Event - Circus, Circus

[apocalypsehowmods]

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Circus, Circus

➥ By the Pricking of My Thumb

(cw: wax, potential compulsion and fighting)

The train pulls into the railyard at noon under a bright blue sky. The engine is a bright red with orange and yellow flames painted along the sides. The first carriage after that is pitch black with similar flames and a logo for the Fenix Down Extravaganza. It's a stylized red phoenix head in a circle of orange and yellow, the name of the circus painted across the top and bottom, mirroring the curve of the circle. A line of carriages stretch out after that, painted all different colors, but each maintaining the motif of flames down the sides and each bearing the company logo.

Excitement comes to the railyard. The circus is in town for a one-week stint before they continue their journey north. People in colorful costumes--clowns, 'fire fairies' covered in drips of candle wax, and those in animal masks--paper the town with advertisements. You might even find yourself conscripted to help with putting up the fliers and posters if you look idle. A stack of posters is placed in your hands. A $100 bill set atop seems to be your incentives to do something more than just toss them in the bin. There's a frantic energy both about the performers and the people in town. You might even find yourself strangely caught up in it. You want to help spread the word, to ensure the posters reach every part of town. Everyone else who's been conscripted, as well? You can do it better, faster. You need to be faster. You need to claim the space for your own before it's lost to someone else.

There hasn't been a circus come to Gloucester in decades, and it's the Fenix Down Extravaganza! They're renowned for their pyrotechnics and laser lights shows. Surely the enthusiasm for all that is just… catching.

The tents and booths are set up in vacant fields to the west of town, and there's one curious addition, as well. There's a railroad car that's been seemingly pulled away from the railyard somehow. No one sees it being moved, but it's out in the vacant field, and some might recognize it as the old, dilapidated thing that had been hidden in the railyard, the charred husk filled with old posters. It looms, in the field, almost seeming to smoke where it sits. It's quickly cleaned and restored over the course of the day the circus is setting up, though, and it seems to have been turned into the ticket booth for the front of the circus, complete with a new bright red paint job.

➥ Something Wicked This Way Comes

(cw: large-scale vehicular collision, industrial disaster, fire, harm to animals)

It's not a single person who can claim credit for the find, but many people all together. Hours have been poured into researching the mysterious midnight train crash that had rocked people from their beds almost a week ago. Finally, something is found. Stitched together from local newspaper clippings from around Cape Ann, a story emerges, identifying a derailment in the city of Gloucester back in 1921. More than a dozen workers had died in the railyard and there were fires beyond that in the town. The train itself had had only a few people aboard, performers for the Smoke and Mirrors Acting Troupe, along with animals used in their performances. The stories seem to be tucked away a few pages from the front of the newspapers, which are dominated by stories about skyrocketing unemployment following the Great War and the return home for the troops.

All of the stories seem to end with the same sentiment: It could have been so much worse. If the train had derailed further north in one of the more populated cities, where it had been scheduled to arrive the next morning after the crash? It could have been hundreds, maybe even thousands dead.

The information, whomever has found it, is enough. ADI calls a staff meeting. Ghostly circus train derailments just before another circus rolls into town? That's not a coincidence. Everyone who's willing is purchased a ticket for entrance to the Fenix Down Extravaganza, and every person is assigned a partner to join them. Don't lose track. There will be no kidnappings this time. ADI is determined to keep their people as safe as they can be while investigating. Maybe have a chat with your new companion(s).

Those who misbehaved during the last event's Sticky Wicket prompt and were caught with either an opened box or found to have injuries related to the artifacts inside the boxes will be assigned an additional person to their group. A mentor to keep them on the right track this time. And also to narc on them if they mess up again. Better behave, partner.

➥ Send In the Clowns

(cw: reference to cannibalism, fire, pain, mild body horror)

There's a light and excited atmosphere about the circus once a body makes it through the long queue out front. The sweet and sticky scent of fried and sugary foods permeates the air along with barbecues and the ever-present smell of ash. Fire would seem to be the main attraction for the Fenix Down Extravaganza. Fire dancers, fire jugglers, people swallowing fiery swords, and walking over beds of hot coals. There are sideshow attractions and games to see before heading into the big top. Notably, there are no animals or signs of animals at the circus save for a small contingent of goats that are set up as a petting zoo, and a sideshow with a reptile exhibit along with a 'snakeman.' Otherwise known as a performer decorated with shiny sticker scales who provides interesting 'snake facts' to anyone who happens by.

The Food
The food is typical carnival garbage. A little overpriced, but still decent and provided in excess of what people should reasonably eat in one sitting, especially for things like the cotton candy and funnel cake. There is some decent grilled food available, and those who go snooping will find that the food prep within each of the little booths is acceptable for what it all seems to be. There is one booth characters might notice that has 'long-pig' on the menu. Or does it? Check again, and it's not there. It seems to be selling hotdogs, though. Just ordinary hotdogs. Care to bite into one?

The Games
Your standard rigged carnival games: the ring toss, the ladder climb, the baseball and milk jugs. Spend more money for bigger prizes! But you're risking losing it all, as well. There are a few unique games, as well, though. One is called 'The Floor Is Lava,' and participants must make their way around a strange obstacle course that's up on balance beams. If you slip and go down, it's just grass of course. But for a moment, for a split second, you can feel the heat and agony as the lava engulfs your body. You're fine, though, of course! It's just a game, after all. Even if you might feel a bit… singed after that. Another game someone might find tucked away in an obscure corner is 'Liar, Liar,' which involves throwing beanbags at targets. Each target lights a match that helps to burn a string leading toward a cartoonish figure in polka dot boxers. The goal is to get the fire to touch the boxers before a timer runs out. When the fire hits the boxers, there's an uncomfortably realistic shriek. But it's probably fine.

The Sideshows and Exhibits
Fire is the overriding theme at the side shows with fire dancers and jugglers being the most prominent amongst the tents. Attendants for the tents all wear full (and varied) animal heads obscuring their faces; though, if someone is rude enough to rip off their masks, they'll just find disgruntled employees who would like that back now. The more notable sideshow acts include:

• The Twisted Twisters - A pair of contortionists who maneuver bowls filled with flames while they shift around. They're very affable, joking with each other as they work.
  
• Flammie the Magnificent - A magician who's open about his use of smoke and mirrors, as well as making objects appear in a burst of flame. He's a purposefully goofy magician aimed at younger kids.
  
• Asbestos Mike - A man who juggles burning coals. His hands are… unfortunate to look at. But he doesn't seem to mind and claims to have no working nerve endings. He's extremely calm about… everything.

➥ Lost & Found

(cw: child endangerment/distressed parent with missing child, disorientation, hallucination)

And then, of course, there are the 'experiences.' They're not rides per se. Those are hard to pack up on a train, but they're exhibits to pass through with a particular theme toward interaction or ogling. There's a small wax museum with decently-crafted models of a few famous individuals. And then there's the Fun House. It's a mirror maze inside that seems to stretch on far larger than the small space it's set up in should allow. For those who make it to the center of the maze, they'll find a dark room with a single mirror in it. This, unlike the rest of the mirrors in the Fun House, isn't one that distorts your form. It's simply a standard mirror. There's also a corridor of mirror beyond it that leads to a quick escape from the Fun House for those lucky winners who make it there.

Said 'winners' will find that everything seems to be perfectly normal when they step out onto the bustling circus grounds. But is that- Ah, that's someone they wanted to talk to. Or maybe it's someone who looks suspicious. Just someone they want to follow. There is a figure and it's someone they want to follow. If they do so, they'll quickly lose said figure in the crowd, only to spot them a ways on a few moments later. Pursuing this figure will result in the winner being run around the circus grounds, never quite able to catch up. If they stop their pursuit, they will find themselves somewhere that they have not seen before. There may be a sense of disorientation as they try to get their bearings.

For those who don't enter the Fun House or come out as winners, they might notice someone--a parent--frantically looking about some other time. The parent comes up to them, asks if they've seen their child, before hurrying off to try to find an employee for help. Their little one was just there. They just came out of the Fun House and now… now they can't find their child! Employees will be only too happy to help, but non-employees might be quicker on the draw to locate the missing child. They're always found in a random place, seemingly unharmed but confused and frightened as they search for their parent, claiming they saw said parent going just over there, or over here. Still, you've reunited a family! No harm, no foul, right? Kids go wandering all the time. Parents really ought to keep a closer watch.

➥ The Ringmaster

(cw: fire, pain, immolation, screaming)

"Please be advised the following show contains flashing lights, sudden loud noises, and fire. Anyone who may have difficulty with these, please make your way to the exit. Our employees will provide refunds for anyone who may have challenges due to these effects." A full two minutes pass to allow those who need to leave time to do so. And then…

"Ladies and gentlemen, boys and girls, and everyone in between, put your hands together for the one, the only, Fenix Down!" The words sound over the PA system in the tent just before roaring calliope music picks up and the man himself practically dances to the center of the ring in the main tent. Fenix is a remarkably short Caucasian man with dark hair, brown eyes, and a suit that looks like it's on fire, all orange, red, and yellow licks of color across the fabric. His bright yellow tophat features the company's phoenix logo on it, and he nearly loses the thing as he dashes around the ring, grinning like a madman and eliciting cheers from the audience as he raises his arms for them to shout.

"Are you ready, my friends, for the brightest, the grandest, the most extravagant show you have ever seen?" Thunderous cheers from the audience. "I am Fenix Down, and this is my extravaganza!"

The show plays out with two main acts with smaller ones in between. The main acts are introduced by Fenix in turn:

• "Penny, the dancing flame!" is firedancer with an elaborate show involving a flaming whip and multiple other performers in horse heads acting as her 'animal companions' for the show.
  
• "And Roderick, the man with laser hands!" is a young man in large, dark glasses who conducts a laser lights and pyrotechnics production from a DJ-style turntable as rock music plays and performers dance and tumble around the ring.

On the final night, there is a change to the performance, though. "And now, my friends, my dear friends, we have a special treat, a new main act to premier: Pyre, the burning man!" Those who are witness to this will see a young man enter the ring. He's sweating and a bit on the heavy side. He also looks… frightened. Frightened and exhilarated. He waves to the crowd as a circle of pipes is raised from a stage in the center of the ring. Pyre sets himself in the middle and lifts his hand. Liquid sprays from the pipes and for those who are close enough, they will likely recognize the scent of gasoline.

"I will be reborn and rise as the phoenix!" Pyre declares before striking a match. His whole body catches immediately in flames and there are horrified gasps and screams from the crowd. Those who might try to interfere are asked to hold on, hold on, just wait by employees. There's nothing to do for young Pyre, anyway. The flames burn rapidly until he collapses on the stage. Fenix makes the first subtle movement he has ever made for anyone who has watched his other performances. A small snap of his fingers, half-covered by one hand. The fire snuffs itself out immediately.

"Now, ladies and gentlemen, I know that seems frightening, but just watch," Fenix calls. "Like a phoenix, we rise!" As he says this, Pyre picks himself up. His clothes hang in a charred mess about his form, but his flesh… it seems to have knit itself back together. He is whole, and proceeds to give the audience a double-thumbs up. Relieved guests erupt in applause for this… very strange and rather harrowing final act.

After each performance for the night, the main acts and Fenix are available to take photos, sign autographs, and generally schmooze with the public for a little while. They each have a small tent so that you can have a moment of privacy with your favorite act, if you'd like. If anyone is looking for answers, particularly, these are the top of the hierarchy and might prove the most fruitful to speak to. They're also the only people in the circus that seem to have supernatural energy about them, for those who might have such senses to notice that.

➥ Mod Notes

• GENERAL - Players are welcome to play NPCs for themselves when they are needed in a thread. If you need more information on general behavior for these types of NPCs, please feel free to ask! In general, the information provided in the prompt should be sufficient and you're welcome to make up any details beyond that for your specific scene. For this event, the only NPCs that should not be controlled by players for threading are: Fenix Down and the Main Acts in The Ringmaster prompt. These NPCs will be played by mods and available for interaction.
  
  
• BY THE PRICKING OF MY THUMB (25-26 August) - Characters may accept fliers to put up a maximum of three times (that's $300). Not everyone will feel the compulsion to put up the fliers, but if you need incentive for your character to take action, they can do so. The fliers are ordinary adverts with dates, hours, location, and pricing for the circus. Characters can wander around some of the set-up for the circus, but they'll be shooed away if they linger too long with a request to leave for their safety. Circus personnel doing the set-up are not interested in talking. They'll ignore characters or threaten to call the police for harassment if characters persist in bothering them while they're trying to set things up. Those who attempt to mind-control the workers or otherwise compel them for information will quickly discover that these are genuinely just ordinary people who are doing all the set-up. And they would really like to do their job because they do not have enough time.
  
  
• SOMETHING WICKED THIS WAY COMES (25-27 August) - Players are free to OOCly select their ADI-assigned partner. Those who misbehaved during the Sticky Wicket prompt (and there was evidence of that misbehavior) will find themselves saddled with a mentor, either as their partner or in addition to their partner. This mentor (if they're a PC) should be someone who DID behave in that prompt or who has not made themselves a problem for ADI up to this point. Partners are not required to stick together or with their mentors for the duration of the event. This is just an opportunity to get some new CR (or strengthen existing CR)! And maybe butt heads while you slip away from each other while investigating. Mentors will be expected to be somewhat responsible for their charges, though, if you would like to play with that dynamic.
  
  
• SEND IN THE CLOWNS (26 August - 2 September) - Regular employees and sideshow acts have no particular information to provide about anything sinister going on at the circus. As far as they know, the work is grueling sometimes given the quick set-up/break-down and schedule, but they're paid very well and even have benefits! They're pretty protective of their employer, as a result, and aren't going to willingly trash-talk him or the circus beyond some standard grumbling about the extra work going into this as Gloucester wasn't originally on their tour schedule.
  
  
• LOST & FOUND (26 August - 2 September) - Employees will be generally helpful in these situations, using walkie-talkies to try to find missing children. They won't be fast, though. Parents will be uniformly distressed, then grateful to anyone who might assist in locating their children. Children will be wholly unharmed, wherever they are found, but frightened, confused and disoriented. Characters who end up as 'winners' in the Fun House will need several minutes to get their bearings back after following their hallucinations. If they try to return to the Fun House, they won't seem to be able to find the center of the maze anymore, and the mirror maze will appear to be wholly ordinary and the correct size for the space it's in.
  
  
• THE RINGMASTER (26 August - 2 September) - Characters who would leap in to assist Pyre will be waylaid by staff just long enough for him to stir and complete his act to show that he is, indeed, alive and seemingly fine. Those who still try to interrupt will be escorted out by security. Characters will have the chance to speak to Fenix, Penny, Roderick, and Pyre during this prompt. The first four will be available for the full week the circus is in town. Pyre will be available the final night. Characters may interrogate one NPC each. Each NPC will have different information they may be able to provide.

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Comments

[bloodalwaystells]

He nods quietly. Jaeger wouldn't have gone in by his own choice, either, and had thought several times about leaving. "I don't like mirrors at the best of times, but there was a mother looking for her son. The boy turned up later in a maintenance shed, confused but unhurt."

He steers them toward the stand and takes out his wallet, glancing at Kate to see if she wants water or something else before he pays for their drinks. With the crowd around them, he lets the conversation fade for a minute, until they're situated with their drinks and walking away from any potential eavesdroppers.

"I remember that there was one single standing mirror in a room at the end of the maze. I found that strange. Then I left through one last door, and things got strange after that."

He falls quiet again, because he doesn't particularly want to go into how strange...or dangerous...they got.

"Later, I ran into another young man who thought he was following someone who wasn't there. He came to, eventually, but he was very distressed when he ran into me."

[bossyboiler]

Water is fine with her. She feels as though it is the safest option. If there is any tampering, they should be able to taste it... Right? Kate accepts the water with a small thank you.

There is a reason that Kate had made a funny face at the mention of the Funhouse. She is a little ashamed of how she acted. Andrew doesn't have to speak. Kate volunteers her own experience of what happened to her. "I didn't make it that far. I collided with someone's jacket, scared myself stupid, and then ran out the entrance." They had tried to make her go all the way through but she had none of it. For a moment there, she hadn't cared about how things looked.

"Did you see anything in the mirror?" A simple yes or no is what Kate is after. Something that acts as a catalyst for what had followed. "Do you think it had anything to do with his distress?"

[bloodalwaystells]

Two waters it is, then. Jaeger pays and hands over the cold bottle to Kate, before they continue on their way.

He listens to her speak for a bit, a flash of sympathy crossing his face as she talks about being scared out of the funhouse. He's a 40-year-old man and he's scared of mirrors, too, so he's absolutely not going to throw stones.

"I didn't see anything in the mirror, no." Simple answer, honest and straightforward. "And I didn't have a chance to investigate it the way I normally would. For anything unusual or arcane."

He's not happy about that: if it had occurred to him, he would have looked. Maybe not with his magical senses, but he at least could have checked for runes, marks, anything that stood out as sinister.

He adds after a moment of thought, "Magic in my world is generally hidden but very dangerous. So I'm used to looking for such things."

[bossyboiler]

"Thank you," Kate accepts the bottle of water and opens it. The bottle opens with a pop and a hiss to signal that it's a fresh. However, that hissing noise lasts a little too long for Kate's comfort. The carnival is still fucking with her.

"Arcane?" She is used to people having an Ability or two. But those powers are rooted in genetics. They are born with them. There is nothing magical about it. "There's no magic in my world." She admits something that she'd rather not. So far, only one person knows that she has any special gifts. "However... I do have an Ability." She swallows and reaches up to touch the base of her throat with her free hand. Kate is nervous about admitting it. She knows that her two roommates don't possess any Abilities or powers. "Everyone has at least one where I'm from."

She feels a whole range of emotions. She's a little fearful of admitting it to Andrew. People don't have Abilities here. There is a bit of relief in admitting it to someone, however. It is of her own choosing that someone else knows. And maybe he knows what that's like, in keeping secrets, since he just admitted that he had to keep his power secret in his world.

[bloodalwaystells]

The water is welcome, and Jaeger eyes his for a second as well, before tipping the bottle back and taking a long drink. It's funny how the simple things can be so grounding. And it washes the lingering taste of gasoline fumes from his mouth, which he's glad to be rid of.

He looks over at her with a small nod as he re-caps the bottle. "A few people are born with magical ability where I'm from. It often runs in families. A few others are able to gain powers through various ways, but that's far more dangerous." Something he won't go into, because that's a simple enough explanation for now.

And he doesn't blink when she admits to having an ability, simply watches her for a second for further details. It's completely up to her how much she wants to share, but he's listening.

Because what she's saying about her world is an interesting comparison. "Everyone has an ability? I imagine that makes for quite a different world."

[bossyboiler]

The concept of magic is almost mind-boggling to Kate. As she said, there is none in her world. There are legends, of course but most people chalk it up to it being a misunderstood or an early developed Ability.

"Everyone. It's public too. We don't have to hide." There's no hiding from the registrar and having your abilities catalogued. "It must be difficult having to conceal what you can do." She assumes that he has to hide it in his world like she has to hide her ability here. However, it wouldn't be the first time she's made an ass of herself with the wrong assumption.

Kate repeats and then nods her head. "It is." She looks up at the sky, her eyes focused on the space next to the moon. "For starters, there's only one moon here." The sky isn't completely foreign to her. The constellations are the same. However, the lack of Theia in the night time sky is discomforting. "On the plus side, it's easier to go to the beach here." Not Coffin Beach, of course. That place is dangerous possibly even evil. "I went to Good Harbor Beach. People didn't seem concerned about the tides coming in and out. It was nice."

That is just one of the differences between Kate's world and this one. There are so many more.

[bloodalwaystells]

The idea of magic being open to the world is sort of terrifying, to Jaeger, and yet, on the other hand? A lot of the damage that magic has done to the world has been because it thrives in secret. In the hands of a certain kind of elite, those that mainly use it to further their own power both mundane and otherwise.

It sends a small chill down his spine, makes the scar around his neck feel cold and tight.

"It's very difficult at times, and there are a lot of those that use it for their own benefit. Just like any power, really." He cocks his head, following her gaze to the sky before he continues. "It tends to run in families, and those families tend to be very, very good at keeping secrets. Because it benefits them to have that edge."

He shakes his head, because he's not going to go into that mess right now. They have enough on their hands without dragging his broken world and past into it, too.

"I haven't been to the beach in a long time, I suppose I'll have to start since it's right there." He's not sure how he feels about that, yet. At times, the ocean feels intimidatingly vast and endless, a void entirely too easy to get lost in. Other times, it's just water and sand, and he can laugh at himself for feeling so overwhelmed.

[bossyboiler]

"How does it work? Do you just say a few words and presto-changeo you get what you want? Is that a silly thing to ask?" She knows how her Abilities work. She knows how other people's Abilities work as that had been part of her job.

"Keeping secrets from the general public has to be a multiversal constant, like death and taxes." Kate smiles a little but it's a nervous one. She knows something about keeping secrets from the general populace. Her whole entire career is based on secrets. Kate is not going to go into it either as she would give almost anything not to know herself.

"You should before it gets too cold." Autumn is not to far away. "I mean, if you want to.

[bloodalwaystells]

"It's a bit more complicated than that. Words and gestures can be used as a sort of focusing tool, but most of us simply cast by force of will." He cocks his head, then concedes, "It's an inborn ability that not everyone has, though, and different people may have different strengths. Elemental magic, empathy or psychometry, divination...but you need to have been born with the basic innate ability to learn them properly. I inherited my magic from my father's side of the family, and started training very young to control it."

Their worlds probably have that much in common, at least: It's in the blood.

"There are ways to use magic if you aren't gifted with it, but they become very dangerous very quickly. It often involves making pacts with things like the Powers they've described to us here, forces outside our plane that are looking for footholds and influence."

He gives a small nod, then, finding the beach at least a somewhat lighter topic. "I've been looking for places to spend time to clear my head. And getting to know the local area is important, if we're going to be staying here a while."

[bossyboiler]

Kate nods her head. She understands about using one's hands in order to facilitate the use of powers. "I use my hands to create force fields. I don't need to but I find that it helps me imagine them. I can be more creative. I would show you but I don't want to drain my reserves." She has fed her Entity.

"But in your world it's a choice to make that pact, right?" She had been presented with choices but it hadn't felt like much of one to her. Maybe she is the only one who feels this way. Maybe she's prone to corruption already. She doesn't know but she has spoken to a few who don't feel that way so maybe it is her?

"Good Harbor Beach is a good place to go. They have a nice boardwalk you can walk on if you're don't want to go in the water. Um. There's a cute little coffeeshop in town called Any Beans Necessary. It's within walking distance of ADI."

[bloodalwaystells]

"I understand completely. To be honest, I shouldn't have used my abilities at the circus, but I wanted to know and habits die hard. I'm trying to be better about it."

Also, the charge that he gained from scaring Meredith wasn't a big one, no matter how thoroughly he'd terrorized her for those few minutes. One or two small uses of his powers, if he had to guess. He'd much rather save that bit of stored energy for a true emergency.

He breathes out slowly as he debates how to answer that. He wants to be honest with her, especially given the parallels here, but it's not especially reassuring. Oh well. In the end, he decides to say it anyway. "It's a choice, but it's easy to be lured in by the promise of more power. Whether it's just reckless foolishness, or grim necessity. That's what makes it so dangerous...some people start out meaning well, thinking they can control it. Then find themselves in far deeper than they ever intended, and with no good way out."

The voice of experience, maybe.

He'd much rather talk about coffee.

"I'll definitely have to go sometime, then. Coffee and an evening on the boardwalk sounds like a good way to pass some time, and think about things with a change of scenery."

[bossyboiler]

What had she felt when she had fed the Eye? Pressure. She had tried to ignore it for as long as she could but it wouldn't go away no matter how long she tried to distract herself. So, she had done it. She found her victim, put thought into it and caused great fear on the part of her victim but great amusement to the people watching.

"Neither should I have," she replies. Kate had also been caught doing it which forced her to feel guilt about it. Malcolm Bright didn't understand. She had it in control. (Lies.) She isn't going to hurt anyone else. It had been something to take the edge of and now that her head is clear, she can go about her business.

Kate is not a danger to society but she could be.

Coffee, on the other hand, is a much easier and safer subject matter for their conversation. "My usual is a medium vanilla latte. It's hard to mess those up. I also like their cinnamon scones." She has a realization. "I guess you could say that I'm fairly basic... when it comes to coffee." She adds quickly. "What about you?"

[bloodalwaystells]

Jaeger could argue he hadn't been in his right mind when he'd stalked and terrorized Meredith. It was even the truth, that he hadn't made a conscious decision to Hunt her until he thought she was Brighter Dawn. Until the mirror had messed with his mind.

But he had, and he had to deal with that. He'd enjoyed it, some twisted part of him, having that power over her. If she hadn't hit him and snapped him out of it, things could have gone far more badly and he was glad that she fought back.

It was a side of himself he didn't like much, one that had come to life long before he'd been here. Twisting a sense of purpose with terror is probably not the healthiest way to deal with trauma and Jaeger knew it.

"Some things don't belong in this world," he says gently, after a moment. "The fact that they have so much influence here already is disturbing, but that's how they gain more. By those little slips and temptations." He takes a deep breath, and lets it out slowly. "It's particularly difficult when our abilities are part of us, but...I've felt that Other presence. It's definitely there and nothing good."

Something different for each of them, something that played to their strengths and weaknesses in a wickedly insidious way.

"There's nothing wrong with appreciating the simple things." He actually gives a small chuckle at that. "Most people don't let me make coffee, because I tend to take it very strong. Black with one sugar. But I won't begrudge anyone their lattes."