proper had it's own share of sports bars and dives, but Babylon ... was a different creature all it's own. He'd only been a couple of times since, but if he was going to go out? Babylon was where he wanted to go. It had been a slow day at the shop, and the prospect of drinking at home was actually depressing for once. So he'd put on some clean jeans, rolled his sleeves up his tattooed forearms, and headed out.

Who: Alejandro and Anton
Where: About town, near Mya's Diner
When: Late morning

After stopping by most of the bars he knew, Alejandro was starting to get discouraged. Or maybe desparate. The one he'd been fired from had apparently been spreading the news as to why, and each one he'd been to so far-- that had been open, anyway; he'd have to come back later, for one-- had turned him away without even letting him show off his credentials. Not that he had many.

So he was on his way to one of the last ones on his not-terribly-long list-- you could only fit so many places to get drunk into a small town like Marquette-- before he started lowering his standards and looking into restaurants with bars inside or, god forbid, something not alcohol-related. He paused just long enough on the way to give a very sour look to the diner with the angel on the sign. He kind of hoped this last bar turned him down, too, if just so he wouldn't have to walk past the happy little place with its wings and halos every day on the way to work.

Who: Dorian and Melia
Where: The Lockwood Residence
When: Morning

Melia had told herself that she didn't care about whether or not stupid Caleb came to visit her the first bunch of days when he didn't show up. What was worse, though, was that he'd stopped leaving shiny things in the water for her. In a remarkable show of self-restraint, the mermaid hadn't gathered everything up the first day, limiting herself to one or two items each day so she could pretend that each new day would bring another discovery. After a while, however, she was irritated enough to go into the human town to find him - if only to ask why he didn't come anymore and express how much it had irritated her. So when she woke up that afternoon, she swam to a little deserted section of the lakeshore and changed to human, waiting until she was dry before putting on a pair of jeans and a sweater that had belonged to a human girl swimming in the lake until Melia stole them.

She'd memorized Caleb's address when he'd given it to her the last time she'd seen him, and she'd poked around town once before to find the general area. It wasn't hard to re-find, though the humans were giving her some odd looks as she traipsed barefoot through town. It didn't bother her; she didn't like human shoes. They were too confining and they hurt her feet, which in turn made her fins ache when she changed back. The hole in her leg that the other human male had given her and the human woman had fixed was better and better every day, barely even touching her consciousness now. She meandered down the street, finally hitting upon the human dwelling that had the same number as the address Caleb had given her. Hoping she understood human addresses correctly, Melia marched herself up to the front door and knocked firmly.

Who: Alejandro and Jocelyn
Where: Downtown, near Nevermore
When: Mid-morning

Sleeping hadn't happened again, even after the swim and chat with Melia-- maybe especially after the swim and chat with Melia-- though Alejandro had spent the rest of the night and into the morning in bed trying to will himself asleep again. That never worked, but he kept trying it, anyway, just in case. It's not like he had anything better to do.

Rather than try to sort through the pile of bills that had come during his absence, Alejandro left the house and headed into the main part of town. He needed a job-- a job that paid; though he still hadn't worked out whether he was actually out of both jobs as a result of... the whole mess-- before he could pay most of them. While he could check the classifieds in the paper, he was feeling restless and trolling the streets for "help wanted" signs was more satisfying than circling things in a newspaper.