A very merry Halloween! [Mingle]

[ourearth]

Date: 31st of October
Characters: Open!
Warning: Non-sexual desecration of formerly buried corpses

---

On the morning of Halloween, when people first step out of their houses, they will almost step into something.

A bucket of water. Every flat and every house in the Mossgate Boundary has a bucket placed in front of its entrance door (and sometimes, especially in Folkton and Moss Manor, the back door too), in which scary apples are floating. A little sign taped to the bucket reads: Have fun bobbing!.

But that's not the only thing that happened. The second thing that people will notice is that there are billions of spiders of all sizes crawling all over the town and villages, the military base, the Manor House... everywhere. And they certainly did their job - trees, lanterns, the higher attractions on the pier, and everything else that is high all over Mossgate Council is covered in thick layers of cobweb.

And lastly... those who pass by a church will notice something about the graveyards around them. Namely, that someone placed skeletons on top of most of the graves... Awfully real looking ones. Really, really awfully real looking ones. To some of them, the soil of the graveyard still clings, and the graves underneath them are in a state that betrays that they were dug up during the night. DNA tests would show that, indeed, the skeletons belong to the individuals buried in the graves.

Comments

[warped_replica]

The possibility of having a doctor available to consult is a boon to any Numbered, and Benjiro especially recognizes the value after he had to interfere with the nursing kit belonging to Sadie's mother to protect her secret the day they were out sailing. Not to mention having to decline a physical examination after what happened to him in September at school.

With one apple already collected, the task is put on hold when he hears Sadie ask if the doctor is alright. The mention of the Echo is not shocking, given that he had seen that post on the network, even if the timing is unexpected. They usually are out of the blue.

Benjiro watches the way Mrs. Tilly still looks after she answers from habit more than recovery, and he moves to step up next to her with the apple set down to retrieve again later. Reaching to place one hand on the woman's shoulder, he holds the other out in front of her at the ready, "Mrs. Tilly? The door is behind you."

[catted]

She follows almost automatically and easily lets herself be steered inside and to the closest chair.

For a few moments, she just sits there, and then she absent-mindedly starts to pet the cat that jumped onto her lap.

Just that there is no cat. At least none that Ben or Sadie could see.

At least the cat petting calms her and helps her to centre, and after a bit longer she looks properly at the teenagers. "...Sorry. I'm not sure what that was."

[dragoonrouge]

Sadie watches the dazed doctor with concern, eyes widening in concern as she watches the woman sit down and pet a cat that clearly wasn't there.

"That was an Echo Dr Tilly, they can be disorientating. Did you see anything? Do you feel any different?" She Sadie asks, maybe they can figure out what sort of Echo she got.

[catted]

"...No, not at all. I don't think.

Aside from this great thudding, and then feeling very disoriented.

But I think that's lifting now." Slowly, but surely. She's mostly got a grasp on everything at this point.

[warped_replica]

With no initiation on her part, Benjiro took her hand to turn and walk her inside to the chair closest to the door with a pause only to open the door in front of them. Guiding her to sit, he'll let go of her completely once she has sat to step back. He's watching her face when he notices her hand starting to move in a familiar motion to pet the air on her lap. Immediately worry creeps in and he frowns behind his mask.

He listens as Sadie asks about the Echo she experienced, and her description sounds like the same thing they all experience with the onset, "That unfortunately happens most times when we get one."

Benjiro looks around, listening for any other family members in the household, but he doesn't immediately notice any signs. Then in offer, he asks, "Do you want me to get Janice?" Being only her neighbor, she may want closer support.

[dragoonrouge]

Sadie let's Ben take over with Mary, he is more familiar to the slightly dazed-looking woman after all. Instead Sadie grabs a clean glass from next to the sink and fills it up from the tap before placing it on the table.

"There's some water there if you need it Dr Tilly."

[catted]

"...Not right now. She'll probably be down in a moment, anyway." She sighs and gently picks up the cat to place it on her shoulder instead. This one seems to like that.

It lets her lean forward and take the glass of water more easily, though.

"Thank you, Sadie. ...Some first impression that I'm making," she huffs in a mix of amusement and annoyance.

[warped_replica]

He casts a worried glance to Sadie as the doctor puts something unseen to her shoulder, but that she attends the glass of water without any sign of poor coordination is something. Maybe the Echo left an impression of something being present.

“You came across well on the Network, but depending on the Echo, it can really knock you for a loop,” he tries to assure her. “I have a number myself, and I’ve had a couple that were rather intense.”

[dragoonrouge]

"Ben's right." She gently reassures the doctor, "Some Echoes are worse than others and we can hardly judge."

Sadie shrugs a little helplessly, "There doesn't seem to be any way to avoid them completely from what we've been able to work out I'm afraid."

[catted]

"Of what kind, if you don't mind me asking?" she follows up on Ben's word, both curious and worried about the neighbour's kid.

But then she turns to Sadie, because that made her wonder: "You say not completely. Is there a way to avoid at least some of them?"

[warped_replica]

No doubt his neighbor had heard the rampant gossip about him last month, his mask often used to identify him by those that did not know his name. Rather than touch on the worst of his Echoes to date, he selects a slightly more tame one as he rubs the back of his neck, "N-no, I don't mind. I've had quite a few, and my last one was a few weeks ago. I grew rapidly. About 5 cm in height within a matter of seconds."

He leaves it to Sadie to address the matter of avoidance.

[dragoonrouge]

"Um, I think it was mentioned on the Network but...they seem linked to new experiences within the Mossgate area. But everyone seems to be coming from different places so it's hard to nail down the triggers."

Sadie glances at Ben, his avoidance of the teeth Echo clear as day. "Some physical Echoes can hurt when your body changes." The woman would probably be grateful for the heads up on that, being a doctor and having a daughter involved too.

[catted]

"I can imagine, with a growth spurt like that..." There's something not being said there, she can feel it, but figures that whatever it is, it isn't her right to pry.

She opens her mouth to ask more, but at that point there are footfalls on the stairs, and another family member is coming downstairs.

"...Thank you for helping me." They should wrap this up very quickly now. "I should be fine now, I think it's just a shock from falling so suddenly." She carefully shakes her head. "Whoever that was, I hope nobody broke anything because of them."

[warped_replica]

Under other circumstances, Benjiro would be more forward about his Echoes, and in due time he will be able to discuss them with her more frankly.

The sound of the footsteps following the explanation from Sadie prompts a hurried conclusion to their talk, and Benjiro bows his head to her, “I’m glad we could. Just take things slow this morning, okay? See you later, Mrs. Tilly.” Reaching for his girlfriend’s hand, he turns to head back out the front door and off towards the train station once more.

[dragoonrouge]

Sadie glances at the stairs at the sound of footsteps as she takes Ben's hand. "Hope you feel better Mrs. Tilly. If you need any help you can grab a hold of me on the Network." With those parting words she follows Ben out of the house.