[OPEN POST] The game is on

[undergroundmods]

This event runs from 20th-25th July 2015.

"" (Watch on YouTube)

Hello, Londoners! Bit hot, isn't it? Blimey, you might even get a tan at this rate, assuming you're not a vampire.

But there's no time to relax and enjoy the sunshine. No. This is the third and final week of the hunting season in the Other Realm and the magic of the hunt is about to bleed into all of London...

Basically, if you're a predatory type, your hunting instincts may be sharper than usual this week. By how much? Not a lot, we're not talking rabid wolves or losing self-control here, but conditions are perfect for hunting. You can feel it in the air. Hunters of all kinds can expect good fortune – yes, that includes humans who track down other supernatural species too.

As for everyone else... try not to be lunch. Welcome to London.

Prompts

1) HUNGRY LIKE THE WOLF. Bare those fangs and sharpen those claws. You're feeling a little... peckish.

2) THE WHITE HART. The hunt for the legendary White Hart has begun. Fae hunting parties compete to pursue the beast, and upon its capture much merry-making ensues. Should a party pass through into the mortal realm during this hunt, they will appear as drunken louts searching for a pub.

3) HUNTING PARTY. No reason to let the fae have all the fun! Choose your quarry, gather your team and pursue your prey. This could be a serious hunt-to-kill party or something more light-hearted.

4) CAPTURE/KILL. The moment you've been waiting for. Your prey, cornered. Do you allow your instincts to take over and let rip?

5) I DIDN'T SIGN UP FOR THIS. I just got to London and now I'm being chased by a vicious pack of supernatural beings. FML.

6) CHOOSE YOUR OWN ADVENTURE. What's the first thing you see when you set foot in London? Make up your own scenario here.

Comments

[divinerighttorule]

The Hunter

Dismissive as Azula has been about the hunting season, she can feel it in the air the same as anyone else. Her appetite for souls has spiked along with her hunger for power. Which is why she does two different kinds of hunting.

During the day, she preys on the weak-willed mortals. As well as the skeptics who are always glad to mock the supernatural. Taking advantage of her heritage and the ignorance of the general population, she's put together a small vendor stand in a place where it may or may not technically be legal.

It's a very simple set-up. She has a an incense holder in the shape of a dragon, several pieces of paper prefolded and with kanji on the back but their blank sides open, and a collection of incense. All of which is frankensinse.

"Anything you want," she says to a curious person who approaches her, "can be yours. Ask for what you want, write it on the paper, and offer what you're willing to give for it. Then burn the paper and send your request to the forces that be."

'The forces that be' meaning her. But none of it is a lie.

At night, her prey is of the supernatural variety. She feels the air, waiting to catch just that hint of a spirit not yet gone from this world. There are always a few. The lost, pathetic souls grasping for more time than their mortal lives deserved.

So, she'll just help a few people out who might be bothered by them. And, well, if there are witnesses the time or two she actually finds one... She doesn't worry much. No one will believe anything they say.


The Hunted

Azula isn't naive enough to think that even she is untouchable. There are things enough that would feast upon a fae, but she won't just hide away in the Other Realm at night because it might be dangerous. After all, she has her own hunting to do.

But she does try to keep aware, try to keep alert. But no one's guard is perfect.


The Hunt

Azula is happy to join a hunting party for this 'White Hart.' Her own culture doesn't have much about it, so she doesn't grasp why they want to catch the creature, but it's a way to pass time, and her father did say she was to learn about the fae culture here.

This? Seems to be a big part of it.

So, she's happy to toast in the Other Realm and pursue the animal. When there's a moment to rest or a meal to be had, she can be found having her fill and enjoying herself. When the race is on, she's almost tireless, driven by an inner fire.


The Celebration

Once the beast is caught, Azula falls easily into the revelry. Fairy wine and fairy food are in abundance, and she enjoys them to the fullest. Where there is music, there is dancing, too.

Though she makes merry less than she shows. The wine is never allowed to be enough to go to her head, and she doesn't stuff herself silly. Nor does she lose track of time while dancing. At least not more than any fae does.

Still, she's meant to enjoy herself, so she'll certainly act like she is.

[rules_winter]

Mab reigns her horse in as the hunt breaks, slipping off and whispering in it's ear for a moment before the two part. When she turns and pulls out a wineskin, sipping as she walks toward the banquet tables. She pauses next to Azula and motions to the seat at the table to be sure it isn't taken before she settles down and a lesser fae moves forward to begin loading up a plate for her of items she motions to. She leaves him to it and turns to the foreign seelie. "Nothing quite so invigorating as a good hunt, don't you agree?"

[divinerighttorule]

"I've never seen a hunt like this," Azula admits without shame. It's a cultural thing, she knows, and that's why she's supposed to be here. She raises her glass, having gotten her seat a short while ago. "But it's refreshing."

[rules_winter]

The plate is set in front of her and Mab nods to the lesser fae that it is fine. "You do not have a hunt in the eastern courts?" She tried to imagine not having a hunt. She might not always participate but when she did, it added to her powers for the year and satisfied something deep inside her. "Yes, refreshing is the correct word." She agreed, putting down the wineskin next to her plate she lifted a glass of faery mead as well.

"What kind of celebration do you have?"

[divinerighttorule]

Azula responded by raising her own glass in turn and drinking from it.

"It depends on the season. There are a great many throughout the years, particularly based around the elements."

The fire festivals and new years were her favorites. Dragons and red and gold. That was her festival. The Chinese New Year was one she never missed. If she could help it, at least.

[rules_winter]

Ahh yes, some of the fae were considered elementals even out here. She would be Air herself though likely not in the same way a fae from Azula's area might be.

"How interesting." Mab murmured, considering the difference for a moment before picking up food and beginning to eat. "Just the basic elements or do the celebrations branch out?"

[divinerighttorule]

"There's been so much marriage between human and fae court celebrations," she offers it with almost a bored shrug. She imagines it's the same here, ultimately. "But there are several festivals that aren't just elemental."

All of which were enjoyable. Even if they were, ultimately, relics compared to the worship they'd once been.

[rules_winter]

Still vaugue. Mab turned to her food and continued eating. "The humans have watered down the celebrations but the fae still keep the traditions." She murmured. And there were so many more humans that even watered down there was some power gathered from the human celebrations. They truly were an invasive species. Well, it certainly made hunting easier for the lower fae. It was impressive the number of humans that could go missing without anyone even considering predators beyond other humans at work.

"The United Kingdom and Europe still have many that celebrate properly though. You travel to America and it's been mostly lost."

[divinerighttorule]

"Is it lost?" she asks. "Or has it simply changed?"

As much as her father might disagree, she saw a difference in the two. She still regretted losing worshippers, but those sorts of things went in cycles. She just had to be patient. And make sure she was ready to show her power when the time was right.

[rules_winter]

That was true enough. "Some are changed, some remain mostly the same and some are not celebrated by more than a handful of mortals." Halloween was still quite rousing in America. And Yule coincided with the massive Christmas celebration. Beltain though, not really even a footnote. Litha also seemed forgotten. Likely new holidays would spring up soon enough. Mortals always enjoyed a celebration.

Perhaps someone just needed to whisper to a script writer about something to bring it about again as well. Movies were very influential.

[divinerighttorule]

Azula was a bit of a snob where entertainment was concerned. Movies were dull, and TV shows were inane. The theatre remained interesting, though some of the more modern uses of it were irritating. Still, traditions were kept in different ways. She couldn't speak to the western world, however.

"I don't know much about North American and European holidays, I'm afraid."

[rules_winter]

Mab touches her lips with a napkin and tilts her head a little. "Well, such things are easily rectified." In other words, Azula can hit a library if she wants the full rundown. She lifts her plate as someone slides a mug across the table to another fae and then sets it back down. It's a little like eating at the Mad Hatter's tea party.

Celebration

[entitles]

"This must be your first hunt, yes?" Balem said, glass of wine in hand, "Did you enjoy it?"

The Unseelie weren't as big on the actual hunting as the Seelie were, but he enjoyed it well enough. He had been drinking quite a bit, and a soft blue glow could be seen in his chest beneath his vest. It took quite a bit to get him truly drunk, so he was only a little tipsy.

[divinerighttorule]

"It was intriguing." Which is high praise from her. "I wrote to Father about it."

He wanted her to learn about the culture here, and that seemed like a high point. As well as the flavors of food and drink she was experiencing here, all very different than she was used to.

[entitles]

"Is you father planning on moving as well, or is he happy where he is?" he said.

His mother never really moved around much, which he didn't understand. But sometimes going off on your own could be a good thing.

[divinerighttorule]

"He is the king of the Dragon Court. I... highly doubt he has any intentions of leaving it."

Or easily giving up his throne to make way for a new generation. But there was plenty of time to deal with that.

[entitles]

"Understandable enough. If I were king, I wouldn't be too keen on leaving, either," he said, "I've been a God a few times. Or, considered one, at least. That was a good time."

[divinerighttorule]

"It's always fun to be considered divine," she agrees, smirking at the thought. Those days are long gone, of course, but she still enjoys the memories. Still, though, she can't help asking a question.

Completely sweetly, too. "Have you ever thought about it? Becoming a king, I mean."

[entitles]

"I have. My mother was a sovereign in her own rights, but our house has long since broken. I once saw myself as too detached for such a position, but it's starting to appeal to me," he said.

He was still detached - he was partly a star, after all - but he craved the power he had in the glory days of Abrasax.

[divinerighttorule]

"I can't deny that the idea of having such a position would be... enjoyable." She's already begun to watch when court is in session. Look at the Seelie queen. It's not impossible. She's already noticed some flaws, weaknesses where she might strike eventually.

[entitles]

"For a few centuries, at least. I have other end goals in mind, but it would be interesting for now," he said.

[divinerighttorule]

"In this court or another?"

Her voice drops as she asks it. Not quite so low as to be conspiratorial... but certainly flirting with it. And her gold eyes have focused in on him, showing her age. Nowhere near his, no, but also not the young girl she looks to mortals either.

[entitles]

"I quite like this one, for the time being," he said, "And with the power of the court behind me, I believe I may be able to pull off a little experiment I had in mind, in time."

[divinerighttorule]

"I know from my father's rule that court politics can be... complicated." Her smile never changes, and she reaches for a pitcher to fill both their cups. "Having someone on whom you rely -- truly rely -- is often beneficial."

[entitles]

"In my family we relied on none but each other," he said, "But those days are behind me. I am aware of the benefits of having allies."