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[hurtfew]

Date: 12th~18th of October
Plot: Lambeth Territory Claim by Daybreak
Areas: Lambeth and surrounding areas!



The fae may have taken Croydon from Daybreak, but Daybreak is out to prove it is still strong -- and one Daybreak witch in particular is hoping to prove that he is the man to turn them around from the loss. Gilbert Norrell plans to bring order to the lawless territory of Lambeth, via less than pleasant means. He intends to drive out any troublemakers, anyone who disagrees with Daybreak, or have them persuaded by members of Hillingdon. Unfortunately for him, it won't be quite as easy as all that...

[ ooc; log for the Daybreak territory claim! You can give me a ping if you want to be involved and hadn't signed up already! It runs through the entire week, starting off quietly and subtly until the disappearances begin to be noticed and the fight back intensifies. Thread as little or as much as you like, start your own thread or tag what I put up for Norrell! (And sorry it's up a little late!) ]

Comments

Totally fine!

[hurtfew]

While he was still aware there were pockets of resistance, Gilbert Norrell had been largely hoping to avoid such things. He's not one for battle, in truth, not one for actually having to face conflict. Yet at the sound of the shifter growling and the sight of the fox slipping away to investigate he knows that they have been unlucky.

He lets out a heavy sigh to cove his nerves, slowing to a halt and clutching his book as if it were a shield.

"What is it now?" he snaps, eyes flicking around uneasily.

[protagonized]

Simon whines: a warning. He can smell blood and...something else. Magic. He doesn't like this one bit.

The fox appears out of nowhere and starts pointing away. If she's advocating retreat, Simon isn't going to argue. He gently bits Norrell's jacket, tugging on it.

We need to go. Now.

But it's too late.

The earth rumbles as a rival witch comes into view.

[hurtfew]

He startles as Simon bites at his jacket, flails at him to get his jacket free before he begins to feel the ground rumble and spots the witch appearing. He can feel the waves of power coming off her, and it heightens his nerves, yet Gilbert Norrell is not afraid of a witch. Not as much as he is afraid of fae, at least. Perhaps a little bit. He squares his shoulders, flailing at Simon a little more. The animal's cowardice somehow spurs him to be better than that. He glances around nervously for inspiration, finally letting his eyes settle on the clouds and getting an idea.

"Come no closer," he warns, "I will not be intimidated by you."

All the wall his fingers twitch thoughtfully, and under his breath he begins to recite softly, barely more than a subtle whisper as his lips move.

[protagonized]

Oh, for the love of--The old man wants to stay and battle it out.

Simon growls in annoyance and lets go of his coat, trying in vain to remind him that even Miss Badass Fox Shapeshifter Lady is in favor of a strategic retreat. Simon senses that this witch is different from the others and it has all sorts of alarm bells going off in his fuzzy white head.

He hangs back, not sure what to do. He's already injured, so getting the hell out of there sounds like a fabulous idea, but he knows if he leaves now the old man will have lost whatever...non-respect he had for him and Simon will be out a payday. And he needs that money to make rent while he continues the search for a flatmate.

So he growls in what he hopes is a menacing sort of way and eyes Norrell, wondering what he's aiming to do next.

[hurtfew]

The longer he stands there, the more he begins to regret his decision. While yes, it had seemed a good idea to have a show of bravery at first -- now that he's standing here facing off against the witch he wonders if perhaps retreating might have been better after all.

Mr Norrell, Childermass cautions, and he shoots him a sideways glance the tells him to be quiet. He's concentrating.

A moment later the rain begins to fall. Not where they stand, but a short distance off where the witch stands. It's just rain at first, a little thunder and lightning but just rain. Then it begins to swirl around her ominously, morphing into shapes.

[protagonized]

There he goes being all dramatic.

Simon would roll his eyes if he could, but biology prevents him from doing so right now. Instead he takes a defensive position in front of Norrell so that he can finish casting unmolested.

Hurry up, old man.

[hurtfew]

You cannot hurry magic, Simon! The witch begins to cast what, to Norrell, seems suspiciously like a summoning spell but -- but the rain buffets and lashes at her. Soaks her to the skin and begins to form human-like shapes to lash grab out at her. She flinches after a moment, interrupted, and scowls at him -- begins to try and counteract the spell instead. A small bubble of safety begins to form around her, the rain being driven back and toward them.

[protagonized]

As a dog, one of Simon's first instincts is that he doesn't want to get wet.

As a human, he knows that it's ridiculous.

So he stands his ground in what he hopes is a somewhat noble way, watching warily as the rain shapes come back in their direction. It's just water, right? It can't hurt them.

Another distinct figure begins to form in the rain, and it's bearing right down on them. Simon looks to Norrell. He'll follow the old man's lead.

[hurtfew]

For a moment they clash, witch against witch -- the brute force of Norrell's power trying to fight the other witch while she tries to push it back. It's a close thing, but Norrell's nerves are evident. Where she is entirely confident in herself he is afraid of being hurt, is afraid of dying. Norrell is not a witch good at duelling, he is good at environmental work -- at great acts over a wide area. Not at facing off individually.

Another figure forms and Norrell feels fear well up higher, he loses control and fumbles the book in his arms -- takes a step back. Childermass sees instantly the moment it gets the better of him, is at his side in a moment. It was a good effort, but it was not good enough -- and now they will have to move.

[protagonized]

Simon sees Norrell stumble the instant before the rain figure is on top of them, threatening to overtake them and do...whatever the hell it's meant to do. Nothing good.

The man whose name Simon still doesn't know but who has been the old man's shadow the whole time in Lambeth appears at Norrell's elbow and hopefully he can convince him to do what Simon could not--they need to go.

Simon turns around and gives him a pleading look.