2021-03-27 - Calling the Conifers...Corners...Whatever.

One moment Ravn is casually strolling home, bag of take-out dinner under one arm -- even got a fish burger for the cat -- while his mind wanders. The next you pull up short and realise that there's a lot more trees and nice garden paths in Kickle... Huffle... Freckle... the Trailer park than usual. And because he's lived here more than six months now, the folklorist's immediate reaction is just... Oh? Oh. Oh well, then.

As dreams go, it could be worse. At least he's got lunch. The Dane tugs the collar of his leather jacket up around his ears and takes a deep breath before looking around. It's pretty rare to be the only sucker to get pulled into one of these experiences. So who are the other suckers on this ride today, and will two cheese burgers and one fish burger be enough?

Conner Hawthorne didn't intend to end up on a path with a whole lot of trees today. Not by a long shot. He was doing some of the groundskeeping work at the Broadleaf. The DIY since losing his maintenance person has been a whole new experience for him, but it's one he's finding he's enjoying, enough to try to get better at it. Fog or no fog, garbage had to be picked up, especially since one of his residents didn't realize she was trailing it all the way to the dumpster because her bag broke somewhere in the parking lot. It had to be picked up as soon as it became evident it was down, and the resident wasn't about to do it. As soon as it hits the parking lot, garbage becomes his responsibility.

But of course the fog complicates everything, and here he is, frowning at the trees as he stands there with a garbage picker in one hand and a bucket in the other. Frowning almost as if he thinks the world will just rearrange itself back into sense and sensibility if he just stands there and glowers long enough, as if his disapproval alone would be enough to put the building blocks of the world back into place and deposit him, say, next to the dumpster so he can empty the bucket and go home to his books.

It doesn't, of course, but he certainly makes a determined enough effort.

Itzhak spends a lot of time in the spring trying not to think about how beautiful it is in New York right now. It might not be beautiful in New York and if he was there he'd probably be complaining about the weather no matter what it is but that does not stop him! He's stepping off the front porch of the A-frame house, scowling at the endless fog bank that obscures the entire damn road, and he lands....somewhere not all that different, honestly, but he breaks out in goosebumps. "I'm gonna kill that kid," he mutters, because he is currently blaming Grant Baxter for everything.

Nicole is whistling a tune as she walks along the street, coming home from a little visit with a friend. She has some Bluetooth ear buds in, listening to some upbeat tune that has her practically dancing as she walks, despite the fog that has been ever present. Perhaps she should keep an ear out for things that go bump in the mist, but, well, things will bump whether she is listening or not so might as well enjoy some music.

Until she comes across a tree directly in her path.

She stops, looking around to make sure she hasn't veered off course, but then, the others lured into this spot by the mist and veil come into a view and she just murmurs, "oh... well shit. What now?"

De la Vega's on his way back from his cruiser, to the precinct. Also fetching a very late dinner, but for his coworkers instead of his cat. A few sandwiches, a soup, a couple of drinks arranged into one of those cardboard carriers. And some poor sap's asked for a salad, making him shake his head as he trudges up the back of the lot. And squints a little, at the trees that've suddenly sprouted up around him. The fuck are there trees in the precinct parking lot?

Probably because he's not at the precinct any longer, Dorothy.

Ravn sighs as other figures appear out of the mists around him. He glances at de la Vega, and then at his own paper bag from the Black Bear. "I suppose we can always have a Veil picnic," the Dane murmurs -- and then pauses, looking around himself as if maybe he's picked up on some sound or sensation. For a moment he listens, and loses the nonchalant air at the same time. "We're in Firefly Forest," he says to no one and everyone. "Pretty sure of that -- but something here seems wrong."

Beat. "It's Firefly Forest, of course it seems wrong."

"More...dormant. Than wrong," Conner muses. "Quiet. We're close to the old sawmill though."

He points to a stump. "Recognize that landmark, right there."

He's silent for a moment. He slides his hands into his pockets. He thinks about it. Then he looks around at the others. Someone...he was too busy glowering to mark who...asked what they ought to do now. He shrugs. "We won't resolve whatever's brought us out here unless we try to figure it out. So let's try to figure it out. We're close to the sawmill. Maybe we go look around there. We didn't all get brought out to this specific point in the forest for no reason, right?"

Prescriptive as all this is, it's forwarded as a suggestion, toned and presented as such.

Itzhak stalks forward, picking his way cautiously along the path, tense as an overwound E string. Is it paranoia if They really are out to get you? "Nicole, hey," he murmurs, coming up behind her. He looks in Ruiz's direction before he can even see him, as if he can hear exactly who it is, and his tense face doesn't exactly relax, but there's some subtle change. "Okay, who said sawmill? That was you?" He's asking Conner.

Plucking one earbud out then the other and placing them in the case that was in the pocket of the lavender-colored hoodie she wears with a pair of tie-dyed leggings. Hearing Ravn's voice, she walks closer. "You know... I think we should name it something else. Firefly Forest makes it sound so pretty and whimsical, good magical instead of...." Nicole waves her hand around indicating ALL THIS. "You know..." She offers the Dane a smile in greeting, waving her hand to greet the others.

"It's never for no reason," she agrees with Conner. "Hi, I'm Nicole. Don't recognize you straight away." She doesn't hold her hand out for a shake or anything, just makes an introduction. She jumps at the sound of Itzhak's voice right behind her and turns around with a smile. She recognizes the voice. It's Itzy, how could she not? "Hi Itz!" Quirking her lips she says, "I don't like the idea of the veil calling us out to a sawmill...."

Ruiz makes a noise in his throat at mention of the sawmill, and ambles a little closer to the others. There's Ravn, and some guy he doesn't know, and Itzhak. And of course it's Itzhak. Could he possibly have gotten dragged into trouble without him? "I don't fucking advise it," is his contribution, dark eyes on Rosencrantz as he says it. The captain's in his civilian gear: snug black jeans, ratty tee shirt, rattier ballcap with the brim tugged low over his eyes. A jacket with GRAY HARBOR POLICE blocked across the back, just in case there was any question. And enough food to feed about five hungry cops.

"I'm anything but keen on exploring the saw mill," Ravn agrees and glances in the direction he thinks the saw mill is in. "The one thing everyone born in this town agrees on is, avoid the goddamn saw mill like the goddamn plague. But speaking as a folklorist -- it's probably not coincidental that we got plonked down right next to it. Particularly not when it happens just one week after Grant Baxter and Baba Yaga does -- something or other -- to the Baxter souls that are supposedly trapped there. They might as well have sent us hand written invitations on printed stationery at this rate. Or put up a blinking neon arrow."

He grimaces lightly. "This is going not going to be one of the fun dreams, is it?"

Then the Dane draws over to Conner who is -- after himself -- the newest resident in Gray Harbor and murmurs a quiet explanation to him: "The old saw mill is supposedly haunted as all hell. Members of one of the two founding families in town have been trapped there after death in a kind of devil's bargain scenario that would take an hour to explain. Suffice it to say that there are some very unpleasant things on this side of the Veil that very likely are not willing to let their mana batteries go just like that -- things that feed on pain and human suffering."

Who wants to quickly earn a reputation as the other crazy conspiracy theorist in town? Move over, Alexander Clayton, there's two of you now.

Conner shoots Itzhak an owlish expression. "Yeah. And there it is. Saves a walk I guess."

Nicole changes his focus. "Conner," he says, giving her an easy-going nod. He's not new at all...he grew up in Grey Harbor, but that doesn't mean people know it. He's been something of a recluse. The guy you see at the grocery all your life but forget about, quietly managing his apartments. Something changed recently and suddenly he decided he needed to get out more, start meeting people. The fact that people think he's an out-of-towner is a sort of case in point as to why. The fact that he actually does still need Ravn's explanation is the other case in point as to why.

He nods, thoughtfully. And says, "And yet if we turn around and walk away, I bet the very next thing we see is that sawmill."

Ravn may win points for being crazy conspiracy theorist sounding (though he sounds like neither to Conner). Conner might just win points for crazy, because he shrugs, squares his shoulders, and steps through the open gate. He's a 'no way out but through' kinda guy.

"Ooh, sorry," Itzhak murmurs to Nicole, when she jumps. "Just me. You okay?" Ravn's explaining to Conner the sawmill's reputation, and he mutters, "It ain't always bad." Itzhak is defending the sawmill's honor? Apparently. "...okay, mostly it's bad." Maybe it's just so Ravn isn't the only one sounding crazy. The tall beaky guy draws close to de la Vega, moving quiet, joining up with him. Then glancing down at the bags he's carrying, "Aww, guess the guys are gonna hafta wait on dinner."

Then the fog parts and there's the damn sawmill, opening its gates like your least favorite auntie wants a hug. Itzhak's lip curls--and there goes Conner, just marching right in. "Hey!" Itzhak barks after him. "The fuck you think you're doing? I go first!" Is he mad because he wants to be first into danger? ...yes. yes he is.

Shaking her head as she looks at Ravn Nicole says, "I certainly don't see any candy fans and go karts..." She is no longer wearing a smile, but a small frown.

Nicole lived in Gray Harbor most of her life, but, Conner is older than she is and was well out of school by nearly a decade when she graduated. And of course, she got the hell out of dodge as soon as she could after. She has been back for a few years now, though was also a bit of a recluse for anyone who didn't stop by to get their hair cut. So, maybe she just didn't recognize Conner in the fog, maybe she's seen him about, maybe he's been a client, who knows! She watches him walk through and towards probably the sawmill, wrinkling her nose and sighing with resignation. That means she's gonna have to follow. She doesn't let people go in alone.

She reaches out a hand to touch Itzhak's arm and nods. "I'm okay, so far. Just, fog, you know..." She glances the way Conner went again and adds, "hopefully I'll remain okay." With Itz walking over to Ruiz, Nicole gives him a small nod with a brief, "hey." She'd normally smile at him, but... there's a gate people are now competing over who walks through first. She stays out of that competition. Best to be in the middle, always, so she tries to arrange herself tobe so.

With a long-suffering sigh, de la Vega simply finds the nearest trashcan and ditches everything but the coffee into it. Which he downs most of in a single swallow, then pitches that, too. "Who the fuck orders a salad?" he mutters as he trudges off after Itzhak, reaching for his sidearm to do a quick, reflexive check of the clip. It's not like he brought extra ammo, so that bitch better be loaded. He, of course, will bring up the rear.

In the fog by the gate lurks a figure. Tall and slender and vaguely ominous, at least until the coat-of-many-colours with its fluffy gold trim also looms out of the gloom. It's hard for fluffy gold trim to stay ominous. Maybe not so much patchwork, but that's generally more of the 'indeterminate possible leathers' variety than the colours and patterns of this time. Also the fluffy curls don't say 'monster' very convincingly, and neither does the way Aidan's standing with his head cocked staring into the place looking half-mesmerized. ....okay, that part could be considered slightly ominous, depending. Somehow, he doesn't seem to have noticed the approach of the somewhat bickering group of other real actual normal(ish) people, yet.

Ravn has no objections whatsoever to being soundly in the middle of the group. His defensive capabilities currently are limited to throwing a cheese burger at somebody. Maybe that's why he doesn't toss his bag the same way that de la Vega's food went? Maybe his cat will be very displeased if she doesn't get her fish burger.

"... The hell is this," he murmurs at the sight of the Karen cabal. Suddenly the Dane is very happy he didn't stroll up first because this -- look, throw goblins or trolls or ghosts at him and he knows what to do, but suburbian soccer mum witches? No thank you. The folklorist backs up a little and tries to look at everything else. There could be all sorts of things hiding here. There ought to be scores of angry ghosts hiding here. Where are all those raging dead Baxters whom he's been told got shoved into a wood chipper here?

He'd rather face dead Baxters than Karen x 4.

"Well, why didn't you then?" Conner asks Itzhak, all maddening placid pragmatism.

And now here he is, staring at a bunch of Mall Rat witches. He furrows his brow, and rocks back on his heels a moment, considering the scene before him. And then, much like any older gentleman confronted with a bunch of kids acting up, much like the patently uncool guy that he is, asks, in the same sort of tone that he just directed at Itzhak: "What are you young ladies up to here?"

He arches his eyebrows, and here it comes: more disapproval, almost mildly disappointed in these women...girls?...he does not know, playing at things they surely don't understand well enough to be playing with, given all this hippo talk. And cheer camp, love of god. And them thinking...what? That they summoned the motley crew that is now intruding on their ritual?

Itzhak narrows his eyes at Conner, far from placid and only vaguely familiar with pragmatism. He rolls through those gates and ...yeah. That's a thing. "What the hell?" he says to the witches. "Are you tryin'a summon us?"

As they file in, Nicole takes note on the ritual and the novice ritualists they come upon. She frowns deeply and whatever seems to be painted in blood, just before spotting the cages. With a small gasp and wide eyes, she starts in that direction to check on what might be held inside. She'll let the others find out 'what the hell' while she sees if there are poor animals locked in cages about to also become paint.

Maybe it's the break in the chanting that has Aidan suddenly shaking his head, and then failing to 100% stifle a yelp as he notices (a) where exactly he is, (b) more or less what he's watching, and (c) that there are suddenly a handful of other people, most of whom he knows, right next to him. "Oh, um. Hi." A tiny pause, as he realises how this kind of looks. "I was trying to go to the diner but somehow I'm here? I mean I know the fog's bad but."

He looks over at the girls, properly seeing them now, and his head tilts again. "You're trying to summon a hippocampus?" he asks them. "Isn't that like... in the brain somewhere? And I mean, I dunno how good an idea summoning anything is 'cause in the stories they tend to get loose and eat your soul and shit, but honestly this kinda seems like an extra shit place for it. No offense, just. Y'know. Souls."

"You can't be middle aged and old at the same time," Ravn points out on autopilot because that's the sort of thing that his pedantic mind cannot let go unchallenged. Then the rest of his brain catches up and he recognises the lady walking in -- slashed throat, bad attitude and all.

He knows who she is. He wishes he didn't. "If you mean the Baxter ghosts," the folklorist says, calling to mind what he just told Conner outside. "We didn't put them anywhere. Baba Yaga changed something." You Veil celebrities clearly don't do a lot of internal planning goes unsaid so loudly that Ravn might as well just have said it out loud.

Conner looks deeply offended at being called old. He scowls in a way that does nothing to make him look younger.

"Nobody's going to kill anyone," he says, annoyed, though he whirls around quickly enough when...oh, well, that's. A thing. Ravn seems to have the explanation under control though, so he slides his hands back into his pockets. Maybe to emphasize that he's not really in a killing mood. If in fact, ever, in his life, he ever has been. Which he has not. He's not pleased with any of this, but neither is he feeling aggressive about it.

He does shoot another irritated glance back at the girls. And gives Nicole a nod. Her impulse is one he applauds.

"Well beats the hell outta me, you're the one with the circle and the chanting!" Itzhak fires back at the Karen. "Put that poor snake down, they don't like that." Then there's a voice he remembers without any fondness whatsoever, and he stiffens like he's been called out by a conductor. He whips around to face the Exorcist.

Nicole sees Aidan, of course, but she is more focused on other things at the moment, like... the cages and seeing if the animals inside are A) Friendly and/or B) in need of help, she does nod in agreement with most of what he says though; both about the hippocampus and souls.

She hears the voice before she sees who it is coming from, and knows, immediately, who has joined them. It's a woman she has spoken to on a few occasions... if she can indeed be called a woman. Female entity of some sort... but if dead, are they still a woman? If a Veil Powerful Being, still a woman? Questions for her to ponder another time.

She gets close enough to the animals to see that yes, they are currently okay, so makes her stand there, ready to keep them that way. Sure, they are small, and not dogs, but... Animals. As Itzhak talks to the girl with the snake, Nicole approaches, hands held out. "Here... lemme just put her back in the cage..."

"I mean, I'm pretty sure it's still there," Aidan begins replying to snake-girl, breaking off when someone else approaches. From the sawmill side of the girls. And sounds pissed. He does not recognize that voice. He does recognize that neck, though. He's pretty sure he saw her die, but that's generally not considered a polite greeting. Though to be fair, neither is 'where are they'.

"Who what?" is also not a polite greeting, but he looks even more confused by the questions, glancing to Ravn when the Dane seems to have some idea what's being talked about. His eyes widen. "There's Baxter ghosts here?" Technically that's his family! Sort of. One version of technically. Legally that counts as his family. "Or. I mean. There aren't and should be?" He moves to follow Nicole and check those cages, though it seems like it's on a sort of autopilot right now. Too much else weird going on. The Exorcist gets eyed again as he moves, and an 'are you okay?' bitten back. Her throat's slashed but she's not bleeding and he DID see her die but she's walking around and yelling. That's Veil-okay, right?

Ravn's immediate instinct is to tackle said Exorcist -- figuratively or literally -- and ask her how she thinks anyone here is going to find any missing ghosts and bind them to the saw mill. And after that -- why she'd think any of them would want to.

It makes no difference, though, because that's when the earth moves for him. Just, not in the fun way. More in the 'something is coming up under my feet and I just fell on my arse' way.

Conner stumbles under the rippling floor, and has to thrust his arms out to try to keep his balance. Good luck? Oh that's probably fine. But for the moment he's just trying to avoid, well...falling on his ass.

Ruiz plainly has no fucking idea what's actually going on here. He's just the hired muscle, here to make sure they stay alive. The Exorcist isn't someone he has any intention of dealing with, and good riddance is probably what's crossing his mind as she goes to take her leave. Then the floor starts to melt and shift beneath them, and he tries to catch his footing. But for whatever reason, it really wants a piece of him, in a very biblical way. So he goes down (no, not like that), and tries to draw his sidearm as he does so.

"Hey hey hey hey we didn't do nothin'!" Itzhak snaps, which is absolutely wrong because Grant Baxter (see: blaming everything on) did something. "We don't want nobody's soul ripped up no more--" but all these fine aspirations come to a halt when the ground begins to liquify. Itzhak cusses in surprised Yiddish, keeps his balance...and then goes after Ruiz, lurching to grab him away from whatever's coming up out of the floor at him.

Nicole had been wanting to rescue the poor snake from the one ritualists hands but before she could, the ground started to ripple with blood. The Exorcist declares it not her problem and moves to leave, to which Nicole looks aghast. "It's not our problem either! We didn't do this?" Her dark eyes turn on the girls then, glaring at them. "Whose brilliant idea was this and why? Seriously, what the actual fuck is this?"

Now, Nicole is generally a rather mild-mannered person, generally speaking, but clearly, she has had enough of this SHIT that the fog keeps throwing her and her friends way.

The ground begins to rumble and ripple more and she, like Conner, tries to hold onto her balance, putting her arms out like a tightrope walker. Unlike Conner, she is not as successful at staying on her feet.

"The ghosts were--?" Aidan is getting more and more lost here. "Fix what? We didn't--" And then the ground is starting to ripple, and Nicole (who's nearest him) is starting to fall, and either of these could be the cause of the "ohshit," but it's the latter he tries to do something about, lunging to try to catch her and keep her up and just barely managing to stay upright himself in the attempt. It's the girl's he's addressing as he does: "What were you trying to--" but there probably isn't time to get the rest of that sentence out before it may well not matter.

It's a good thing Ravn is on his backside somewhere in that mix of limbs and guns and angry policemen because if he'd been standing up he'd have been swearing profusely in Danish about now. There are few things the Dane hates less than not understanding what the hell is going on -- and this situation most certainly qualifies. He flails, distracted a moment by watching hamster girl's attempt to learn to fly -- and more than a bit concerned as to what happens when gravity reasserts itself for her.

"The elk is not hostile," he calls out and really, really hopes he's right. Because all he's got to base that theory on is a half-remembered dream of a high school experience that never actually happened, and his face is full of blood or whatever the hell this is, his hands are shaking, and he's holding on to that fish burger in its brown paper bag like it's the most important thing in the universe.

Conner flings his arms up to try to ward off the blood. Doing the balance dance did precisely zero for his ability to duck and cover away from it. This means when he lowers his arms he's covered in the stuff.

He scowls clear up until Ravn says what he says, and his expression gets replaced by one of surprise. "Elk," he says, as if this has meaning for him. He seems to take Ravn at his word that it isn't, though what this all means or what should be done about it? Well, he's starting to get used to having no clue, to encountering things that make zero sense. It's enough, for now, to make at least one small connection.

Nicole is grateful for Aidan attempting to keep her up, but well, when the Elkocampus erupts from the black bloody ew goo, well, she's going down. She, like Ravn, does remember the creature and stares wide-eyed at it. The hamster scurries off, probably to become food for the wild at some point, but nothing can be done about that now.

Covered in ew, she watches as Ruiz is landed on. "Shit, is he okay? de la Vega, are you okay?!?" But then she sees the gun in his hand and she shouts, "don't shoot!" She hopes Ravn is right. Plus, a shot could go through the ethereal being and end up going in who knows where or who.

Now where did that hamster go?

Sometimes good intentions are rewarded! Sort of. A little. Aidan's attempt to catch Nicole happens to mean that she ends up between him and the wave of blood, which is a net positive for his coat if nothing else. Yay? He's too distracted initially by the girl flying into the air to immediately notice exactly what's caused it, and winces when she lands on that catwalk; there's a half-breath of a pause and a quiet, "...oh. That's not good," which on the one hand is obvious and on the other should possibly be worrying coming from a Spiritualist, at least if one cares what state dumb kids might be in. On the other hand, it's not Ruiz he's saying it about, so potentially good news on the PC front!

"Sorry," he murmurs to Nicole, already starting to head for what looks like it might be the way to get up into the catwalks, though he probably should be watching where he's going better than he is, distracted by the... sea-elk. "I remember that guy... uh, hi? This seems like a bad spot for you. Maybe out in the sea'd be better?"

Well. An elkfish has just leapt through a portal with one of the girls. Conner looks down at the girl who has used him as a shield. When he speaks, his tone is absolutely deadpan. "Welp. I think we're gonna have to tell them about that."