2020.03.26 - De-Briefing of the PG-Rated Variety
This log follows the story from: 2020.03.26 - Exactly What Kind of Witch Are You?
The story continues in: 2020.03.28 - Tentacular Tentacular
It's been a little over a week or so since the incident at the park, and Ciaran hasn't been able to get any information out of the Spring Court on what could be afoot. As he comes up the stairs of the Sylvan Court, his voice carries into the room ahead of him. "So when I went to find you, you were off that day. Which, by the way, you need to tell me what that tea is. The barista knew what I was talking about but I'm reasonably sure I listed at least one extra ingredient in my description."
As he reaches the top of the stairs, Ciaran is gesturing rapidly to Noah, which is apparently who he is talking to. "So Otis shows up, because he's Otis and he just seems to do that..." He coughs into his fist before he continues. "And we meet this guy. He's kind of quirky, but not a bad sort. Anyways, he's talking about these things that sometimes pop up and are the total opposite of nature. As in, they corrupt it. And they're apparently pretty wickedly powerful, at least some of them. I'm not sure if that's what we're dealing with, but I'm pretty sure its something like that." Once he crosses the threshold, he looks around the room to see if anyone else is around.
Noah walks along with Ciaran, nodding to him as he listens. "Oh, did you mean the pomegranate green tea? Or, perhaps, the mint green? I really enjoy the green teas, especially with fruit," he asserts, a cheerful enough smile on his face even as he takes a look around the place with curious silver eyes glued to the scenery and decor. His fair cheeks redden considerably at the mention of Otis, but he nods and seems focused on Ciaran as he walks with him, half at his side, half following behind. "What was he like? Is the stranger human? I'd like to know more about whatever it is he mentioned, the....opposite of nature," he murmurs, blinking slowly as he considers this in deep, quiet thought.
Jesse was in his room, he had spent the morning working out and training. So he went in to get showered and cleaned up after his intense workout. He steps out of his room in just a pair of underwear that barely cover the curves of his ass. The blond has no qualms showing off his body and he doesn't have to worry about the cold like others. He also doesn't have to worry about wearing clothes in the private area of the Sylvan Court. And he definitely enjoys being in little to nothing. His hair is still wet but styled to perfection as always. He spots Noah and Ciaran chatting and he smiles at the two. "Hello boys. How are you guys today?"
Otis doesn't need a reason to be in the Penthouse area, even if he has a couple or more. As security, he makes a pass through all the different areas as part of a regular patrol. So it's no surprise to see him coming up the stairs a few minutes after Ciaran and Noah. Not yet dressed for work, he carries a toolbox in one hand, and a tool bag in the other. He pauses when he sees the assemblage, blinking for a moment. Clearly, he wasn't expecting anyone to be right here. He lifts a meaty hand in greeting, and gives each of the Fae a questioning look as he moves further into the room.
Rinne is in the room, lazing around actually and being a well.. cat-boy. He is laying upon the couch with his body curled upon on the couch where his legs are bent, and arms are tucked under his head. His tail swishes around, and his new ears perk up at the sounds that he hears, and also the scents that he smells since he has a good sense of smell now. He sits up on the couch and gives a wave off to the others, then stands up and walks over toward Ciaran and Noah, "Shall I fetch anything for you guys?" Rinne asks, turning his head also to Jesse to include him. Rinne is wearing what he always wears up here, just there is now a hole in his shorts for his tail. He smiles and nods towards Otis, also including him as well.
"Mint," Ciaran responds to Noah. Pursing his lips, he looks thoughtful for a moment. "Well, he's definitely some kind of witch. I didn't get the feeling I get from you, though. And he wouldn't fess up what kind. And I'm pretty sure, if he's a witch, he could tell that Otis and I aren't exactly human. Otherwise he probably wouldn't have been so forthcoming. There was a lot of tongue-in-cheek double speak before I think we mutually decided we were all not-normal enough to get to the meat of the discussion."
At Jesse's arrival, Ciaran turns and flashes him a smile. "Doing good, thanks. Just chatting with Noah about an interesting guy I met. You?" As Otis enters the room shortly after he does, Ciaran just gives the man a nod. To the others, he adds "Otis didn't get particularly bristly, either, so he must not have gotten the impression the guy was a threat." Distracted by the others, Ciaran hadn't noticed Rinne until the boy walks right over to them. His eyes widen in shock as he takes in Rinne's new appearance. He sizes Rinne up, from the ears to the tail and his jaw drops. "You're a cat! What the hell? Are those real?"
When Jesse spots Otis with the tools coming upstairs he arches a brow at Otis. "Um, hey? What's up doc? You fix things too?" He is actually surprised by the idea of that. And then Rinne is coming into the room and the first thing that he notices is that the young man has a tail. Yes, he didn't have a tail the last time they saw each other. "Well, that's new." He blinks. "Is that normal for Shinigami? Or did something else happen?" And back to Ciaran, "Oh, nice. Was he hot? We can always use more hot guys in our lives."
"Mmm, maybe next time, you should just try the secret handshake," Noah teases good-naturedly as he looks up to Ciaran, silver eyes brimming with a gentle mirth. "Still, that is quite interesting, I would say. I didn't know there were very many witches here, though. Maybe I just haven't been really looking for any. The Fae and spirits usually find me, anyway."
Noah looks to Otis, cheeks still aglow, and lifts a hand to give a little wave to the fellow even as he stares. He tears his eyes away to blink at Jesse. "Uh, sorry? Oh, hi! Hey!" He waves to Rinne. Looking around the room, Noah hasn't quite processed that he's never been properly introduced to most, if not all, of the fellows present.
Otis gives Jesse a thumbs up for his assessment, winking at the teenager as he sets his equipment down. Rinne's new look is surprising, given the lift of the bear's eyebrows, but he doesn't add to the questions. Instead, he gives Rinne his usual ruffle of hair, which he also extends to Noah as he passes. There's a snort for the mention of the guy from the cafe, but it's amused, and the big man rolls his eyes as he shakes his head. Then he frowns, and shrugs, nodding and tapping his temple as he drops onto the couch.
Rinne blinks several times at everyone’s surprised look. Rinne flushes deeply as everyone looks at him. His ears twitch slightly at the different sounds around the room, and his tail continues to have a mind of its own. Rinne nods towards Ciaran, "They are!" Rinne says and then he shook his head towards Jesse, "Master Rey well.. he gave me this form.." Rinne says and then he flushes deeply as Otis gives a ruffle of his hair which include those ears of his. Rinne starts to purr, like actual purr, and you can hear him, its coming from his neck area. He steps up towards Noah, "He was here when it happened.." Rinne coos out.
Jesse's question causes Ciaran to think a moment. "Honestly I was more focused on his story than anything else, but he was definitely dressed to impress if I recall." To Noah, he adds "He was evasive about where he was from, but he's definitely not local. That's probably why you haven't noticed him. His name was... oh shoot, I forgot. Ten? Ten-something." Glancing over his shoulder at Otis, he asks "I don't suppose you caught his na--" Pausing mid-sentence, he shakes his head. "Never mind, forgot who I was talking to." There's a wry amusement in his tone as he says it. Ciaran blinks at Noah. "Ah, was he?" he smiles at Rinne. Reaching out with his hand, he holds it back but its obvious he was about to try to feel one of the ears. Retracting his hand, he adds "Anyways, the guy talked about beating the things. He called them abominations. It may be that, it may be something else, but it's going to come back. I sense it."
Noah's cheeks remain red as he nods up to Ciaran. "I don't know anyone named Ten-anything, so it must be a stranger. If I had a bit of his energy, something that had absorbed his aura, I might be able to track him down, but no promises. Witches that don't wish to be found can be quite elusive," he admits, smiling awkwardly toward Rinne. "Yes, I certainly remember. It was, ah, a nice time." He watches Otis and Jesse both, suddenly realizing his folly. "I....know we didn't get to chat much the last time, but...I'm Noah Grayson. It is nice to meet you all."
"Tenebris," Otis offers from the couch in a grunt. See? He was paying attention!
Jesse just looks around and he says to Rinne. "Oh boy, that was a gift from the Fae. They are special. It must have been a very happy Birthday for you." He keeps a grin upon his face and then he turns to Ciaran. "Ahh, this sounds intense. I am sure that we could investigate this person as well. I don't like the idea of a random stranger showing up the same time that all of this happens. I don't trust easily and I don't want to bring someone into the fold that is actually trying to trick us that he's good to know what we are up to." He genuinely doesn't seem to trust the stranger. He looks to Noah. "I am Jesse Outono. It is nice to meet you. I am glad that we had you around to assist that night. Things could have been a whole lot worse if we didn't have your aid." He looks at Otis for a moment and then he moves to plop down next to Otis and he leans against the big man. He looks very content and he rubs against him. "Tenebris? Is that his name? The mystery man."
Rinne looks at Ciaran for a moment, blinking as he hesitates to pet him, "It’s quite alright.." His ears are unbelievably soft to the touch. Rinne smiles and then he grins looking at Noah, nodding his head, "Indeed a nice time" he licks his lips, an then he turns to Jesse, "Well. I guess you could say that," Rinne chuckles, "Anyway you guys want anything to drink?" Rinne offers once again like before, "Tenebris?" he also asked.
Ciaran arches his brow at Otis' sudden response with the name. "Wow. I'm impressed." Both because the bear remembered and because he spoke up. Ciaran nods to Jesse and says "Yes, that's his name. Or, at least, the name he gave. You're right that the timing seems suspicious. I dunno." Nodding to Noah, Ciaran says "I don't really know how to find him, either, but given what's afoot I'm sure we'll cross paths again. Either at the cafe or the park, more than likely."
As Noah introduces himself, Ciaran blushes. "Oh, right. I didn't realize you hadn't been formally introduced to everyone." There's something about the way he says formally that's suggestive, but the rest of the statement is straightforward. The mention of gift from the Fae causes Ciaran to smirk. "Awful lot of those going around. One for Noah, one for Rinne, a sword for me... the Fae are being generous." As he rubs one of Rinne's ears, he smiles at the boy. "No drinks for me, thanks."
Otis nods in confirmation of the witch's name, shifting a bit when Jesse sits next to him so that the teenager will be comfortable. He listens as the others converse, snorting an amused sound at the word 'formally' when Noah introduces himself. He doesn't supply his name, though. Enough people have identified him that it'd be moot at this point. But he does wink and finger-gun at the kid, now that he knows his name. If he has thoughts on gifts from the Fae, he doesn't share them (surprise!), opting instead to wave off the offer of a drink, and offers an actual, verbal opinion on Tenebris. "Weird guy."
Noah smiles toward Otis to hear the fellow speak, then bows politely to Jesse. "It's nice to meet you, formally. I'm...I'm glad I was able to help, but the issue still is quite distressing. I want to do my part in solving this problem. I don't want anyone to suffer, or for Nature to ache, or for Ciaran to..." Noah lets out a huff and lightly pats Ciaran's side. "I want you to be safe," he adds more quietly.
He waves a hand to Rinne. "I'm alright, thank you. It is good to see you again! You look nice with your...ah, glamour." Noah looks over to Otis as he finger-bangs toward him, his silver eyes widening a bit as he curls his fingers in an awkward little wave, though with a smile that shows he's clearly pleased to see Otis, or at least, he was happy to be there with everyone. "Tenebris...how was he weird?" Noah wonders, taking out his cell phone to take a look at it. "Maybe he's on Witchstagram," he murmurs thoughtfully, leaning against Ciaran's side as he swipes over his screen.
Jesse leans into Otis and he whispers something into the big man's ear. "We definitely will be investigating this man. I am going to assume that you met him as well Otis? Did he give you any bad vibes. Smell bad. I trust your sniffer more than I trust most other people here. And I trust your judgement." He places a hand on Otis' thigh and gives him a squeeze. "Do we have a lead on anything else that has seen this corruption? Or maybe any other source of it?" He peers at Noah. "Does Witchstagram actually exist or was that a joke?"
Rinne didn't have a clue who this person was. Rinne looks at Noah, nodding, "It's good to see you here as well now that you will be living here if I believe.." Rinne says and then Rinne gasps out when Ciaran rubs one of his ears. He coos out and starts to purr really loud, moving over towards Ciaran. Rinne behaves most like a cat and rubs his body up against Ciaran’s side, nuzzling into him and wrapping his tail around Noah's wrist if he lets him.
Otis smirks at Jesse's whisper in his ear, and lifts a hand to see-saw it in the air before letting it slap back on his leg. The vocalized question has him repeating the gesture, only this time he moves an index finger to his temple and twirls it slowly. Then he shrugs, spreading his hands. Like he said, weird. Having no further information to impart, the big man falls back into the couch, dropping a hand on Jesse's back and resting it there, his expression a bit uncertain.
Ciaran blinks at Otis. "Wow. Three words about the same guy. Tenebris must've left an impression." Shrugging, he turns to the others. "Either way, it's worth investigating what he's talking about. Whether we include him or not. He might be useful, he might not. Hard to say at this point. Maybe if you guys meet him you can make your own judgments. He's... definitely what Otis said. Otis met him, and he was a little... protective. But he didn't seem to be moreso than usual."
Tapping his lower lip, Ciaran elaborates. "He was extremely vague about himself. He talked freely about the threat, but was evasive when we were direct about him. All he would admit to was that he was a witch." Shrugging, he smiles at Noah at the pat on his side. "I'll be fine. Whatever is doing this has to be stopped. Even if I have to drain myself dry again, but hopefully it won't come to that." Ciaran continues to pet Rinne as he rubs up against him.
Noah hugs himself to Ciaran and huffs, then looks toward Otis and Jesse, specifically Jesse. "Of course it's actually a thing! Just, a secret thing. You have to know how to access it," he says as he holds up his phone, showing a sepia-toned boomerang video of him stirring a cauldron pouring out a copious amount of rolling smoke, words pasted over it reading 'Grandma's original Smoke Potion recipe.' There's several views, and even a few 'sparkle hands', which might as well be a 'thumbs up' in witchmojis. "I, uh, don't use it too often. It's easy to get sucked into social media, and I have better things I could be doing." After a pause, he clears his throat. "I-It's a joke, because....cauldrons, with the bubbling and ominous rolling smoke..." Perhaps it's ironic? He looks to Rinne in surprise as his wrist is wrapped by the tail, though assuming it to be an unconscious act, he politely detangles himself from it. "Do you guys not have an app? I thought everyone did, these days."
Jesse looks to the other boys and then looks to Ciaran. But it's Otis that has his attention for the moment. He smirks at the see-saw motion and he laughs. Then back to Ciaran, "I should be jealous. People rarely get that many words from him." Back to Ciaran, "He may be against us, I don't know if it's useful or not. He probably is useful. But, I don't trust it." He looks at Noah, "Oh boy. That's weird. I wonder if the other supernaturals have something like that. Or perhaps a supernatural Tindr." Jesse looks around. "Where do we go from here?"
Rinne feels his tail being unwound, but he just rewinds it back around Noah's wrist, and tries to keep it there. Rinne then grins towards Noah, "Oh why not?" Rinne coos out, then grins at Jesse. Rinne coos as Ciaran continues to pet him. He really is an actual pet now, "Hmm yep.. " he wraps his arms around Ciaran waist. Rinne of course has no clue what is going on or who this person is, but he gives off a bit of a yawn, purring against Ciaran.
Ciaran just stares at Noah when he talks about the app. "I don't even have words for that. The only reason I have a phone at all is because Rey gave me one for emergencies. Or, you know, to keep in touch with the guys here." As Noah blushes, Ciaran just pats him on the shoulder. "It's okay. No need to be shy. You're among friends and..." He blinks as something Rinne said catches his attention. "Wait, you're going to live here now?" He looks between Noah and Rinne. "Is that a thing?" He stares at Noah, shrugging. "Whatever." As Rinne curls up to him, he runs his hand along the tail wrapped around Noah.
Shaking his head, he sighs and looks at Jesse. "I'm not sure what our next move should be, honestly. It's why I wanted to bring it up to you guys. We can either find out more about what Tenebris knows, or investigate on our own. Either way, I think it's worth picking his brain a little more. And I might head into the forest on an excursion. Just to see if I find any traces left of what took place." Shrugging, he adds "There's not much else we can do right now, I think." Extricating himself from Rinne's grasp carefully, he crosses his arms. "I think that's enough talk for one night. I'm getting tired." Smiling at the assembled group, he says "I'll be in my room if anyone needs me." And he winks. Oh, what could he mean by that wink? HARD to say. One thing is certain, with Tenebris being the talk of the hour there's definitely going to have to be some digging into who he is.
The story continues in: 2020.03.28 - Tentacular Tentacular