The Moonlit World

[Michale CS]

She shook her head. "Nope. Never. First off, the fact that the place actually makes you feel safe is one thing. Then, if you start something there, it'll be just the once. Either the bouncer or the barkeep will run you out, and you'll never be able to find it again. Well if you survive the experience. I haven't seen anyone get run out but there's rumors... It's not pretty. Oh here's our left! It's the ice cream shop this time. I love ice cream, I'll order a sundae when we get there."

Doreen rattled on and it really added to her whole demeanor - she really seemed to remind Dipper of a squirrel.

@Saint Guillotine

 

[Ringmaster]

Mabel would love her.

That was the first and foremost thought in Dippers head, emphasizing his current mindset. He made a mental note to email her later, with instructions to enter Elysium. Maybe they'd be able to meet? At any rate, pulled by Doreen, Dipper would have his first look at a paranormal hotspot he was sure many would give their right arm for. It was...Surprisingly mundane looking.

He didn't know what he was expecting as he looked around and tried not to gawk.

"Wow. So this is it, huh? I admit, I wasn't exactly expecting ice cream machines when I thought of a gathering area for supernaturals."

@Michale CS​

 

[Michale CS]

"Oh, this is just the front room. Those always look like you'd kind of expect from the outside. You go in past that first door, then it's more...well, like a bar or restaurant. And don't worry about paying, most of the time they don't even ask, and when they do, it's no more than you can afford."

She skipped over to the counter. "One chocolate sundae, with hazelnuts, please!" And the barkeep, a slight woman who was obviously fae, nodded and flew back to work on the order. Yes, flew. On gossamer fairy wings.

@Saint Guillotine

 

[Ringmaster]

Better then the gnomes.

Speaking of which, he thought he saw a few around one of the booths among others. A pale, red-eyed man in black he knew Mabel would have jumped in his personal space, sipping hot chocolate as he wrote in a notebook sat in a corner table. Opposite him, a troll and a human with Brooklyn accents would be arguing about football with the troll gesturing wildly as he tried to make his point. Sure, there was a lot more humans then otherwise openly in this place...But everyone of them ignored the fantastic and from the looks of it appeared to regard it as perfectly normal. This was...Was....

Actually pretty awesome.

Dipper grinned, taking out the book to scribble more....The sight of which had the gnomes in the corner all turn and peer with intense curiosity and recognition as they whispered among each other.

Dipper didn't notice as he laughed aloud in wonder.

@Michale CS​

 

[Michale CS]

Dipper grinned, taking out the book to scribble more....The sight of which had the gnomes in the corner all turn and peer with intense curiosity and recognition as they whispered among each other.

Dipper didn't notice as he laughed aloud in wonder.

@Michale CS​

"Psst! Hey, do you gu-know some gu-knomes? I think they do." Doreen leaned in and whispered to Dipper, pointing to them surreptitiously. "I mean gu-know you, that is."

@Saint Guillotine

 

[Ringmaster]

"Psst! Hey, do you gu-know some gu-knomes? I think they do." Doreen leaned in and whispered to Dipper, pointing to them surreptitiously. "I mean gu-know you, that is."

@Saint Guillotine

"They tried to marry my sister when we were twelve. Its a long story."

Dipper said wryly as he peered over at one of the gnomes.

....Was that Shmebulock? Regardless, he shook it off and finished his notes before asking Doreen.

"So you said you talk to animals. How does that work exactly? I mean, its not exactly a common gift, right?"

@Michale CS​

 

[Michale CS]

"They tried to marry my sister when we were twelve. Its a long story."

Dipper said wryly as he peered over at one of the gnomes.

....Was that Shmebulock? Regardless, he shook it off and finished his notes before asking Doreen.

"So you said you talk to animals. How does that work exactly? I mean, its not exactly a common gift, right?"

@Michale CS​

"No, not common. I just... well, I have to talk to them first, usually. Then, they talk back. I can ask them to do things and they usually listen, but not always. Oddly, domestic animals are harder to get to do what I want than wild ones. I guess they're not as intimidated by humans?" Doreen said, gathering her sundae she ordered to her.

After a few bites she continued. "At first, it was just squirrels. In fact in elementary school kids called me squirrel girl, and only I could understand what they said back. Later on, it got to be more and more animals and more and more people could hear what they said. Now, anyone not strictly human or exposed to the strangeness can hear them - except in the park. I figured out that if animals talk there, even the biggest skeptic will hear them. Which... really should have made me pick another place to walk them, but it was right across the street and I figured, it would look really strange if I took them across town to walk them when I picked them up right next to Central Park?"

@Saint Guillotine

 

[Ringmaster]

"So you're a...I don't know, Druid?"

Dipper shot cautiously out of the blue, remembering what she said about Central Park in general. As he finished writing, he closed his journal and pointedly placed it safely in his pack as he stared at the gnomes.

Yeah, he knew they were watching.

Back at Doreen he watched closely as he tried to place her powers in the knowledge he held.

@Michale CS​

 

[Michale CS]

"So you're a...I don't know, Druid?"

Dipper shot cautiously out of the blue, remembering what she said about Central Park in general. As he finished writing, he closed his journal and pointedly placed it safely in his pack as he stared at the gnomes.

Yeah, he knew they were watching.

Back at Doreen he watched closely as he tried to place her powers in the knowledge he held.

@Michale CS​

"Naw. Do I look Druish to you?" She giggled. "No, my grandmother was a dryad. I think. Or some nature spirit. I never met her. I only found out because I overheard a little bit here and there from my parents when I was little. They never told me anything. Then, I never told them I had these powers until I was older, and... well... my mom and dad got divorced. Dad moved away and mom... she kinda blamed me or something? We don't talk anymore."

"But it has to be for the best, because my power makes me win. Which, doesn't make a lot of sense for a Dryad but I'm only a quarter so.. I dunno."

@Saint Guillotine

 

[Ringmaster]

He nodded and took a bite of his sundae. Well. This was a lot to process...And after a moment, decided turnabout was fair play.

"I should let you know. I'm not exactly...Part of this world."

He gave a small shrug and smiled apologetically.

"I was born a Mundane. I cut my teeth on magic in a very...Twisted way."

He confided.

@Michale CS​

 

[Michale CS]

"I was born a Mundane. I cut my teeth on magic in a very...Twisted way."

He confided.

@Michale CS​

"You're part of it now. Once you go down that path, you really can't go back. Unless... a vampire or something makes you lose your memory, or a wizard sends you back in time or... okay so you can go back but not in any way that would be pleasant." She rattled on, continuing to eat, and waving at the help to order a soda as well.

"I need lots of calories. I burn though a lot, somehow. Dunno why."

She blinked at that last. "Twisted? Like how?"

@Saint Guillotine

 

[Ringmaster]

"Well...."

Dipper smiled fondly, thinking back when he was twelve years old. A scrawny kid, with a tourist trap hat and a crazy twin. And that was just the tip of the iceberg.

"Its a really, really long story. You got the time?"

@Michale CS​

 

[Ringmaster]

Hot chocolate was one of life's little pleasures and while he was somewhat askance at how Elysium had become an Ice Cream Parlor, he wasn't complaining per se. But all good things come to an end and peering at a pocketwatch he brought out, Lucifer snapped it closed and headed out the door.

Right into a crowd.

There was always some level of crowd here in New York City and its subways. People traveling to home, coming from lunch hour, the works- But it was this section and this particular area that he wanted and willed the sanctuary to drop him off in.

He took a seat and he waited, arms crossed.

@Michale CS​

 

[Michale CS]

A familiar not quite floral smell came to Lucifer as he barely heard her footsteps. "Any particular reason you're headed for the bad part of town?" Patricia asked as she closed on Lucifer's location.

She had recovered well since that night at her apartment, looking none the worse for wear. She wore a jeans jacket, a tie-dyed shirt, and high cowboy boots as she stopped near him.

@Saint Guillotine

 

[Ringmaster]

He made room for her automatically on the bench, before holding up the notebook he was writing in earlier...With a ripped out page in between.

"What you're looking at is a page from what a friend identified to me as belonging to the Vulture Tome- A necromatic work, penned by cultists who lurked in Venice around the Renaissance era. I discovered it in possession of Mallory's items, after his death and I'm looking for the rest of the book. If it still exists, the Underground will know or have some clue."

Looking at Patricia, he smiled wryly.

"I was hoping with you, we'd have some legitimacy and won't identify as food to them. Hopefully, not even the Underground will attack a representative of Titania...I hope."

Lucifer on the other hand, was dressed much the same as always. Same old outfit and longcoat as the handle of Saint Guillotine dangled from his belt.

@Michale CS​

 

[Michale CS]

Looking at Patricia, he smiled wryly.

"I was hoping with you, we'd have some legitimacy and won't identify as food to them. Hopefully, not even the Underground will attack a representative of Titania...I hope."

Lucifer on the other hand, was dressed much the same as always. Same old outfit and longcoat as the handle of Saint Guillotine dangled from his...

"Looks like something out of a D&D sourcebook." Patricia commented about the sketch.

After he had finished speaking she nodded. "Still, I brought the sword just in case." She pat her back, but even when she tried to bring attention to the item, her ignore-me charm on the sword only allowed Lucifer to be vaguely aware that she wore it.

"You just collecting these pages to get them out of of potentially dangerous hands or did you have a bigger purpose?"

@Saint Guillotine

 

[Ringmaster]

"Looks like something out of a D&D sourcebook." Patricia commented about the sketch.

After he had finished speaking she nodded. "Still, I brought the sword just in case." She pat her back, but even when she tried to bring attention to the item, her ignore-me charm on the spell only allowed Lucifer to be vaguely aware that she wore it.

"You just collecting these pages to get them out of of potentially dangerous hands or did you have a bigger purpose?"

@Saint Guillotine

"More the former, with a little of the latter. But as its just hearsay for now, I'm just going to hold onto it for now. I'd rather not get my hopes up."

He explained. The subway began to empty out and the lights flickered briefly. Lucifer consulted his watch.

"...And right on time."

Entry to the Underground was rife with peril, many things lurking in the darkness too dangerous to bypass. But occasionally, sometimes there was a need to visit. Which is where this came in. With clashes and screams of an old steam train whistle, salvaged from the eighteen-hundreds came in a makeshift subway. Put together by some of the most mechanically minded figures in the Moonlit World...Goblins.

Yellow light flooded from the windows, produced by gaslight as the door slid open and a goblin roared.

"ALL ABOARD! GOBLIN EXPRESS TO THE UNDERCITY, LEAVES IN THREE MINUTES!"

@Michale CS​

 

[Michale CS]

"ALL ABOARD! GOBLIN EXPRESS TO THE UNDERCITY, LEAVES IN THREE MINUTES!"

"I guess that's our cue." She stood and stretched, and in that casual stretch the area was flooded with tiny motes of light that scoured around. Fairy Mites. Born out of piles of fairy dust (usually at the end of especially wild parties or more sadly a fairy death) they had just the tiniest bit of self awareness above what an animal would have. If you were there when they were born, and were of Fae blood, you could impress upon them a single task, and they would follow you loyally and perform that task whenever you bade them to. They were capable of only three responses, yes, no, and undecided, which they communicated by changing color.

Patricia had trained her mites to search out things from the Abyss - Demons, Devils and the like. Of the three cars they could board, the mites gave her one of each response. "This one." She said to Lucifer, heading to the middle car, where the mites had turned green. The front car was a silverish 'undecided' color and the rear, a bright glowing red 'no'. She then summoned them back to her, the mites disappearing into her hair and all around her body.

She offered no explanation as to what she'd just done, but figured Lucifer didn't need one.

@Saint Guillotine

 

[Michale CS]

"Well...."

Dipper smiled fondly, thinking back when he was twelve years old. A scrawny kid, with a tourist trap hat and a crazy twin. And that was just the tip of the iceberg.

"Its a really, really long story. You got the time?"

@Michale CS​

Two hours later...

"Wow. That is weird. And that's something coming from me. You're a totally awesome adventuring type! You'll do really well here in New York. You know... I bet that The Vigil would love to take you in and train you if you want. They always need field agents. Their name is really vague and what they do, kinda is too. They just watch all of the paranormal stuff going on and catalog it. When they find something they think needs to be taken care of, they refer it to the right people, whether it be the Church, or the local Fae, or Vampires or even..." Doreen leaned in and nearly whispered.

"...Project ASPIRE. These guys are a lot like the stereotypical Men in Black, except they deal with all kinds of supernatural threats. They go in with small teams and just... fix things. They seem to have the approval of most of the factions of the Accords too. They've got humans and non humans in their teams. I only came across them just the once and I wanted to join up but they said I was too public a figure to just disappear from New York, but I did find out what their name means. Let's see if I can remember this right..."

She tapped her chin and finally said after a long moment, "Agency for Supernatural and Paranormal Investigation, Research, and Exploration. Yep, that's it."

@Saint Guillotine

 

[Ringmaster]

The inside was an eclectic mixture of salvaged seats. Car benches bolted to the floor, fishing chairs, subway refuge and one park bench as old fashioned oil lamps swung on hooks. Cackling, the Goblin conducter returned and pulled the door closed, the shrill steam whistle echoing as the Goblin Train pulled out of the station.

As they moved, Lucifer asked.

"So. I'll be dropping by the Nosferatu first. They always know something. "

@Michale CS