undergrounds | CHINESE WHISPERS (CATCH-ALL PLOT)

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CHINESE WHISPERS (CATCH-ALL PLOT)

Lillian needs to suppress a scream as she steps out of the portal and into Croydon. She snaps the portal shut behind her with more force than needed, the only thing she could do in the wake of the appointment she had with Quercus, the Oak King, and Merilineth, the Queen of the Green Wood. It was none of their concern their own subjects were being captured and enslaved? It wasn't interesting enough to intervene?

Don't they get how dangerous this is? How this could reach out beyond London if the ambitions were left unchecked? The idea of more witches being encouraged by what's happening here in London and trying to replicate it for themselves in their own lands made her stomach churn in discomfort and anger for the fae. The idea others trying to do this against their enemies in general, trying to justify this under a disguise of 'progress' and 'advancement', almost made her breathless in disgust.

For individuals who insists their goals were to keep things in balance, they-

She stays her thoughts since it wasn't right to doubt her Royals and she reminds herself that it could been much worse. They hadn't said no outright. Merely ordered her to watch over this and maybe they were right in that aspect. She couldn't sit out for too long. Not after what happened to her and the others at that centre. If she could show them London was worth looking after maybe they'll be willing to do something.

How? She isn't sure yet but she's willing to start small. Make allies, stop troubles, gather resources. There's a good place to start too-

Before Gregory left, he warned her of a string of incidents happening over at Redbridge and Waltham Forest. Some people disappearing, some people being assualted or killed in supposed muggings gone wrong. Not enough to gain attention from everyone but enough to have people whispering their concerns to their closest friends and their friends whispering it to their closest friends.

Sounds like something that could be useful. Or not. Either way she had to check it out.

[ backdated during scandal week 2017. the catch-all post for the plot regarding the string of vampire assaults! information about this post can be found here and top-levels for the mentioned events/steps to this plot can be found in here. if you'd like to have a closed thread related to this, let me know! ]

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( It's time to get home. Wind down, settle in, wait for the moon to do its thing. He's got a few hours to get himself in order, so he's not in a hurry. But the unexpected boom of an explosion sure does get him moving.

He rushes towards the sound, somehow managing to look even more startled when he realizes where the noise is coming from. He knows that shop, and he knows the fae spluttering and scrambling across the sidewalk. Hoooly shit. Ghoul reaches out to steady her, though he's unsure of where to focus his attention. On her? The smoke pouring out of her shop? The surrounding area in case there are any other surprises waiting to pop off? ) What happened? Is there a fire? ( It doesn't smell like a normal fire...

Maybe it's an attack. It's an attack, isn't it? ) Aw, fuck no- ( He is not about that. He's downright furious, actually. Without a second thought, he storms past her and inside her shop, waving the smoke away and looking for the threat. Whoever it is, they're about to get eaten alive. )

W-Wait![ he might get hurt if he doesn't know what's going on. the last thing she wants is someone getting injured because of her.

she ends up following him back in after she's done with her coughing fit, pulling a cloth over her mouth just so she can still breath while she heads back into her poor store. in the back of her head she's already cataloguing how much expenses she lost form this foolish endeavour of hers. maybe she should have someone's help in making the stupid-

the train of though is cut off with how much she begins to cough again, the smell from the shop nauseating. coming from the back where lillian usually resides, the stench of chemicals and gunpowder(??) is strangely strong. ] Don't do anything, please. It's a chemical fire.

( Um, what.

Ghoul slooowly turns around to face her. His shirt is pulled up over his nose and mouth, hiding the grave look on his face, but he is still squinting at her a bit. Maybe it's just the smoke in his eyes...

Just kidding, it's not smoke. That's totally him wondering what she is doing with her life. ) Why is there a chemical fire? ( He doesn't want her to choke to death or anything, and it's pretty overpowering for him too, so he attempts to usher her back towards the main door for some fresher air. ) Did you put it out yet?

Of course I did! I was prepared for this to happen.

[ she huffs, out of both indignation and of the need for clean air once they're back out, and looks to him with an annoyed expression. her priorities are clearly skewed if she's more offended at the implication of irresponsibility on her part than concerned about what effects that may have had on her and her shop.

but also... lillian knows she hasn't answered his question yet and this does demand an explanation. not every day (evening) a shop more or less explodes. ]

Um- As for what I was doing... [ it does come to mind that she could not let him know the truth. she can't tell a straight lie but she's learned how to circumvent honesty but that doesn't seem right. not after the concern he's shown and the past meeting of theirs still fresh in her mind.

she bites back a sigh and hopes this doesn't get her trouble in the long run of things. ]

I was making a shrapnel bomb. [ she looks over her store. ] Trying to.

( Maybe this is something new, he figures. Some kind of really, really intense cloth-processing technique, because fashion can get up to some pretty crazy stuff. He tugs his shirt away from his face again while she explains herself, and even then, he figures this is some kind of joke. Ghoul often forgets that the fae can't lie, but when he remembers, his face remains unnervingly blank.

Until the concern hits. People don't normally try to build those for shits and giggles, there's got to be something serious going on. ) Why the fuck do you wanna make one of those? ( At least he doesn't sound mad? )

[ at least he doesn't sound mad. that's a good sign.

she sighs in relief and rubs the side of her neck in worry, looking around to make sure they were alone. they had to be since most shops here were closed at this hour and everyone headed home. ]

Well… That happens to be a long story but one that you deserve to know… Is there somewhere nearby that we can talk about this privately?

[ so, you know, they don't draw attention to any passerby should one come. not every day you see pins and needles going up in smoke. ]

( Ghoul chews at his lower lip, thinking for a moment before nodding and leading her away from the shop. Not far- just across the street and down a ways, between two nearby buildings. They'll be far enough to avoid attention and also be able to breathe freely, but close enough to still keep an eye on the store. He wants to have it in his line of sight, and he assumes she probably will too. )

This'll work. Just talk quiet. ( As he's doing now. He sticks fairly close to her so they can whisper, frowning as he looks between her and her shop a couple times. ) You get yourself in to somethin' you shouldn't have?

More or less? Yes.

[ no point in lying or trying to bend the truth with ghoul. she didn't have to involve herself in this and yet she did. even after gregory told her what was going on in an attempt to warn her of the danger, not tip her off.

he would disapprove of her decision, no doubt, along with her parents and other fae who felt she was too soft-hearted for her own good but you know what? no. this is her way of helping them and if it meant that she could help more innocents along the way, she'll brave the consequences her decisions will have.

horrid smoke and all. ]

There's been a series of assaults and disappearances going on lately. All happening over at Redbridge and Waltham Forest and-

[ how to word this? ] -I think they're all on purpose. I also think they're all meant to undermine if not outright harm the East End Pack.

( He breathes out a slow sigh, rolling his eyes- not at her, but at the situation. ) That ain't a surprise. ( Seems like a lot of folks around here enjoy starting shit with East End. )

Y'know who's doin' it yet, or is the plan to blast everybody 'til it stops?

I do! [ she wouldn't just… make everything explode! she wasn't that type of fae. ] It's why I was trying to make the shrapnel bomb that was made of wood.

[ so it was a vampire then. of course it was. ] Admittedly, it's a lot more difficult to do than I previously thought. Those internet recipes I printed out are useless.

( Yeah, of course it's a vampire. There's plenty for him to be upset about here; the vampire, for one. Also the danger she put herself, her shop, and anyone around her in. Yet he still doesn't sound mad.

Instead he's horrified. ) Holy shit, that did not just come outta your mouth. ( Oh shit, there can not possibly be any more no in that sentence. He actually has to indulge the urge to drag his hands down his face, because holy fucking shit. The internet.

The internet!! ) That's like youtubing open heart surgery, fuck! ( Bomb building is a delicate craft!

It's fine. This is fine. They can fix this. ) Nevermind, um- when do you need it?

[ she doesn't have a lot of friends, okay?? her experience with anything outside of fashion and tends is kind of limited. hence: internet and google search. (and no, before anyone asks. she doesn't use the incognito browser.) ]

… What? [ is he going to help her? just like that, with no fuss or frills?

lillian isn't going to question too much for now. not when she still has half a dozen things to do after this. she at least shoots him a look of gratefulness, reminding herself that this means she's in his debt and she will pay him back somehow. ]

Um- I need it by tomorrow evening. A shrapnel bomb that's made primarily of wood. [ one is all she needs, frankly. it simply needs to make a hell of an explosion and leave a nasty impression on the vampire.

this is all short notice and is a tall order, she knows, but she's kind of on a tight deadline here. especially if she wants to keep this all a secret from the media while their attention is diverted. (though nearly blowing up her shop would be counter productive to such measures but she's trying.) ]

( NOT EVEN INCOGNITO. NOOO. ) God, fuck. Okay. ( He exhales slowly, briefly rubbing at his eyes. Okay, okay, okay. That's a workable timeline. He can build these things in his sleep at this point, and there's no way she could have gone so wrong that he can't bang this out in a few hours, right?

This isn't really a skill he wants people to know about, but he can't let her just blow herself up. Or, for that matter, go shopping for someone with the necessary know-how on such short notice. Pulling a bomb-builder off Craigslist or whatever would be a good way for her to end up with a psycho on her doorstep. ) You ain't off the hook yet, but first I gotta look at what you got in there.

... Thank you.

[ the relief in her voice is palpable and her shoulders slump down as if the burden of the world left her. she had been stressed over the idea of not having this key item on her when she confronted the vampire, viewing it as the linchpin of capturing the scoundrel.

well, that means that this is a debt she won't mind paying back in the future. ]

Um- The supplies should be the real things. An acquaintance of mine assured me of that when they got it for me and they, ah, have a lot of knowledge about this. [ for some reason. she never asked the fae how they knew so much about bomb making. it was rather scary so she let it slide. ]

( It is scary. And dangerous. And something he may have to teach her how to do if she insists on making this a semi-regular thing, but this isn't the time. The debt thing doesn't even cross his mind either- and even if it had, again, not the time to hammer out details and contracts. They're on a tight schedule. ) Since you smoked the place out, you're probably on the right track. ( He grins, just a little and just for a second. )

So, I'm gonna go back in and see what you've got goin' on. ( It's probably aired out enough by now... ) You wanna stay out here, or?

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CHINESE WHISPERS (CATCH-ALL PLOT)

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