EVENT ∞ LOG — July 125

[thediadem]

Event ∞ Log

In the Flesh

Jump ⇅ :: Visits — First Contact — Hitchhikers — Notes

∞ Prologue ∞

It's not real, it's not real.

Somewhere in the Blocks, late at night, a young woman repeats the words over and over, fumbling with her room key. She doesn't dare look over her shoulder again, begging her hand to obey. Her fingers are stiff and smooth, and it makes each movement more difficult. Eventually, the door gives way. She stumbles into the apartment, slamming it behind her and locking several bolts.

Leaning back on the door, she lets her key ring fall to the linoleum as she holds her hand up to her face. It isn't just her fingers now. Painted plastic has taken over her entire right hand, spreading up her forearm toward a ball-jointed elbow that creaks painfully. She grabs her neck with her flesh hand, sucking in a sharp breath as she tries to steady her heart.

It's not real, it's not real...

She takes another breath, then turns on the light. The bulb flickers. Hazy light flood the room with an incessant buzz.

She freezes.

A figure stands in the opposite doorway. It doesn't move, stuck in a pose with an outstretched hand—one made of flesh and bone. Her hand.

She screams.

Info & Mechanics — NPC Forum Post — Event Interaction ::: ⇅ Top

Strange Visits

Panorama

For the first week or two of July, life goes on as usual. You have a lot on your plate—jobs, loans, rent, that creep who won't stop staring at you when you're filling up your car—and the last thing you've got time for is other people's problems. Or maybe you find room to listen, anyway? Whatever the case, it's mostly a lot of stories and pointing fingers: a shopkeeper accuses his friend of stealing from him, somebody claims their boss must've skipped town to avoid paying the employees, and a woman is frantic about her missing husband. He never goes anywhere without telling her.

If you decide to look into it, none of the incidents seem connected. After all, people frequently go missing in the Diadem, friends betray each other, and businesses often go bankrupt, leaving their workers to pick up the pieces. Funny thing, though: here and there, you swear you glimpse a figure who isn't entirely flesh. Their features are just...a bit odd. Is it your imagination? When you move in for a closer look, something gets in your way and the figure disappears.

On the other hand, you think to yourself, it's not as though everybody on this planet looks standard. If a man can have horns, why can't his skin also be a bit plasticky?

Use the Event Interaction comment any time you need specifics or some direction for an element you're engaging within the event. This can be an NPC victim your character is questioning, an aspect of the diffusion zone your character is testing, or anything along those veins. While you're encouraged to make things up on your own, too, if you're ever unsure of the results or the answers you might get, approach us there!

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First Contact

The Fringes

Inevitably, you take the risk and head back into the Fringes. It has what you need, and the bizarreness in Panorama isn't making the city feel like much of a refuge, either. Besides, long trips aren't unusual for anyone in the Diadem. As you drive, you might even find yourself reluctant to return to the city. After all, there's so much across the multitude of diffusion zones that regardless of how dangerous it can be, perhaps some part of you is attracted to the thrill of the unknown.

If the promise of loot isn't enough, a note on the Forum might be. Here, you'll scroll across a brief message from who else but the ever-eager Felix Bjurstrom, joined by his daughter, Olive "Ollie" Bjurstrom. (Looks like he's got a new phone again!) If nothing else, the investigative or curious nature in you gets you going. What if this is a piece of the puzzle you need to go home?

If you want your character to scavenge items, check how that works. The Map identifies where each Quadrant is located.

Among the Shadows — Abandoned Mall

©

In Quadrant 1, about a 10-hour drive from Panorama, a standard American shopping mall rises through the cracked and broken highway. A portion of its vast parking lot melts into the road ahead and behind. There are cars in the parking lot, each one perfectly preserved: no rust, no dust, nothing.

The mall's lights are on. The moment you step inside, you'll notice that you're not alone. Inside, shadow corpses are everywhere, frozen in time. Their bodies show no signs of distress. If you try to touch them, a dark, ashy residue coats your fingers. You see a young couple linking arms, a mother bending over to pick up her child, and a man ordering his last meal at the KFC. It's as though they all just...stopped. While eerie, whatever force swept through here is long gone.

The upside is that nobody will bother you while you look around—aside from other fluxdrifts, of course. The shops and their offerings are stuck in the 90's. Big electronics are cosmic touched, rendering them worthless, but smaller electronics like cassette tapes, CDs, and Walkmans are all viable. You can also grab clothes, snacks, and (cheap) jewelry.

And, as you pass by the store windows, you see many mannequins on display. That's normal, so you don't think twice. At least, until you swear one of them keeps moving around the store. Though its pose never changes, it almost appears to...follow you? That can't be right. You must be seeing things.

Zone Effects
Touching any of the frozen shadows will cause the victim to believe that their companion(s) have transformed into monstrous creatures. Attempts to approach you will only register as an attack rather than placating gestures, while words will sound like snarls or spoken threats. An induced panic will make it more difficult to think logically and see through the hallucination. The illusory creatures can take the form of anything that might frighten or threaten you the most.

You can break free of the illusion through a variety of methods, including your own willpower, being knocked out by your friends, or seeing/hearing something that makes you realize it isn't real. The hallucination isn't overly intense, but it can cause a bit of havoc among you and your companions...and increase the likelihood a mannequin might make contact unnoticed.

Wall of Refuge — Strange Temple

©

In Quadrant 1, about a 6-hour drive from Panorama—and on the way to the abandoned mall above—stands a geometric structure made of metal and stone. Sharp angles shoot up from the ground to form a distorted hexagon. The gateway is littered with sigils: some weathered by time, others freshly carved into the rocky surface. They glow when you drive forward, beckoning you closer. Come in, whispers an unknown compulsion in your mind. You are home.

You may succumb to the whispers for any number of reasons: sleep deprivation, desperation for a place to rest overnight, or a need to hide from raiders or dangerous creatures lurking in another nearby zone. Regardless, you give in and enter the triangular entrance. The stone gate lifts to grant you passage, revealing an effigy of a multi-limbed being. A deity? A symbol of power? Though you're unsure, you continue deeper. Your footsteps echo across the cavernous halls.

Behind you, the heavy gate slowly closes with a rumbling finality. Despite the chilly entranceway, the interior of the temple is warm and inviting. Candles line the walls. Fountains flow peacefully. You can enter one of the many rooms to find a soft bed, fresh cakes, succulent meat, and fine wine available for you. Behind a silk curtain is a steaming bath lined with soothing floral herbs and oils.

Meanwhile, throughout your explorations, you might sense a figure or a shadow in the passageway. A glimpse of shiny plastic appears oddly out of place in a temple of this kind.

Zone Effects

• If you are a believer and decide to trust the gifts bestowed upon you, then you may safely indulge. The wine will warm you up, the food will fill your belly, and you can sleep through the night. When you awaken, you can safely leave the temple refreshed. Your vehicle will be outside, untouched, as if some power within was protecting your belongings.
• If you are a heretic and doubt the offerings you've been graciously given, the gifts will begin to rot and all amenities will crumble to dust. The more your cynicism betrays you, the more the temple will take until nothing remains except the oddly textured walls bearing down on you. As you examine the surface, you realize the stone is built from a manifold of dozens—no, hundreds—of twisted bodies. Their arms are raised in reverence, piled upon each other like human bricks. Their gaping mouths are frozen in a silent scream. As for you and your companions...what fate will await the nonbeliever?

The Last Stop — Foggy Town

©

In Quadrant 4, about a 3-hour drive from Panorama, east of the currently unused train tracks, a thick mist rolls through the highway. Here, the sky darkens rapidly into night and the temperature drops. If you've traveled unprepared, presuming the heat in Panorama spreads into the Fringes, you'll find that's not so. A chill spreads into your bones and creeps up the back of your neck.

Then the ground rumbles. The tremors shake your vehicle. Maybe it even makes you lose control briefly or sends you swerving off-road, straight into the fields. And in the middle of the fog, you see it: a figure standing in the middle of the field. Behind it are a few houses, making up a tiny rural town. The houses are dilapidated, many crumbling. Supplies within are minimal, and many items are broken or spoiled.

Do you approach? Do you drive past? Merely staring for a second too long will be enough for the hitchhiker to choose you as its ride, but its appearance may not be all that keeps you in place. In the distance is another bigger shadow. A much bigger shadow. It looms in the distance without true mass or form. Within the void of its body, a searchlight sweeps over the misty town. It does not move. It simply looks while the ground shakes. Each time its light catches a glimpse of something that doesn't belong—an animal, a vehicle that drove too deep into the tall grass, a raider that went too far into town—a sonorous howl reverberates through the zone.

Then the shadow will teleport to its target and crush the intruder without mercy before retreating back to its watchful post. And the intruder is indeed crushed: any living organism caught by the Light Guardian will be flattened with a horrifying crunch of broken bones and squished organs.

Zone Effects
While the Light Guardian can't be defeated or confronted, you can outrun or hide from its sweeping beam. If you stop far enough on the side of the road, it won't notice you...but you can still watch as it mangles an unfortunate raider or traveler. Possibly, you see the spray of blood or hear the screams before you run. Perhaps you realize how easily you could've met your own gory fate.

If you've left your car and gone too deep into the town before you realize the danger, you can do one of two things: you can risk hiding in an abandoned house in the town and hope that the sunrise comes. In zones like this, the day/night cycle is unpredictable, and many places are permanently cast in darkness. Or, you can try to run back to your vehicle and pray you don't get caught.

Alternatively, you've plowed directly into the field when raiders in pursuit force you into the zone. Should fortune favor you, they'll be obliterated by the Light Guardian while you flee. The beam tracks quickly, but can only shine in one direction at a time so the key is to bob and weave.

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Hitchhikers

Anywhere

Not everyone who enters the diffusion zone will pick up a mannequin, but the possibility is there. Once you make first contact, you will gain a hitchhiker. Unlike most aspects of the diffusion zones, this one has gathered into a storm, meaning the effects will breach even normally stable and anchored strongholds like Panorama.

Some fluxdrifts will brush off your problems while a few might believe you. Others will offer solutions in their own way, including a doctor who'll pay to obtain strange plastic limbs. Not everyone will pitch in to help. The city's big, populated, and somebody on the street turning doll-like doesn't affect them (...until it does). They've got a job to get to and mouths to feed.

Unwanted Passenger

When do you first notice your passenger? At any point, really. Perhaps it goes like this:

You glance in the rearview mirror and glimpse a figure in the backseat. When you spin around, there's nobody there. Then it happens again. This time, you realize it's not a person, but a dummy. A mannequin. It's sitting upright. And is it...wearing a seatbelt? Or maybe it's thrown itself across the back bench as though somebody tossed it there, uncaring.

This time, when you look back, it's still there. You pull over and dump it on the side of the road. That's taken care of, you think. You drive some more. For a few hours or even a day or two—depending on how long you've traveled—you don't think much of it. Then suddenly, it's back. And it keeps coming back no matter how much you try to get rid of it.

Or it goes like this:

You return from a standard trip into a diffusion zone. It went pretty well, you think. You found some clothes at a creepy mall and now you're ready to get some sleep. When you open your trunk to retrieve your belongings, you notice a mannequin stuffed inside, limbs bent at odd angles. You're a little weirded out, but you decide to dump it on the street and move on.

You shower. In the bathroom mirror, the mannequin suddenly appears behind you. Over the next few days, this continues. The mannequin appears in a booth across the diner as you're eating your eggs. It's behind a shelf in the corner store. It's in your closet. Each time you check, it vanishes...but then, sometimes it doesn't. Sometimes it's right there in plain view. It'll even let you throw it away, burn it, anything you can think of. But it always comes back.

However it plays out, you realize that people around you do notice it...sometimes. That doesn't mean anyone will believe you that things are just that weird. Most people have better things to do. They don't know you, after all, and even if they did, well, this place does have a habit of driving people a little crazy. Witnesses casually push the mannequin aside and tell you that's a funny prank. Your regular waitress pats your shoulder and suggests you get some sleep. You're not looking well. The shopkeeper demands you take that thing before you go. He's not responsible for your junk.

But there's a small chance you run into someone who seems to be going through what you are. Unfortunately, they seem to actually have it worse and aren't making much sense. Still, you can try questioning them and see what answers you get. At least, before you lose them for good. For some of you, the victim you run into is in especially bad shape...and you have to wonder how long before you end up the same.

Trading Places

For some of you, the mannequins might not do more than be a nuisance. While that's not ideal, either, it doesn't completely upend your life. Others are less fortunate. If you're one of the latter, you'll begin to notice symptoms.

The first time it happens, you're startled to hear the mannequin speak. To begin with, its voice might be guttural and unnatural, incapable of stringing more than a few words together. Then it seems to learn. It talks in full sentences. Its voice smooths out. It starts to sound more and more like you...right down to your speech patterns and accent. As symptoms progress with varying intensity—over days or weeks—you realize with dawning horror that you're losing parts of yourself. When you wash your hands, you notice a part of your skin is smooth and shiny. The next time the mannequin appears, its previously plasticky appearance is more flesh and blood.

Eventually, the mannequin becomes independent. It shops with your money. It steals while wearing a face that looks nearly identical to yours, especially from a distance. It calls your friend and says the things you would never say out loud to them. They're thoughts you've had, sure, but you know better than to hurt your friend's feelings...except apparently, you have. And now you can't even use your own voice to explain yourself. Your leg has been getting stiff. Your joints don't bend properly.

Meanwhile, the mannequin is now striding around smoothly. Its appearance is still uncanny and odd if anyone pays attention, but at a glance, it easily passes as a part of the crowd. As its final act, it's even absorbed small bits of your abilities if you have any. Not all of them, but enough to cause trouble. Throughout everything, you cannot harm your hitchhiker. Some unknown force stops you any time you think about it. You simply can't.

Related Incidents

The impact isn't contained only to those directly affected. The hitchhikers' influence spreads through the city. For some incidents, it's difficult to trace back to the source. For others, that's a little easier. Regardless, these occurrences could help you determine how to solve your own situation. Alternatively, if you've escaped unscathed, you can still find yourself dragged into a situation involving someone else.

Return to Sender

July 11 — The Forum: An anonymous poster contributes this bit of information that might catch the eye of those affected. You can try the same method, but it's a risk going back into the diffusion zones. No one can guarantee the specific zone you found the mannequin in is still standing. Further, you have to remember where you made contact to begin with.

If you decide to try it, be sure to take a friend. The less independent the hitchhiker, the more likely it will stick to your side even as you return it home. If the assimilation has progressed too far, though, you might have to utilize methods such as duct taping inside your trunk or strapping it down with ropes. It may struggle and say vile things to you or your companion.

Victimless Burn Victims

July 14 @ 03:00 — The Pavilion (East End): A handful of troublemakers grabbed some freaky mannequins wandering the street and, in a drunken stroke of genius, set them all on fire for no reason other than that they wanted to. Not only has this resulted in damage to the corner store nearby, but Enforcers have linked the incident to four hospitalizations at roughly the same time. Doctors from Saint Margery's Hospital (located in the Blocks) report that all four individuals suffered massive shock and claim to have endured unimaginable agony as if they had been "set on fire."

Curiously, none of them bear any physical wounds and, by all accounts, are completely fine (trauma aside). Notably, all four individuals were also suffering from various stages of "joint stiffness" and "hallucinations"...which have since completely vanished. You might wonder, is this the solution? Or perhaps the better question would be, is it worth it?

The Sculptor

July 15 — The Pavilion (Medical Clinic): Around July 14 onward, word begins to spread that a Dr. Maggie Wright (who insists on being called the Sculptor, though nobody seems to heed this request) will not only do an amputation for free, she will pay you for your limb if you are boasting an "unusual trophic change to the skin, resulting in a smooth and shiny texture." All she asks is she gets to keep the sample. Her promise is that she will study it to find a more permanent cure and, if she does, she will return the limb to you for reattachment.

Some end up trusting her. You wonder, maybe she could help? Dr. Wright will happily accept you as her patient if you agree. Her methods are indeed proper and sterile: she'll put you under and provide you with plenty of pain meds. She appears to have all of the equipment required to preserve the limb, too.

If you're suspicious, you can also pay her a visit, but you won't have much luck getting her in trouble or sniffing out any evidence of nefarious deeds. Her office hasn't got anything strange, she is indeed a real surgeon, and there are testimonials from patients who've had success under her care in the past. Plus, nobody's going to her who isn't doing so voluntarily (they've signed waivers)—even if you could argue how much desperation plays into their decision. Still...the thing about her "title" is a bit weird, right?

Dr. Maggie Wright is 5'2, Caucasian with a light Northeastern accent and silver hair often worn in a bun. She's in her 50s and looks fairly good for her age. Her voice is soothing. She has intense, wide blue eyes, which some might find unnerving, but that's not necessarily her fault.

∞ Notes ∞

• Mannequin contact is not required. Not everybody who goes into the diffusion will make first contact, and many won't. Characters can explore the mall, the temple, and the foggy field without ever picking up a hitchhiker.
• The diffusion zones described are only examples. Others will exist where mannequins can be found, including grocery stores, gas stations, abandoned parks, and more. You can make up your own, but check with us if you have any questions about limitations!
• The speed and intensity of all mechanics are entirely up to you. Generally, the earlier a character makes first contact, the more severe their consequences.
• Investigating the zones or helping others are perfectly fine ways to participate! Since the hitchhikers are meant to be more insidious, it won't be strange if your character isn't in the middle of the action right away or notices things a bit late.

Questions? Ask here

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Comments

[magike]

( there's fondness in her expression when rowena looks at jack, taking a moment to look over him as she smiles. she takes his hand, squeezing it gently, a show that his words mean something, but also her own trust in him. he may be afraid of his powers, and if she saw fire out of control she would be too, but she's not afraid of him.

her eyes light up violet as rowena lifts a hand, drawing her magic to her. the gesture is small and simple, a closing of her hand in a motion over the mannequin as she utters the spell.

the mannequin lights on fire, that part's expected. what isn't expected are the screams coming from the man that the mannequin was linked to, as if rowena was burning him as well. but when she looks he isn't on fire )

[godjr]

[ Jack looks back at her with that mirrored fondness and a shy smile, squeezing her hand back. He's been grateful for the time they've spent together since coming here. Her being around has been one of the only ways he's kept together and stable, and his respect for her has turned into very real love.

He turns his head toward the mannequin. They had agreed to do this for the man because they had power and he didn't, and there were rumors that this was a way. It actually follows hunter protocol so maybe some things do cross over. Jack's startled when the man starts screaming, immediately stepping in front of Rowena in case something is happening that would get her to scream too. When reassured she is safe, he steps to the civilian and reaches out. ]

It's okay, you're safe, you're okay.

[ The man is not, in fact, okay! He falls to the ground and rolls back and forth like attempting to put out a fire that isn't there. Jack's anxiety spikes and he doesn't know what to do. ]

Should we put it out? [ This to Rowena. He hates seeing people in pain. ]

[magike]

( the screams worm their way into rowena, twisting under her skin. she's heard people in pain before, and has caused enough of it, but the pain of being burned alive is a very different thing. with jack's hand in hers, she can keep breathing through it, tell herself it'll be over soon, that the man isn't actually burning.

but then jack steps over to him to try and comfort him, rowena's hand slipping out of his, and she panics. freezes. her memories are too deep, and yet still sit close to the surface, and her eyes close, trying to hold back the tears that have already fallen.

jack's there but his question sounds too distant, something she can't grab onto. it's when he says her name for a second time does she instinctually cast a spell )

Somnia.

( her hand's stretched out to the man, unable to look at him, her gaze still fixed on the burning mannequin. but he falls asleep. whether he stays asleep under this pain is something else )

[godjr]

[ Jack looks to Rowena for guidance but something is off with her, he can see it. He's observant and her expression has changed, she dropped his hand. His eyebrows furrow and he instantly worries, bubbling in his stomach, uncertain. Then again, anyone would be upset by the screams, wouldn't they be? Even someone who was once bad wouldn't enjoy pain like this. Maybe she's just being sympathetic.

He knows that Rowena has struggles of her own; she doesn't say it, but he knows from living with her. Jack stays quiet and doesn't intrude on her privacy, but he notices, and he mulls it over. Maybe some day he'll speak. His inability to ask his parents any questions led him to be ignorant in many ways.

The person falls asleep but he still struggles even while unconscious, his body twitching and turning as the pain worms its way inside. It was probably for the best he didn't do this right away on himself. Jack's response to pain is usually very perilous to everyone around him.

He adds his fire to Rowena's, thinking maybe the faster it'll burn, the faster this will be over. ]

What if it kills him?

[magike]

( the fire burns hotter, changing colour, and the mannequin that had started being a man melts faster, the smell of burning plastic in the air. the man on the floor twitches more under the added strength of the pain, and rowena keeps her hand out, willing her magic to keep him asleep. it's not for him. selfishly, it's so she doesn't have to hear him scream.

her mouth starts to open at jack's question, but she finds that she can't answer. it registers, but her thoughts don't form an answer, unable to bring anything to mind other than seeing the fire and hearing the screams (her screams) in her mind, even though there's nothing in the air.

she just wants it to be over )

[godjr]

[ Jack understands. It's already too late, their fire is powerful, and if they don't finish this, it would have been for nothing. He takes in a deep breath and lets it out, focusing his fire and making it burn brighter, hotter, his eyes glowing. Their combined power melts the mannequin away into nothing. The man twitches and groans but doesn't wake up thanks to Rowena.

Jack checks to see if there's anything left and burns the remaining plastic, watching it drip away into nothing. His attention turns back to the suffering man who finally lies still, and he hurries over, putting fingers on his pulse point. Him going still could mean more than one thing, and a look of relief shutters over Jack's face. ]

He's alive.

[magike]

( he's alive. there's a delay before rowena realises that jack is speaking to her, with his words heard but not having registered. she'd closed her eyes as the flames grew larger, tears still spilling onto her cheeks, and even after jack spoke, her hand still pointed in the direction of the man.

the moment stretches out, and rowena's heart hammers in her chest, so loud to her ears that she expects jack to hear it. but rowena's still, unresponsive to what's around her.

another beat passes before her hand drops, and a sob bursts from her, her brain starting to tick along quicker. some of the paralysing fear lessens, letting her draw her hands back to her, holding them comfortingly against her chest, but her eyes stay closed )

Can you make him forget?

( she whispers the question, her voice thick with emotion, and this part she thinks is a kindness, not wanting the man to remember the pain he'd just experienced, to not suffer the trauma she knew too well )

[godjr]

[ Jack's eyes widen and he takes a closer look at her, having not expected that emotional outburst. He's flustered at first, he's never been good at helping other people with their emotions, but that won't stop him from trying. He tries to decide what is most helpful, so at first he hears what sounds like what she wants. He nods. Typically he'd hesitate because he's not supposed to warp people's minds, but in this case, it does seem like a kindness to erase pain.

He puts his hand on the man's head and removes all memory of the pain. He'll know that the mannequin existed and that they had to burn it, and that he's now free, but that's what he'll remember. He stays unconscious for now and Jack heals his body so the pain won't stay lasting on his limbs once he gets up.

Then he moves to Rowena with worried eyes and he thinks about what's made him feel better. He doesn't know why this has upset her so much only that it has, and he can do something about it. He opens his arms in an obvious offer for a hug. He always feels good when Castiel or Sam hug him. ]

Will you come here? If you don't mind.

[ They share their space so closely these days but he's not been able to embrace her before. ]

[magike]

( rowena watches as jack approaches the man again, does what she expects is what she asks, and though tears still wet her cheeks, the fact that this man won't remember the pain brings her a little comfort.

when jack offers a hug to her, rowena hesitates. she's not good with her own emotions, and the physical contact of a hug feels too much for her to be able to handle. but rowena also isn't certain that she can refuse him, finding that too cruel to bear.

after a moment, she steps into his embrace, letting her head drop to his chest. as his arms wrap around her, the tiny part that had held her together breaks, and she's at least glad that she can hide her face against him as she cries, soft sounds from her )

[godjr]

[ Jack holds her gently and she feels so small this way, how she hides her face on him, and breaks down. It makes her feel so human in that moment, and he knows the times he's most human is when he's emotionally fragile, so he understands. He doesn't understand why she's so upset, she doesn't even know the man, but he saw her fear about the fire. It has to be that, right? Maybe he shouldn't have asked her to do this with him. ]

I'm sorry. [ He murmurs to her.] It's okay, I'm here. I love you, Rowena, you're safe with me.

[ Jack hasn't used those words to her directly but he feels them. He bonds with people quickly and his heart is so big, so loving. He imprints on others. Rowena's given him plenty of reasons to trust and care for her, and he feels that love for her guiding his comfort. He lays his head on top of hers and just holds her.]

[magike]

( she feels safe in his arms. her head's tucked against him as she cries, her hands resting against his chest, and whilst rowena never shows vulnerability to anyone, she feels safe around jack. this moment doesn't hurt, not with how much he cares for her. rowena knows that already, given some of his words, and his actions in their space, but hearing him repeat it reaffirms that )

I can't do that again.

( her words are whispered once she's calmed enough to speak, muffled by how she's still tucked against him. tears still fall, though slower now, not the same sobbing that was from just moments before.

seeing the mannequin burning had been manageable, but hearing the man screaming in pain with it had been too much to bear, and rowena doesn't think she could help free anyone else. she certainly couldn't let anyone burn her mannequin, even if she didn't have another option to destroy it. she couldn't feel that pain again )

One's been following me.

[godjr]

You don't have to do it again.

[ Jack can offer to do it on his own, when she's safely elsewhere. The screams were uncomfortable for him too, but the man survived and the mannequin is gone. He feels pretty confident of that, it's turning to ash. That is a common way to destroy things for hunters so they probably should have started there, but it did feel like a last resort due to not knowing what would happen.

Next time Jack will put the person out before the fire starts and hold them there until it was done. He's learned. But he's also learned that Rowena should not be there.

He holds her as she copes with whatever is triggering so much pain, his love for her evident in the gentleness as well as the words. He frowns when he hears that about hers and nods, understanding.]

We'll find another way with yours. We'll try everything else. Maybe it can be as simple as taking it out to the quadrants and leaving it there.

[magike]

( she pulls back from him, her cheeks wet with tears, frowning at jack )

Is there another way?

( rowena took her hands into his, not quite ready to fully break the contact with him, even if her actions are as if she's reassuring him rather than him reassuring her.

she's tried to banish a mannequin; she's tried magic on her own. neither of those things was successful, and dragging it out to leave it somewhere sounded like many things could go wrong along the way. she hadn't managed to shake it yet )

I-- I can destroy someone else's. I don't know if mine can be destroyed, not if this is the only way.

Tagging your other one now!

[godjr]

I don't know. [ Jack admits.] But we can still try to find something else.

[ Jack definitely does not want to burn her mannequin, not with how he saw her react to it. It's possible he could knock her out so she doesn't feel any of it, but there's too much of a 'maybe' on that since she's a powerful witch. And he wouldn't want to force that on her either, it would be traumatizing. So there has to be another way.

He squeezes her hands.]

We'll find a way. Let's start with taking it back to the quadrants, maybe we can throw it outside and see if it sticks.

wrap it? 💖

[magike]

( rowena gives him a sad smile. his hope and optimism were so sweet, even if rowena doubted that anything else could be found. though those weren't the words that she would tell him, not wanting to break that in him )

Just be careful.

( she draws one hand back, keeping the other in his hold, brushing her tears from her cheeks )

We should involve Samuel. We may need the help.