[PP-F01] Roll up, Roll up!

[Ceres 0]

An odd scene was taking place in Tolbana's main square; a woman stood at its center, standing atop a giant black box with a question mark on it, every so often she'd jump off and try to offer someone a piece of paper.

Alice handed out another flyer to someone passing by, more so - shoving it into their chest. "Here! You must! you MUST!" The player picked it up, stared at it for a moment then scrunched it up and threw it over their shoulder, completely discarding it. Without a single word to the poor woman. Alice visibly bristled as she stomped over to the crumpled piece of paper, she picked it up and carefully smoothed it out. "Shh, Shh...it's okay! You'll be used again today!" Alice turned on a perfectly polished heel to find someone else to give a flyer to. 

"Come one! come ALL!" She shouted at the top of her lungs, waving the crumpled paper to and fro wildly. "Who wants to see a SHOW! A Circus! Yes! Yes!?" Another passerby, a young woman would have the paper shoved in front of her face.

"Lookie here! Can you see! Do you want to come!?"

The lady picked up the paper and stared it it, then at Alice, back to the paper. "Uhm...I think...I'm busy that day...sorry." She shoved the paper back into Alices hands and shuffled away.

"No one wants to come Mista Tybalt..." Alice said with a sigh as she looked at the flyer.  On it, was a picture of his mask, tonnes of stars and rabbits jumping out of it, the letters said 'COME TO WONDERLAND' bright, and pastel across the top - the bottom had the location of their home. He wanted her to bring everyone she could to enjoy the festivities, their qauint little home done up - for all manner of visitors for the halloween event celebrations. Candy would be given out! Stories would be shared!

She was even on her very best behavior - no roses today.

The woman sighed and wiped a fake tear from her eye, clutching the flyers close to her chest. "No one here can see the magic....this is utterly completely oh so tragic!" It truly was a shame... No one here wanted to come play, no one here wanted to escape from their dreary boring lives. All they wanted was to fight and be strong - but where did that leave them? It felt completely wrong!




Ceres | HP: 720/720 | EN: 90/90 | DMG: 8  | true Toier 5

WC 406                                                                                                              

Edited 1 hour ago by Ceres

[Scar 0]

Jack was wandering through the cobbled streets of Tolbana, taking in the usual bustle of the town square, when something caught his eye. There, in the center of the square, stood a woman atop a giant black box, its surface marked with a bold, glaring question mark. At first, he froze, uncertain, a flicker of recognition cross his features. The way she moved, the sharp precision in her gestures, the energy she radiated it all felt familiar.

It took only a moment for him to realize who it was. Alice. The same Alice he had met on the Eighth Floor. A ripple of unease ran down his spine, and he hesitated, instinctively putting a cautious distance between them. Memories of their last encounter lingered, her strange intensity, the unpredictability of her actions, the sense that anything she touched could become chaotic. He didn't want to get near anything she held.

He watched her closely. She was handing out flyers to passing players, shoving them into their hands with an almost desperate insistence. One player had picked up a flyer only to toss it back over her shoulder without a second thought, indifferent. Jack observed Alice's reaction: she stooped to retrieve the discarded paper, smoothing it carefully as if it were fragile, before searching for the next target. She moved with energy that bordered on frantic, a whirl of motion in the otherwise mundane town square. Jack's eyes narrowed.

Another player took a flyer, scrutinizing it for a long moment. Then, as if unsure what to do, they returned it to her. Nothing happened. No dramatic response, no display of magic, no sudden reaction. Alice simply accepted it and pressed on, waving the next flyer toward an approaching passerby. Jack let out a slow exhale, a mixture of curiosity and caution.

Step by step, he moved closer, maintaining a safe distance. His body tensed slightly, though his hands remained deliberately away from her, signaling no aggression, yet ready to act if necessary. He wasn't here to engage recklessly. He wasn't here to play. His priority was simple: ensure that no one around them was put in harm's way. Though unarmed, his posture was protective, alert.

Finally, stopping a few paces from the black box, Jack's gaze locked on her. Cold, unwavering, and measured, it held a quiet intensity. "What are you doing here, Alice?" His voice carried, low and firm, cutting through the noise of the square. There was no warmth, no overt friendliness. His tone was controlled, carefully neutral, but beneath it lingered an unmistakable edge, a mixture of suspicion and the readiness to act should her actions prove dangerous.

He stood there, silently watching, taking in her every movement. Flyers waved, players shuffled past, yet he remained focused, unmoving, assessing her intent. His expression betrayed nothing, his presence a calculated barrier between Alice and anyone who might inadvertently get caught in her schemes. The moment stretched, charged with quiet tension, as Jack waited for her to respond.

* * *

WC: 498

Spoiler

Scar | HP: 640/640 | EN: 102/102 | DMG: 23 | MIT:20 | ACC:1 | BH:7 | LD:5 | True Tier: 4

 

Edited 50 minutes ago by Scar

[Ceres 0]

What are you doing here, Alice?"

The nuances were lost on the woman with not one too many screws loose, but all of them. "Me?" Alice bent over backwards, a deft skill of balance till her eyes landed on "Oh!?" She recognized him almost instantly. Alice straightened her back and turned till she faced him, throwing up the fliers into the air, some landed on the floor - others in the nearby fountain. "WELL! Well, well! Isn't this Swell!" A high pitched sing-song voice. Never quite in key - always lilting in pitch and volume. "If it isn't my ONe EYeD JacK!" She took three steps forward, toward him. The man visibly stiffened, and straightened his back. His gaze never wavering from her erratic movements.

"WHat am I dOing!?" A flourish of her hands, and fresh stack of papers sat in them, pulling them from who knows where, Alice bowed to the man and presented him a flyer. "Mista Tybalt is inViTinG everyOne! Not One! No-One, someone, everyone!" She bounced up and down in front of him in sheer excitement, here was someone who had seen it. Experienced it, she didn't know what he had seen but he was in a daze! For Days! So close, he was so very close to experiencing what she had. The boring drole man... "A SHoW! Ah! WonDerLand! For the SeasOn! Our Home! Your Home! yES?" Tybalt had opened up the house to the local festivities - something about a Halloween event - and was lamenting at how there had been no visitors thus far. 

"Did you want- Oh!" A pause as someone brushed past her and Alice would distract herself in following them, till they finally took a flyer and shoved it in their pocket. All seemingly harmless, and yet there was an unnerving way in its execution. How her eyes were so wide they were watering. How every time someone denied her, an eye would twitch, and fingers would tighten their hold on the paper. A hitch in her breath. Struggling to keep it together. Still, they were in a safe zone - no weapons were drawn - and even if they were - the systems would not allow the death of a player here.

Returning to the one eyed Jack - Alice continued her conversation. "MaGiC!" She cried out in sheer glee, reaching forward - her fingers brushing his ear and wouldn't you know? She held out a simple chocolate coin to him. 
"SeE!" The very first trick Tybalt had shown her, although this was no ear - just simple, sweet, chocolate. "YoU will eAt it won't You?" SHe asked, trying to push it into his hands. "Go On! It's a sweet treat! You Look like you could use it! SuCh a bore... SUCH a bore!"

WC: 455