CHINESE WHISPERS (CATCH-ALL PLOT)

[threadspun]

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! ]

Comments

[threadspun]

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.

[ghoulaid]

( 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?

[threadspun]

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.

[ghoulaid]

( 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?

[threadspun]

[ 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.) ]

[ghoulaid]

( 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.

[threadspun]

... 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. ]

[ghoulaid]

( 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?