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Post by Tiger on Jun 20, 2017 13:44:32 GMT -5
It was impossible not to see the dome - just looking out the window at the slightly-distorted sky was enough. It took a moment to for Harper to be sure it wasn’t just some weird warping of the glass - their mother actually tried wiping the window with her hand before staring out at the slight, seemingly-impossible curved shimmer and then yanking the window open. “...Harper. Please get the newspaper.” The no-car edict wasn’t much of a surprise, though Harper hadn’t thought of it themselves until reading the paper article. Fortunately, like many people in town, the Kulkarnis had bikes ready for riding. They were actually perfectly normal bikes; neither of them had broken down yet, and they weren’t really electronics anyway. Harper kept their phone in the small basket on the handlebars, listening to the radio to see if there were any reports. Only the local radio station was working. Everything else was static. It might be the phone. Or the app. Or the little tube of an orange liquid that made the app actually work. It might also have been the dome encapsulating the city like a god’s dropped contact lens, but Harper was a little hesitant to blame it for everything. There weren’t many places free of gawkers - or police ushering the gawkers back - but the north end of town, where the city pushed up against the woods, was less densely-populated in the first place, and they were finally able to get up close to it. Harper’s mother scrutinized the barrier for a long moment, one corner of her mouth and one side of her nose twisted up as she puzzled over it. Harper looked, too, fiddling with their bracelet, unsnapping one of the buttons. The dome was completely silent and, aside from generally existing, was doing nothing remarkable. Nothing revealing. A flock of birds swirled out of the trees, evidently agitated by the nearby humans. They tried to fly away, but found themselves circling back from the dome. Sounds of flapping wings and brushing feathers flooded Harper’s ears for few moments, before the flock descended back into the trees. The boughs and branches continued to bob and waver with agitated avian movement. “Think Dad know about this?” Harper asked, refastening the button with an audible snap.. “No. Especially not as far away as he is.” Harper’s mother tapped her fingers against her arms. “I’ve never seen anything quite like this. Some sort of permeable field, something that’s gone into the ground without visibly denting it... and I don’t see any sort of projector,” she added, looking toward the top of the dome. “It doesn’t look like anything your father’s told me about, either.” “Not anything he said to me, either.” “Hmm.” “...But it sounds like I heard it somewhere.” The birds didn’t seem to like the chattering, and tried to fly away again. Of course, the dome was still blocking their way; however, rather than moving farther along its path, the birds dropped back into the trees once more. This time, Harper noticed that there were several different species in the flock. That was odd, wasn’t it? Blue jays and robins and crows didn’t regularly fly together, they were pretty sure. Harper’s mother was watching their child, and not the birds. “Maybe in a book? Or a movie?” Harper had the strange, fleeting thought that three-season tv series might be more appropriate than a film - but they were pretty sure they would remember something they’d invested that much time in. All the same - how else would they remember something like this happening? “Maybe.” They didn’t sound very convinced. “...Should we look at more of the wall?” their mother asked. ...Maybe it had been a book. There had been something written involved...though maybe not print. Something scribbled. Harper had a drawer of scrap papers at home - sketches of blueprints, designs, repair brainstorming, a few little doodles that had turned out well. “I need to check something at home,” Harper said evasively. It clearly didn’t escape their mother, but before she could protest, Harper added, “And we need to start setting up the festival tent. Dome or no dome...you said we needed to sell some of the stuff we have lying around. Come hell or high water.” Their mother grudgingly admitted, “I suppose so.” She looked back at the wall, scowling at its gentle curvature. “...I can get home myself. You could stay and look at the wall, if you think it’ll help.” To their surprise, their mother didn’t immediately object. Her eyes flicked to the purse in her bike’s basket. “It...may be a good time to get some things done. Before other people show up here, too.” “Gonna try to get it to Dad, too?” “I’ll give it a try, but I wouldn’t expect anything.” She gave the dome a firm pat. It didn’t look or sound particularly penetrable, even knowing that one could force their way through it. Harper’s mother turned toward them. “All right - you have to be safe, though. Stay on the sidewalks. No talking with out-of-towners. Try to avoid the big crowds. Don’t take the shortcut under the bridge.” “I won’t, everyone knows that,” Harper huffed. “Because everyone is reminded,” Harper’s mother chided back. She gave them a hug. “Call me when you get home, all right?” ------ One half hour bike ride, no shortcut taken, and one phone call later, Harper was in their room and digging through the desk drawer. They didn’t remember the paper exactly, but they knew when they’d found it. They didn’t remember getting it, though, and the handwriting wasn’t theirs. Unless maybe they’d been writing while squinting or in the dark. But sometimes they went through the drawer and didn’t recognize other things they’d made...they were just more recognizable as theirs in the first place. Harper folded it into fourths and stuck it in their pocket. The house felt too quiet and empty - they needed to get out and around people. Maybe they would know something and they could text their mother about it. One more phone call later, and Harper was headed to the fair. Nominally, to check that their spot remained unstolen. In reality, to catch gossip. And maybe find something about the weird paper in their pocket. ...Oh, who were they kidding? Nobody else would know what it meant, either. Another post that’s too long for Tiger to add interactions too, noooo ;a; On the plus side, posting earlier so I should actually be able to follow-through when I say I’ll do a post starting interactions later. Unless someone wants to find Harper or their mom on their own, which is kewl, too. Harper and their mom go to investigate the dome, doing so near the woods on the north-west side of town. They’ve never seen anything like it, and Mystery Dad hasn’t mentioned ever seeing anything similar, either. Yet it feels vaguely familiar to Harper, and they eventually go home to find a strange piece of paper in their desk drawer, while their mom stays behind to investigate the wall some more. Harper is en-route to the fair, if not there already.
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Post by ♥ Azzie on Jun 20, 2017 15:13:48 GMT -5
Well, didn't it just figure.Dr. Atif Khouri was a busy man. He went bowling at six o'clock each Thursday evening. He was the attending physician on five different patients at the hospital, and as of late had also been running odd errands during his few free moments because Carter, the intern, kept getting lost on his way to the supply room. As a result, he often returned home late, tired, and with little energy. But none of that mattered when Mina looked at him with her beautiful brown eyes and asked him to spend the day with her at the fair. It was all set. He'd phoned his boss and asked for the day off, with no issues, and phoned in a reservation for a pair of tickets to the big concert. Mina was delighted, and in spite of all he knew he could be doing at work, Atif found himself very much looking forward to the day. And then, when the fair's second day dawned, there was a big dome over the town. They didn't notice it at first. At his wife's pointed hinting, Atif had left his phone on quiet- emergency contacts only- and so as the news was shooting all over the country, Atif and Mina enjoyed a quiet breakfast at home. It wasn't until the two were five minutes down the street that Mina noticed something. “Did everyone decide to walk today?” she pondered aloud. “I haven't seen a single car.” Atif laughed lightly. “Well, it is a beautiful day.” He pointed to the sky, bright and lovely, shimmering with a heat that hadn't quite reached the ground yet. “Possibly they wanted to enjoy the view.” “Maybe, but it's just odd. Usually there's at least some traffic.” “I suppose,” said Atif, who never paid much attention to traffic. “Maybe there's an environmental campaign starting that I hadn't heard about.” He glanced furtively at his pocket. The action did not escape the attention of his wife, who gave a wry grin. “Go ahead, then, check your phone.” Atif did not need telling twice. With a slightly sheepish smile he pulled out his phone and began poking at it. After a few moments, however, his brow furrowed, and he looked up at the sky again. “Are they calling for bad weather?” Mina asked, following his gaze. “It looks like a hot clear day to me.” “No, it's-” Atif trailed off, focusing more on whatever he had found on his screen. “I need to go back for a second. I feel like I forgot something.” He handed his phone to Mina. “I'll be right back. And you might want to read this.” Bewildered, Mina took the phone, which she now saw was opened to the local news, and began reading. Meet Dr. Atif Khouri, a simple doctor taking a day off to enjoy the fair with his wife. Until Mina notices that there are no cars on the road, and Atif checks his phone, prompting them both to discover that something quite strange is going on. The good doctor runs back home, saying he forgot something, and leaves Mina to read the news while she waits for him.
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Post by Shinko on Jun 20, 2017 15:58:13 GMT -5
Holly had almost made it to the park where the festival was- just one more presently-deserted road to cross- when she was startled out of her thoughts by a rush of wind from the swift passing of a bike, a red-haired girl Holly didn't recognize astride it. "Hey! Hey!" The police officer called sharply, prompting Dunkin to start barking in unison with her. Swearing under her breath, the cop pulled a small whistle out from her belt and put it to her lips. FWEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEET!Short post- Holly sees Ani ( Rabbit ♠) speeding down the road on her bike and blows a whistle to get her attention. Anybody nearish-by is welcome to hear the whistle and come investigate, it's a crowd-control whistle so it's looooud.
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Post by Rabbit ♠ on Jun 20, 2017 16:41:57 GMT -5
Okay… Ani was going faster than expected… She probably shouldn’t have biked that fast before going down the hill. It was a good thing she didn’t have to make any sharp turns. Now all that she had to do was wait until the bike slowed down enough to where she could stop it safely. If she just remained calm- FWEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEET!Eep! The sudden whistle blow made Ani freeze for a second. She instinctively took her hands off of the handlebars and held them up a little. The bike began to wobble. Ani quickly grabbed onto the handlebars and tried to get control of the bike back. It was too late at this point. Now Ani was panicking. Ani’s messenger bag flew off of her and onto the pavement. The bike was about to topple over, but Ani stopped the bike and herself from falling by planting a foot on the ground. She looked around to see who blew the whistle. The first thing she saw was her bag on the ground with everything that was in it strewn across the sidewalk. Then she looked up to see a police officer. Ani froze again. Ani hears Holly's ( Shinko ) whistle and she freaks out. She does stop without hurting herself, but her things are all over the place. When Ani sees Holly, she freezes up out of fear. If anyone's nearby, feel free to react. Between the whistle, Ani's stuff going everywhere, and Ani almost crashing, this is quite a scene.
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Post by June Scarlet on Jun 20, 2017 18:43:21 GMT -5
Beatrice slept in late that morning, without the pull of her job to wake her. But while she slept, others were up to journalistic investigations of their own. And so she was awakened by someone beating her to the punch. Or to put it more bluntly, by a newspaper thrown in her face. "Special Issue, Bea!" Sharron Bizelli exclaimed as she tossed the Times at her sleeping daughter. Beatrice yawned and pulled the paper off her face, sitting up to read it. "A Bubble dome? Seriously? Mom, you can't believe half the stuff they put in these papers. Nothing happens in this town, so they're always filling it up with fantasies and myths. Just no standards at all." She threw the paper down in disgust. Mrs. Bizelli frowned. "Well, I mean, they do tend to check out, but putting that aside, I was outside, and you can see it for yourself." Beatrice looked out the window. There was a shimmer in the air. Hardly proof. But it did remind her of something. She went to the desk she used while growing up, and rifled through papers she hadn't touched in years. There it was. A scrap of paper. With random letters on it. Mrs. Bizelli looked over Beatrice's shoulder. "What is it?" "I'm not sure," she replied. "I mean, though, it looks like it's probably a substitution cypher, in fact 'DIA'KN' is probably 'YOU'RE.' But there's not enough here to make out any meaning. This is just a piece of the puzzle." Beatrice looked out the window again. "A piece of the puzzle..." And with that, she was gone. "Bea! You're still in your pajamas!" And with that, she went back to change, and was gone in five minutes. *** Beatrice sped down the streets, running as fast as she could, with a purpose she could not explain. But something, something had just clicked, a piece in a puzzle she'd been trying to solve her whole life. She made it to the fair. Good. Lots of people. She should be where other people were. She just knew this. She wanted to shout to the crowd, exclaim her excitement, get right to the root of things and waste no time. But the small shred of self-consciousness she had left held her back. She still didn't know what was going on. It would pay to do just a little more homework first. She walked over to the nearest booth, one selling teas and coffees. "Excuse me miss, but I wonder, ah, weird question, but have you noticed anyone talking about strange notes? Or pieces of notes? Or something like that?" Beatrice wakes up late, and so Huntress gets to have all the reporting fun. Beatrice doubts the authenticity of this story and the newspaper in general, but her mother disagrees, pointing out that you can see the bubble and everything. Beatrice finds a piece of note with a substitution cypher, and is off! Beatrice is so excited you wouldn't believe, something feels so right about this, things are clicking together. She runs to the fair, and approaches Elcie , wondering if she's seen anything of coded notes.
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Post by Shinko on Jun 20, 2017 19:23:56 GMT -5
Holly winced as the girl on the bike very nearly toppled over, just barely catching herself. The poor girl's bag, however, was not so fortunate, and its contents ended up all over the sidewalk in a flutter of papers and thunk of books. The girl then looked up towards Holly, and her entire body went stock stiff with horror. Not an unusual response to being stopped by a police officer, and probably not surprising since Dunkin was still at Holly's side barking his head off. "Shhh," she hushed the dog, pulling back a little on his lead. "Dunkin, voet. Voet!" Once the dog had calmed, settling obediently at his master's side with a growled huff of breath, Holly approached the girl with a raised brow. "Miss, do you have any idea how fast you were going? Bicicles are just as much subject to speed limits as cars, and in this part of town there is so much pedestrian traffic that-" While the police officer was speaking, her dog had been idly sniffing at the dropped contents of the red-haired girl's bag. He stiffened suddenly, barking, and Holly looked down in surprise. His nose was hovering over a small spiral-bound notebook, with a slip of slightly yellowed paper sticking out of it- a paper with, from what little was visible of it, a seemingly random assortment of letters scribbled across it. Holly's hand flew up to her chest pocket, her mouth suddenly feeling very dry. "Miss," she said sharply, her chiding about traffic violations abruptly forgotten. "Where did you get that?" Holly starts to tell Ani ( Rabbit ♠) off for speeding, buuuut is promptly distracted when she sees Ani's scrap of the ciphered note among the stuff that fell out of her bag. Holly asks Ani about the paper.
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Post by Elcie on Jun 20, 2017 19:41:28 GMT -5
Anise stared at the young woman, eyes wide. "H-how did you know?" she blurted out, still clutching the scrap of paper tightly in her hand. "I only found it this morning - I - I remembered..." Slowly she held out her hand, displaying the small piece of paper and its cryptic message. "It's mine. I remembered where it was this morning, but I... I don't remember what it is, or why I have it." Her brow furrowed. "My memory is terrible. I have no idea how I could know this is important but forget why. Do you... know something?" She shook her head, looking away. "I'm sorry, I'm not usually like this, but with everything that's happening today, the dome, and this... I just want some answers." Perhaps she had obtained it around the time of her parents' accident - out of all the gaps in her memory, most of which were small and entirely unremarkable, that was by far the worst. Mostly, she considered it a mercy, as the moments of her parents' death were not really something she wanted to have in her mind. But it was the only explanation she could think of, and not really one she wanted to blurt out to a complete stranger. She forgot things like bringing an awning to the festival or locking her door when she left, not... not the existence of a strange item like this. Certainly nothing as big as the dome overhead, which still felt stubbornly familiar despite the fact that she was no closer to understanding why. Anise leaps at the chance to talk to Beatrice ( June Scarlet) about her mysterious piece of paper, and hopes that this stranger has some answers. She's still chalking up some of the oddness to her own poor memory, wondering if it has any relation to the only event in her life she can't remember at all. (OOC note: probably not, unless Frunty's plot mysteriously lines up with Anise's backstory, but that's where her mind goes first and I gotta get that backstory in there somewhere!)
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Post by Rabbit ♠ on Jun 20, 2017 20:11:36 GMT -5
This wasn’t happening. This wasn’t happening. Maybe this was all still one big dream. There was a dome over Wrighton, a cop blowing a whistle at Ani didn’t seem nearly as farfetched as that. As she was speaking, Ani rubbed her eyes and pinched herself again. No, she still wasn’t waking up. "Miss," she said sharply, her chiding about traffic violations abruptly forgotten. "Where did you get that?"Oh no, a question. The officer most likely didn’t know that she didn’t speak and her notebook was near the officer’s dog. Ani was worried that the dog might do something if she tried to get it. There was nothing else she could write on, though. She didn’t want to mess with the newspaper or the note and there was no way she was writing in a library book. Why was the officer taking interest in the scrap of paper she found on her desk, though? Ani quickly grabbed the notebook and pen and began to write a response. She was still frazzled after the police officer stopping her and nearly falling off her bike, so her handwriting was far from neat, but she hoped the officer could read what she wrote. “ I’m sorry about riding my bike so fast. I was riding down a hill and I was going down a lot faster than I thought I would. I couldn’t stop myself without hurting myself.” After Ani wrote down those sentences, she took a deep breath. She was starting to feel better. Ani began to write again. “ I don’t know where I got the paper, though. It was just on my desk with the newspaper this morning. Why do you ask?” Ani double checked everything she wrote down before handing her notebook to the police officer. Ani's still shaken up from what happened, but she's okay. She takes her notebook and writes down why she was going so fast and how she didn't know how she got the paper that Holly ( Shinko ) was concerned about, then hands the notebook to her.
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Post by Tiger on Jun 20, 2017 20:54:47 GMT -5
The Kulkarni Electronics fair stand wasn’t doing very well, which was not much of a surprise. Few people were really invested in picking up repaired electronics or inquiring about getting their own fixed when there were anomalies like town-covering domes going on. There weren’t very many people out, compared to fairs past, and those who were out were mostly pointing to the dome, or whispering to one another, or taking pictures of the dome while pointing at it and whispering - or...not whispering - to each other. Sounds of police sirens and panicky crowds didn’t do much to make anyone feel better. Harper admittedly hadn’t been putting much gusto into trying to attract people to their tent. They had tried to be good and mind the shop properly, but their thoughts kept straying to the piece of paper and finally, they just gave up and fished it out of their pocket. It felt like something they ought to know - like staring at a problem on a test and knowing that it had been on the study guide, but clueless as to what the solution had actually been. They turned the paper sideways. They looked at it in a mirror. They flipped it upside down. Harper even copied the letters onto another sheet of paper to see if muscle memory helped any. Muscle memory did not help any. Part of Harper was ready to see if crumpling the paper into a ball and stuffing it into the nose of the welding gun would solve their problems (though not seriously, because there was clearly something important about this stupid sheet of paper...even if it had been stuffed in their desk drawer...for who knew how long…) - before they had too much time to mull over the satisfaction of burnt paper, however - ”- have you noticed anyone talking about strange notes? Or pieces of notes?” Harper’s head snapped up. The stall across from them - a tea and coffee stall, owned by the lady who owned the coffeeshop (Harper didn’t go to the coffeeshop too much, but it was hard not to recognize all the adorable cats), who was talking to someone with blue hair. Harper awarded mental points for style. ...Right, the notes. Or pieces of notes - that would explain why Harper’s page looked like it was running off the top and left of the paper. So - so did that mean the blue-haired person had another paper? And the coffeshop lady was looking...well, maybe “interested” wasn’t the right word, but definitely like she was saying more than “no, I haven’t, sorry.” Maybe being hair-dye brethren with one of these adults would make this less awkward, Harper hoped as they slid off their stool and edged toward the stall. “Uhm - excuse me.” They held out their slightly-creased sheet of paper. “Are these the kinds of notes you’re talking about?” Holy cow, Tiger made a interactions! Harper overhears Beatrice ( June Scarlet) talking to Anise ( Elcie) about note fragments and hey, they have a note fragment! 8DDD They go over to the duo and present their piece of paper.
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Post by Gelquie on Jun 20, 2017 21:00:10 GMT -5
The first day of the festival was great, it really was. Sure, Alexis occasionally had to go help her mother with the stall when no one else in the company she worked for was willing to help her if the stall lost a stake (which thankfully wasn't too often, but still). But she still had fun exploring all the stalls, riding on the rides, and tapping her foot to the beat of the music in the park. She saw some of her friends from school, and sometimes they let her hang out with them, though it was never for long before they were distracted by something Alexis wasn't interested in. Still, all in all, it was a good day. She and her mother drove home and slept content, ready for the rest of the festival. Then her mother called for her to get the newspaper the next morning. That was standard; it was just easier that way, and it was a great way for Alexis to stretch her legs and bring life into them. But the state of her legs didn't matter an ounce when she glanced at the headline. “We're... We're trapped here?!” Alexis blurted out after bringing the newspaper inside. “What, what do you mean trapped?” came a voice from the kitchen, as well as the steady creak as her mother, Athene Katsaros, wheeled into the kitchen. Her hair was curly, much like her daughter's, and fell down just below her shoulders, brushed but otherwise untouched. She wore a comfortable sleeved shirt that cut off at her elbows. Covering her lower body—as well as the bottom part of the wheelchair she sat upon—was a colorful blanket. Today, she chose a nice floral-inspired pattern, to match the theme of the spring festival. “Look for yourself, mom!” Alexis told her, shoving the newspaper her way. Without any clear indication of how she felt, Athene took the newspaper and scanned the headline, skimming the article until she suddenly stopped. ”What?!”“I know, we're stuck here, and we're going to--” “No, I haven't gotten that far yet. No cars until further notice?!” ...Oh. “What? Why?” Athene steeled herself as she read further. “...Because of the possibility that we'll all suffocate. ...That makes sense, but...” She let out a long groan, gesturing to her lower body. “It says people in emergency situations can use them... Ugh, I don't count, do I? I can do what I need to like this, just it'll take longer without a car. … As usual.” “Sorry mom,” Alexis muttered. “Don't, it's not your fault,” Athene waved her off. “...Is it even anyone's fault? ...Hang on.” She returned to perusing the paper. “Sure'd like to meet whoever is,” Alexis muttered, folding her arms. “The one time everyone else in the house went out during the festival, and now they can't get back in!” Athene was silent for a moment, just reading the paper. Then suddenly, she shook her head and chuckled. “Alexis, I keep telling you, read the whole thing before you jump to conclusions. Here, it says here, we can pass through the bubble.” Alexis blinked. “...Oh. ...Oh, that. That make sense...” She trailed off. No, it didn't really make sense, but it felt like it did... Besides, having a giant unexplained dome over the city didn't make much sense either. Athene continued on. “Just there's resistance, and there's a lot of...” Athene paused, peering closer at the paper. “...'broioioioioing'?” she read slowly and choppily. She sighed and put a hand to her forehead. “Dear gods, who wrote this?” Alexis laughed hard. “Whoever wrote it should keep writing newspaper articles, and my school textbooks for that matter. It'll make them more interesting!” “I suppose that much is true,” Athene said, shaking her head fondly before reading the rest. “...I wonder if we'll be able to reach the others outside the dome...” She glanced over at the clock. “...Later. I need to get to the stand, and now that I can't use my car, I actually need to hurry.” “You're still going?” Alexis asked. “Why not? Nothing else to do.” Athene said with a sigh. “If anything, now's a better time than ever to man the stall. I wonder if they'll shut down the rides too... But the stalls should be okay.” “Do you need help getting there?” Alexis asked. “Probably not, but you may as well walk with me. I don't know what to expect from the crowds today, and I don't want to send you off before I know what it looks like out there.” They walked together to the festival, talking all along the way and occasionally looking up at the faint shimmer in the sky, confirming what the newspaper said. Alexis walked her bicycle alongside Athene, matching her pace. (Which was still a decent pace; Athene had good upper-body strength.) Before they even got there, they realized that while there was concern rippling through the crowds, no one seemed to be descending into widespread panic. The 'broioioioing' thing probably helped with that, they reasoned. Along the way, just as Alexis was commenting on how far the barrier extended and therefore whether that hike she was planning to take on the outskirts of Wrighton was affected by that, she absentmindedly reached into her pocket and felt a piece of paper. She took it out and looked it over. She had no idea how the piece of paper got into her pocket. But it seemed to be a scrap of paper, torn from the rest, but it made no sense... She showed her mother, who looked over it thoughtfully. “Almost looks like a cryptogram,” Athene explained to her. “Is it a game you kids have been playing at school that you forgot about, maybe?” “...No, I would've remembered something like that,” Alexis replied, her brow furrowed. “...But I don't remember this paper at all... Um, at least not very well, I don't... Do you have one too, mom?” Athene took a moment to reach into one of the bags that decorated her wheelchair and rummaged around. After a brief search, she shook her head. “No, nothing like that. Not that I'd expect it. Are you sure you didn't play a game with your friends and you just forgot?” “My friends don't really play games like this, mom,” Alexis said with strained patience. Something was off. She didn't know what. But wherever this came from, it looked to only be a piece. If she could find others who might have them... It was a long shot; what if the rest of the pieces were among complete strangers? Yet she wanted to try. “Um, I'll figure it out later. Do you mind if I go to the rest of the festival? Or do you still need help?” Athene briefly looked over what she was bringing to the stall, but she soon shook her head. “No, I don't think so... The hard part was just setting the stall up and keeping it secure. I should be able to handle everything else.” Athene gave a reluctant nod. “Alright, but call me or come to my stall if you run into any trouble, okay?” “I think I'll be okay, mom.” “I'm sure, but... just in case?” Athene was acting more careful than usual. The crowd looked fine, or so Alexis thought. People were acting a little odd; maybe a little worried, but it wasn't that bad, was it? ...Alexis didn't think so. Still, she supposed of all the things her mom had asked of her, this was little. Alexis nodded in agreement and mounted her bike, holding her scrap of paper between two fingers. She gave a wave to Athene, who gave a small wave back, and they went on their separate ways; Athene towards the park where her stall was and Alexis towards the market itself. Or, if nothing else, maybe the edge of the barrier itself... The market first. Maybe she could find some of the people she encountered the other day, when she bought the tarragon and petted a rabbit. Maybe they knew something. Unlikely, but she could at least show them the paper. Or maybe she'd find someone else looking over a scrap of paper much like her's... She didn't know. Nor did she know what she'd do if she did find someone with a similar slip of paper. But it was worth a shot. Alexis and her mother, Athene, are concerned, but otherwise willing to get on with their lives. The rest of her family is outside the barrier for an out-of-town thing, and while they haven't tried contacting them yet (because I don't know yet if they can get cell phone coverage; waiting for coordinators' word on that).
The two of them head for the market on foot/wheel, with Athene particularly inconvenienced by the car suspension but suspecting her situation isn't enough of an emergency to lift the ban for her sake. Alexis finds a slip of paper in her pocket and struggles with finding it familiar and not remembering it at all. She feels compelled to seek out more information, and eventually gets the ok from her mother to go off on her own. Athene is making her way towards a stall in a park while Alexis is biking towards the general market, searching for people she's either met before or anyone holding a scrap of paper in their hands. She's holding one between two fingers in her hands as well, if anyone wants to notice that.
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Post by June Scarlet on Jun 20, 2017 21:26:43 GMT -5
"All I know is that I have scrap of paper just like that," Beatrice said, holding out her own note. "It's strange, I don't think my memory's that bad, but I don't recall where I got the piece either. Just suddenly remembered it this morning." She looked around, up at the shimmering sky. "There's been... things, strange things, things I could never understand about this place. And sometimes I convince myself that I should be an adult, and such things are silly. And then things like this happen, and I get sucked in all over again." She looked back at the lady. "But I don't know anything at all. Always searching for answers, never finding anything." Maybe being hair-dye brethren with one of these adults would make this less awkward, Harper hoped as they slid off their stool and edged toward the stall. “Uhm - excuse me.” They held out their slightly-creased sheet of paper. “Are these the kinds of notes you’re talking about?”Beatrice turned to face the newcomer. "Oh! Ah, this is great, yes, it seems like this might be a thing! I mean, I believe these are only pieces to the puzzle. But hey, we might have three of them right here!" "Oh, also, nice hair. I'm Beatrice, Beatrice Bizelli." Beatrice doesn't know what the paper is all about Elcie, but she wishes she did, this stupid town's been defying answers for so long now. More people and pieces means more excitement, Tiger!
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Post by icon on Jun 21, 2017 0:15:22 GMT -5
Ari rolled over, frowning an errant sunbeam off her face. The first day of the fair had been pleasant enough. She didn't have a shift at the Playhouse today, and while she hadn't stayed at the fair long into the night it had been a pleasant evening nevertheless. She reached for her phone to check the time— She was already upright, phone to ear. "Andy, it's me, my gracious I am so sorry, I completely overslept—no, I, I swear it was an accident! I'm on it, I will literally be right there, just give me a second—" she cursed under her breath as the voice on the other end hung up. No time to freshen up, she dashed to the bathroom to splash some water on her face, grab a pair of gym shorts grab a New Amesworth High Cross Country Team shirt from the hamper, grab the roller skates and bolt— • • • Andy looked up from their desk. "You look like hell." "Thanks, I literally just woke up," Ari replied at the doorjamb, already hunched over as she fiddled with her rollerblades. "What's the package this time?" "You know, you're on thin ice—honestly I should probably pass this one off to someone else," Andy frowned. "Courio™ runs a tight schedule, and as a fresh startup there are dozens of other people here who would jump for your job—" "Andy, I'm the best deliverygirl you've got and you know it," Ari snapped. "Just hand me the package so I can go." They shrugged their shoulders and slid a butcher-paper-wrapped parcel across the floor, which Ari just barely managed to catch with her foot. "Atif and Mina Khouri, 1472 Kinunk Park." They gave a pointed Look to Ari. "Come back when you're done—" Ari was already gone. • • • Ari skidded up the street, sparks along the blacktop. 1452, 1460... here we are, she thought as she swung her leg over onto the sidewalk and braked. Blades off, dismount, she unslung her satchel from over her shoulder and pulled the parcel out, making her way up the cheerful front walk. She couldn't help but smile at the greenery in the garden as she made her way up the steps. She knocked on the door. It was a pleasant enough front porch—a cheerful, bright white against the blue of the vivid sky. She knocked a second time. Sure is a beautiful day out, Ari couldn't help but think to herself as she listened to the birdsong. She knocked a third time. She paused. The parcel was too big for the mail slot, and there wasn't another space on the cheerful, bright white front porch to store the package. Split-second decision—she gingerly placed the package on the front porch, and slowly started to make her way down the green to the sidewalk. Maybe one of the Khouris would show up soon and she could pass it off before she left. Ari oversleeps, gets a wakeup from her delivery gig on the side, and heads to the Khouri household ( ♥ Azzie) to deliver a package. She drops it off and starts to leave, but maybe she runs into Atif as he's heading back home?
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Post by Ginz ❤ on Jun 21, 2017 1:15:51 GMT -5
A loud cheery tune suddenly started playing, waking Itzel up. She grunted and reached for her phone at her side table to turn off her alarm. She would have liked to press snooze and go back to sleep, but she was scheduled to work that day. She wasn’t thrilled to have to work during the festival, but the fair usually attracted more customers than usual, so it was really hard to get off the hook. At least she had an early shift, which meant she’d get off in time to attend the concert in the evening. She was really looking forward to that. She got out of bed groggily and jumped into the shower. She put on her uniform, but threw some regular clothes in her backpack so she could change after her shift and go straight to the fair if she wanted, instead of having to come back home. She left without breakfast, despite her mother’s protests. She could always eat something at work. Their breakfast menu wasn’t half bad. Something about that day felt off, she thought as she rode her bike to work. She couldn’t put her finger on it, but something felt different. Maybe she would have noticed the dome had she looked up, but her eyes stayed on the road. It was fairly quiet when she got to the burger place. Spring fair or not, mornings were always a bit slow. While she waited for people to show up, she took out the day’s newspaper from her backpack to read it as discreetly as she could. “DOME!” read the front page headline. Itzel was equal parts amused and intrigued by it. She started reading the article and nearly went into a panic. “What?! Are we trapped? Is this some sort of quarantine?” A thousand questions went through her head as she frantically scanned the paper to know more. When she got to the part that explained the dome could be crossed, a wave of relief washed over her. She never thought the word “broioioioioing” would give her as much comfort as it just had. Itzel put the newspaper away and took a couple of deep breaths to calm down. Everything was fine. That dome definitely seemed mysterious, but surely the next day there would be an article explaining exactly what it was and why it was there… or even better, perhaps it would be gone by then. There was no reason to worry. No reason at all... Right? Itzel has to work at the burger place today. She feels something is off, but doesn't notice the dome. She finds out about it by reading the news and panics a bit about being trapped, before learning it can be crossed. She tries to push it out of mind and reassure herself that everything will be okay, but will it?
Feel free to come have breakfast or lunch at the burger place. Itzel will be very happy to take your order and perhaps gossip a bit about the recent happenings!
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Post by Kyn on Jun 21, 2017 1:31:55 GMT -5
Cade couldn't read the newspaper, but the other members of his household did, and they wasted no time apprising him of the strange developments in town when he came out for breakfast. Cade was disappointed that his father would start out for work earlier due to the implementation of the "no cars" rule; Nathaniel already spent too many hours away from home, as it felt to him. But at the same time, the mention of the mysterious dome triggered a sense of deja vu, a tugging at the back of his mind that he couldn't completely ignore... After breakfast, he went into his study, where most of his books were kept. He stopped to rest a hand on the sides of one of the bookshelves, enjoying the feel of the solid wood and veneer finish. He then moved on to a bookshelf in the corner, kneeling to reach the lowest tier. The books stowed away in this particular compartment were thinner than the rest, with completely smooth pages that would have been indecipherable to him had he not already learnt their contents long ago. These books served no purpose except as keepsakes now, bittersweet mementos that he would take out from time to time, brush the dust off of, and flip to a random page. He would run his fingers down the unembossed paper, as he did now, as if his fingertips could somehow discern printed ink. His fingertips brushed against a scrap of loose paper. He caught it before it could slip to the floor. Heart pounding in a way that took him by surprise, he instinctively sensed that this scrap of paper was Important. He also knew that there was writing on it, although the source of this knowledge was not so relevant at this time as the question of how was he going to read it...Cade felt the edges of the note to determine its dimensions before placing it flat on the desk. He raised his smartphone at the best distance above the scrap of paper as he could judge, pressed the camera button, waited for his screen reader to read out the button text, and double-tapped in confirmation. After he heard the snapshot sound effect that indicated the photo had been taken, he commanded his virtual assistant to run an OCR scan on the photo he had just taken and read out the image text. The initial results were null. He must have photographed the blank side of the message. Cade turned the paper over and repeated the process. This time, the assistant returned tangible results, but they were absolute gibberish. Running his hand through his hair, Cade considered his options. Maybe he'd snapped the note upside-down, or his photography technique was off, or the message was gibberish, or... Or maybe he should ask someone with usable vision to help him out. His housekeeper was the closest candidate at hand, but for some reason, Cade was reluctant to show the note to just anyone. He wanted a confidant who, all at once, he trusted, respected, could rely on; who trusted and respected him in turn and who would listen to his concerns without judging... Unbidden, he recalled a time long ago when he lay face down near the banks of the woods, soaked to his very marrow. He had been sobbing, and he was sure he had been covered in blood all over. He remembered warm hands cradling his face, and the soothing female voice that said, "Hey, shhhhh, it's okay. Deep breaths honey, take slow deep breaths. We've got an ambulance on the way for you."Cade picked up his phone and commanded his virtual assistant to launch his messaging app. * Cade threw on his shades, jacket, and gloves with uncharacteristic haste, but took care when it came to fitting Peaches's harness. He was out the door before Mrs Bodwell even noticed but was forced to slow down once he left the confines and safety of his home. God, what he wouldn't give to be able to run with careless abandon, like whoever it was whose footsteps he detected was pounding the pavement not far away. Cade discovers in one of his books a piece of paper that he knows contains writing but which he can't read, due to his visual impairment. While contemplating finding someone to share the discovery of the message with, he thinks of Holly ( Shinko ) and sends her a text asking to meet. When he goes out some time later, he hears someone (possibly Dr Atif? ♥ Azzie ) running across the pavement.
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Post by Killix on Jun 21, 2017 1:46:07 GMT -5
Velia leaned back in her chair, Pixcom in hand. It had been quiet for long enough, so instead of sitting and waiting and being bored, she had decided to play her favourite game. The Spring Festival had been good business so far. Sadly, she hadn't managed to sell too much before the event had started, which had foiled her Sell-Everything-Early-So-You-Have-More-Time-To-Shop plan, but there were still hopes of being able to visit as few stalls before it was over. Festivals always had a way of providing nice surprises, she thought. Aster and his amazing artwok had already been one nice surprise that the Spring Festival had thrown her way. His artwork was fantastic, and for the rest of that day she couldn't stop thinking about the places his drawings depicted, the people that populated them, and the other intriguing details she had noticed in the artwork - especially the exotic plants. She remembered seeing a really interesting spiky plant... Gah, she should've asked about that one! Oh well, a trip to the library later would likely get her an answer. After Velia had untangled the mess she had made of her tent's tarp, and brought her energy levels back to a normal level with some good ol' rest and snacks, the rest of her stall's setup went without too much fuss. Music played in her stall softly, courtesy of the small music player that was taped under the table. Volume was set low, tinting the air with a positive vibe without overwhelming the area in noise. Decorations lined the back of her tent; colourful critters and shapes made from scrap material were strung up and taped to the fabric - her idea of making her stall both distinctive and fun. Various handmade crafts were spread out across the table, displayed neatly in groups: Keychain charms, small sculptures, "Butterties", bookmarks, decorative pins, stickers, and a couple of fuzzy art dolls. The only item in her tent that she hadn't intended on "displaying" was the worn, gray bicycle laying in the corner. The sudden ban on cars had made bikes the new "sliced bread" of vehicles, it seemed. All of the park's bicycle racks had already been claimed by the time she'd arrived that morning, and if the ugly thing had to be stored somewhere, she figured it might-as-well be close by in her stall. Chained to a tent pole. Velia didn't drive a car, so at least that change wasn't too dramatic to what she was used to. What is dramatic, she thought, Is all of the excitement over that weird sky dome thing. Velia tapped the Pixcom absently as her focus shifted to the sky. What if this were a real-life verson of the first Piximite movie, where the heroes became trapped in a quickly shrinking bubble of shield magic?? She eyed the sky, noting its visibly shimmery appearence. It probably wasn't shrinking. Maybe. Velia chills at her market stall, plays a little Piximite.
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