Prepare for the #LodanRespawn2024 Existing characters may choose to be displace from/have memories of different timelines, thereby allowing returning members the option to retcon their whole character. These changes are the result of the "Unnatural Fog" plot device that is running between now and the Respawn. The plot is simple: no matter where your character is, that place is shrouded in a thick fog that suspends time, but not thoughts or memories, so even if they're repeating the same day over and over again, they continue to remember, so each time feels like a new day. For those retconning OCs; this is where new versions of themselves have the opportunity to replace the old versions. Official lore and tree updates will be announced asap
Open to Iaco It was cold outside. Max knew the cold well. She enjoyed the feeling of numbness that it brought. It numbed her skin, her stomach, her pain. But the one thing it didn’t numb was her mind. And there was just one thing she was dying to find out. That thirst for an answer is what drove her to Iacomus’ shop; a place she would normally never visit. But with the question on her mind and the hope that the inside was warmer than outside, she had made the journey over here.
Standing outside the door awkwardly, she looked to the sign and read it several times, as if it would change the moment she looked away. But this was the place and she knew it. Taking a deep breath she pushed the door open and walked in shyly.
Post by Iacomus Lerwick on Jan 11, 2015 7:11:33 GMT
Iacomus had been sitting at the counter, his chin resting in the bottom of his palm and his elbows sitting lazily on top of the tabletop. His eyes, which had just previously been filled with the haze of boredom, flickered at the new customer as the door creaked open and the bell chimed, and lit up as he realized who it was. "Why, Max!" Any innocence that may have taken place on his face when nobody was around washed away and his same mischievous smirk grew back in place. "What a splendid surprise! What is it you are looking for today?" He had a feeling that a girl such as herself was not in his shop to look at his wares, and he could feel her anxiousness radiating from her timid entrance. With that came a snake-like chuckle.
It was no surprise to Max that she was met with Iaco’s personal look of mischief, only it was a darker sort of mischief. In a way this comforted her, seeing as the man was still himself. She straightened up a bit as she crossed the room to his counter, feeling slightly less cold as she did so.
Clearing her throat she met his eyes. “If you’re not too busy, I’d like to talk with you. I have this question that’s been bothering me for quite some time, but no one to really ask it to. If it’s not too much trouble, I’d like to ask you.” She could feel herself acting nervous, despite her best efforts to hide it. Normally she wouldn’t be this jumpy from a simple conversation…and then she noticed it. Ticking. Faint, but it was there. Iaco must have gotten a clock. No wonder she was on edge. Hopefully she’d be able to ignore the dreadful sound long enough to ask what she had in mind.
"I only go out to get me a fresh appetite for being alone." -Lord Byron
Post by Iacomus Lerwick on Jan 11, 2015 7:29:19 GMT
"As away, my dear, ask away!" He replied, holding out his hands for a moment before bringing them together and locking his fingers underneath his chin in a sinister sort of manner. Now he was curious, what could be on her mind? She seemed to grow tense for a moment, and his curiosity grew larger. Was it something personal she had to ask?
“Well…What’s the whole deal with Christmas? I know it just ended and all, but this has been bothering me for years. I just don’t see a point of the holiday. Why does someone need to give something to another? Why do they need this reason to give it? How did the drat thing start? I’ve never understood it and would like to at least have some sort of idea.” All she real knew about it was the gift giving. There was something about a tree and stuff about family, but it all boiled down to giving and receiving gifts. It just didn’t make any sense to her.
"I only go out to get me a fresh appetite for being alone." -Lord Byron
Post by Iacomus Lerwick on Jan 11, 2015 8:04:14 GMT
Iacomus found himself staring at her, his eyes widened slightly, stuck in a moment of confusion and disbelief, but not wanting to portray such things, so it came off as speechlessness. Eventually he shook out his head and after a bleak sort of chuckle looked back up at her with he grin back in place. "Well, I suppose it's more for the children than anything else, but some consider it a religious holiday, although most just celebrate it anyway without any ties to such things..." He sighed and chuckled again, then stood up, walked around the counter and put his arm around the girl's shoulders. "Would you like me to explain the lore to you?" He said with a wink, and with a spring in his step he began. "As the story goes, there is a man who lives in the north, the north pole, to be exact, who dawns a long white beard around rosy pink cheeks. He is said to be a very large man, with a belly that jiggles when he laughs, and his garb consists of only red and white, and a sleeping cap of the same colors with fur trim sits atop his head. On Christmas night, he saddles up his league of reindeer to his sleigh, and takes off into the night. While the children are sleeping, he goes into their houses through the chimney and leaves them surprises underneath their Christmas trees. He watches them throughout the year and if they are good, they get toys, and if they are bad, they get coal. When I was a child-" He turned towards his new clock and tapped it with his black fingernail "I was told that he only comes at midnight but of course..." His concentration wandered and he went off on a tangent "Oh my, how quickly dust accumulates. I must remind myself to clean it when I don't have company..."
“That all sounds rather fishy, like it’s just a kids story,” Max said honestly. She hadn’t heard any sorties of this weird man, and as much as she wanted to stay on the topic, Iaco seemed to be distracted. He walked around and came to a clock, the source of the insanity-inducing ticking. She hoped to bring him back to the subject at hand and tried not to look at the clock, which meant not looking at him. “But what’s the point of it all? Adults exchange gifts so I know it’s not just for the young ones.” She fidgeted a bit more and made an effort to look at a different wall. “I’ve never participated in any of the events so perhaps that’s why it confuses me so.”
"I only go out to get me a fresh appetite for being alone." -Lord Byron
Post by Iacomus Lerwick on Jan 11, 2015 8:32:05 GMT
"Well, I think it's just one giant ideal." Iacomus said as he turned back around with his usual flaire. "We all try to be 'Santa' to everybody else and so we give as much as we can. Although, I have to admit, I do find it quite enjoyable to exchange gifts. It is fun to pick things out that you think a person might like and see what others pick for you. Did you not get anything this year, Max?" He asked, concern in his voice, though with a ring that showed that it was not true worry.
“Got anything? Why would anyone give me anything? I’m a thieving street rat who works alone. I tend to make enemies rather than friends,” she relaxed a little as she said this, but not by much. In a way it was nice to honestly say something about herself, but at the same time, it was weird. Why would anyone care what she had to say? But Iaco had asked. Max shrugged after a moment, hoping that it wasn’t a surprise to the shopkeeper.
"I only go out to get me a fresh appetite for being alone." -Lord Byron
Post by Iacomus Lerwick on Jan 11, 2015 8:49:38 GMT
"Ah, but that is not the case!" Iacomus said as he held out a finger, before rushing towards the back of his shop. When he returned, he held a small, wrapped box, and handed it to Max. "I thought I'd get you something, as I tried to get a gift for all those I might consider close this year." He smiled the pleasant-but-not-so-pleasant smile that happened when he was trying to be nice. "You just seemed to have disappeared for awhile, and I was unable to find you at a time when I had this at hand."
Max raised an eyebrow at him, stunned for a moment as she could only look at the box being held out to her. After some time she realized she should take it. “Um, thank you,” was all she could think so say as she took the package from him. “As for why I disappeared, well, there was a lot of snow,” she added quickly, realizing she should explain that. Without really explaining it. Looking over the box she wasn’t exactly sure what to do with it. Leave and open it later, or open it now in front of Iaco? Unable to make up her mind she just stood there in silence, holding the thing in her hands but otherwise unmoving. The ticking of the clock soon filled her silence, making her uneasy as the time cruelly ticked by.
"I only go out to get me a fresh appetite for being alone." -Lord Byron
Post by Iacomus Lerwick on Jan 11, 2015 17:44:54 GMT
Iacomus hummed a little in amusement as he noticed her turmoil over the gift. "Yes, you can open it, dear Max..." He said before chuckling again, and waited for her to do so.
Looking down at the package, Max started pulling away at the paper coating the small box. It seemed like such a waste of good paper, but that didn’t stop everybody from doing it anyway. With the paper off she was left with just a simple box, which she quickly opened to see what was inside.
"I only go out to get me a fresh appetite for being alone." -Lord Byron
Post by Iacomus Lerwick on Jan 14, 2015 23:44:34 GMT
Inside, nestled between, soft, velvety cloth, was a brass watch, running quietly as it's little arms clicked away. "I was in a clock store as of late to replace my old broken one, and thought of you when I saw it. It suits you, I believe, and I thought you could do well to keep track of time." Iaco explained with an arrogant aura forming as he grinned and motioned his hand towards himself, leaning against the counter top. He was obviously very proud of his selection.
The blood left Max’s face in an instant, leaving behind ghostly white skin. Her eyes widened and sweat immediately began forming all over her face. Every muscle in her body tensed up and became stiff. The only thing that didn’t move in that split second was her mouth. That look intense fear consumed her for maybe five seconds at most.
In the next instant, the box, watch still within, was flung across the room in the opposite direction the door. Before the box touched the ground Max was out the door and into the street. A rush of wind was the only thing left of her.
"I only go out to get me a fresh appetite for being alone." -Lord Byron
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