MAY 17TH, TUESDAY, 2015

 

(It should be noted that any report actually given by Ava in regards to the events of the previous two days, no matter who it is for, will consist entirely of a crude drawing of what appears to be the Duke, getting hit with a flaming meteor, and knocked through a wall with the blocky words under it “TALK SHIT GET HIT”)

 

The session starts with Mi-Ok is still in rehab, Solomon having a new case which is keeping him busy, and Meridian once again occupied by both art and party planning. Maybe both at the same time. This leaves the team being Rowan, Ava, Persephone, and Jacob once more. 

 

Rowan is awake working on fixing what Meridian did to their filing system - Liz had spent the night but went home just before sunrise thanks to the shortcut through the Hollow. Persephone had a less good night, what with the bad fight with Dmitri or not a fight where regardless he followed her dad out instead of comforting her like whoa buddy. 

 

He’s in the doghouse. (/rimshot)

 

So she spent most of the night looking for Korey who made a run for it. Persephone is understandably worried as there is a serial killer on the loose still (thanks Clarence). She’s able to get a read on what Korey is seeing thanks to using her mind meldy stuff and sees a lot of brown grass, scrub lands, etc. so the party guesses perhaps she’s in eastern Washington as there’s also an ‘east’ feeling to it.

 

After some back and forth we decide to err on the side of caution for going after her because we don’t know if she left willingly or was taken. Rowan calls Buck to ask about information on Spokane and we go to meet Buck downtown after Persephone helpfully gives Orpheus a “do not kill” list. Persephone wakes Ava up on the way over and Ava requests two lengths of silver string from Opener of Ways without telling him why, citing “surprise”.

 

Buck ends up meeting the team at a Bar/Club called “Juno”, and he’s got a goblin-looking person with him who is not a goblin whom Buck introduces as “Jeff”. Jeff seems at least marginally more socially aware than Buck and corrects Buck when he greeted the team as “Ladies,” Jeff is part of Buck’s entourage on the diplomatic mission to Seattle. Jeff comes with us as our guide into the Hedge which we enter through Pike Place. The path is clear and Jeff acts as our guide. Something new is the smell of something like burning rubber - it’s stronger now, and there’s a sound of a chainsaw and farther off the path a tree falls. 

 

That’s about when the party remembers that Angel from homeland security whose body we dumped into the hedge.

 

Oops. 

 

This is fine.

 

There’s the decision made to deal with Korey first, though someone deffo needs to deal with this. Korey isn’t in Spokane so we head east again to Wall, South Dakota. That way we can see if we overshot or not and possibly meet her on the way back. Having never been to Wall, South Dakota, Ava is fascinated with the animatronic dinosaur and takes a bunch of pictures like a tourist along with Persephone. The party checks into the Super 8 there so Persephone can nap and try to get a bead on where Korey is. While Korey is doing that, Ava also tries to see if she can dredge up any more memories of the Last Indigo Scholar. 

 

She remembers walking through the darkness of Leo’s domain and being surprised to see him as Leo had said they were alone. She found him locked up and while he was friendly he was also distinctly creepy, trying to convince Ava to let him out and offering to help her get out as well. 

 

Zerxes tries to make contact with Persephone via phone to no avail a few more times. 

 

Persephone has a dream where she hears the baying of hounds behind her, running through a dark hallway before breaking out into open light and ending up on the edge of the highway where she sticks her thumb out and gets a semi truck to pick her up. Persephone takes note that the cab has “KEEP ON TRUCKIN’” airbrushed onto it along with a silhouette of a girl riding a semi with a cowboy hat and a lasso. Classy.

 

With that information Rowan manages to find the truck owner on facebook and they make a fake profile to catfish the guy to make sure he stops in Wall. 

 

When the truck driver eventually shows he does have Korey with him. She goes into the convenience store there so Persephone gets a quick disguise and follows after. In talking to Korey, Persephone finds out that Korey did indeed leave willingly and that she wants to find her own life instead of just living out Persephone’s. 

 

Ultimately Persephone accepts this after making sure it’s really what Korey wants and asks only that she keep in touch so Persephone knows she’s alive and well, and makes arrangements for Opener of Ways to take Korey to Athens so she doesn’t have to hitchhike with vaguely sketchy guys.

 

After they boop out of there, Persephone notices a G-man looking guy with a dark sedan and tinted windows and a shadow that doesn’t match his body - his shadow looks like a gray. She tries to make conversation with him to feel out what he’s there for and he’s just creepy but at least it’s not in a pedophile kind of way.

 

Jacob, after some moment of thought and concentration, recognizes the man as the one who took him to Arcadia initially. 

 

The man went inside the convenience store behind a family with a small child. Aaaaand a few moments later, a mom comes out yelling for “Billy”...

 

Well, looks like we’re going to the Hedge. 

 

We get two backpacks with kiddy leashes on them. Jacob has one, and we have the other in hopes we find Billy. 

 

The opening to the hedge is still open, there’s snow and lights on the other side, brambles and thistles and all that. Rowan manages to grapple the G-man and hold him, he lets go of Billy so Seph grabs him as well as holding on to Jacob to haul them both back and out of the Hedge. Ava takes a shot at the Gray with her gun as he goes more elongated and creepy. 

 

Persephone gets Billy and Jacob out of the shop. The car looks at her, opening a mouth with icicle teeth. Disney’s Cars this is not.

 

Billy’s mom shows up and takes him, and gets pissy when Persephone tries to give her the kiddy leash in order to keep a better eye on her kid.

 

The car lunges and Persephone, who runs back inside with Jacob just in time for the arrival of someone else asking “What all is this? Opener of Ways, this isn’t your concern.” as that was about when tiny deer booped back in.

 

Ava says “We were just leaving.” 

 

The new person is a lieutenant of Jacob’s former keeper and asks if Jacob is ready to come home, says that his ‘mother’ misses him. 

 

Rowan says most children didn’t need to be raised for 70+ years, that she if anything stunted him. The Lieutenant says that Jacob was so good at what he did and the Queen wanted to see him again. 

 

Ava says “Bye bitch.” 

 

Boop boop, we were out of the hedge and back in the storage room, then back in the vet clinic. 

 

Opener of Ways explained that he was sorry it took so long, he was making sure Korey found a hostel. He gets pets from Persephone and Ava.

 

Jacob gets a box of otter pops and hides out in the Hollow, Rowan takes a shower then otter pops with Jacob. 

 

Persephone calls her mom and makes birthday plans. Her mom says her dad called, that he checked in on her often even if he asked that she never tell Persephone about checking in. 

 

Meanwhile, she also gets a text from Dmitri asking ‘Can we talk?’ she replied ‘Maybe,’ He says that he understands why she’s angry and he’d like to talk if she’d be willing to, but he understands if she also doesn’t want to. 

 

She agrees to meet with him later that night someplace that is not the houseboat, the vet clinic, etc. They decide to meet in the library/study at Meridian’s place while he’s on the phone yelling about plans. 

 

Seeing as Diego’s fetch is still missing, Ava calls his cell phone. She gets someone who is obviously not him, so she asks who the hell he is. He asks who she is. She says she’s looking for Diego, he says wow, him too. She asks again who he is and finds out that he’s the Duke of Windswept Blossoms. Ava snaps the phone shut in anger. 

 

They all watch cartoons. 

 

Seph goes over to Meridian’s to wait for Dmitri. Diego, the real one, is rummaging through Meridian’s fridge. 

 

There’s a knock on the door. Persephone answers it and punches Dmitri in the stomach. He oofs, and nods, accepting. 

 

Dmitri explains what he’s been doing, that he’s got two conflicting oaths and he’s doing his best to uphold them both. Persephone starts crying so Dmitri hugs her and Persephone starts sobbing about everything that’s been going on including how much she hates her dad. 

 

She talks with him a bit about the whole ‘cure’ thing, how she doesn’t want it, and Dmitri is on her side so that’s what matters to her. Apparently the mage Jessica is behind the whole thing? Or is the one Zerxes is dealing with about it. 

 

When she gets back, Ava asks if Persephone worked it out with her man. Persephone says ‘yeah’, Orpheus droops a bit. Ava says to Orpheus “What did you expect was gonna happen, man?”

 

We watch more cartoons. Liz asks Rowan if she wants to come with to this social vampire thing they’ve got going. A DATE. THEY GONNA GO ON A DAAAAATE!!!!

 

Rowan asks if she’s got to wear anything formal or special, Liz says nice but not over the top or anything. It’s a left coast get together for vampires from Vancouver to Cali really, and it’s Seattle’s turn to host. 

 

Liz met Rowan’s family, now it’s Rowan’s turn to meet Liz’s.

 

 

MAY 18TH. WEDNESDAY 2015

 

Jacob has watched Steven Universe like 20 more times. He hasn’t slept. That boy ain’t right. 

 

Persephone has checked in with Korey and gotten a picture of the parthenon. 

 

We realize we still left the tire fire and the chainsaw thing going, so maybe we should deal with this. Okay. Okay, guess it’s time to rock and roll. This is going to be dangerous, and Ava has finished her surprise she was working on.

 

So Ava tells the opener of ways that whenever Leo has a free moment that she needs to see him. 

 

Opener of Ways boops out then comes back and says he’s free whenever. 

 

They meet back up at the same waypoint goblin pub they did before. Ava goes upstairs and meets Leo there. They greet each other, she tells him to hold his hand out, and then she ties the friendship bracelet she made on his wrist. The silver thread, red for her favorite color, and black and purple for Leo. He’s positively befuddled by it when she says he can open his eyes and she holds out her hand to show she made one for herself too, so they match. And that since he gave her so many things to remember him by, if something awful happens, now he has something to remember her by. 

 

He pulls her into a tight hug, and she hugs back instantly. TWO SEASONS, THIS IS THE FIRST TIME THEY’VE TOUCHED ON SCREEN. 

 

BASH CUT TO THE CLINIC WHERE THERE’S SOMETHING SOLID HITTING THE DOOR THEN A SOFT KNOCK. 

 

There’s a body leaned against the door and a bloody handprint on it. They open the door, it’s Diego’s Fetch. He’s clearly been tortured, a lot of small cuts all over his body that have obviously been irritated as well as a large strip of skin flayed off his body. 

 

Through their powers combined, Jacob and Rowan treat him, get him stable, though they can’t tell much more other than ‘that sure is torture alright’. 

 

BACK IN THE GOBLIN TAVERN, Ava steps back and says that she did tell her friends she would be back soon, so. She just wanted to give him that. 

 

He picks up Opener of Ways and shares a meaningful stare for a moment before setting him down. Ava asks each of them if everything is okay and they both say yes, and so Ava laughs and says “Okay. See you around, Creepy.” 

 

Back at the clinic, when Ava returns Persephone tells her that Diego’s fetch is there. Ava freaks out, sits with him and holds his hand while he’s passed out. Real Diego shows up then, looking a little guilty. Rowan sends Ava out to talk to him and Ava asks Diego if he had something to do with this. Diego’s like “God, no.” but still looks guilty. It comes out that he has a boyfriend he was trying to keep on the down low about. 

 

Ava asks if he slept with Meridian and gets an “Oh god no,” much to her relief. Then asks if it was Benji, which also thankfully gets a ‘No’ as that’s a whole can of worms.

 

So Ava interrogates him like the annoying little sister she is asking for his name (Greg) and if he has a picture (Selfie, they’re shirtless and kissing, Ava insists they’ve been playing checkers.) 

 

Diego gets another call while they’re talking and it shows it’s Greg. Ava tells Diego to answer. He does, it goes quiet. It wasn’t Greg, but the Duke. 

 

Time to transform and roll out! 

 

Diego goes into the hollow and gets a big ass duffel bag that he explains as ‘in case of emergency, break glass’. It’s got a giant ass iron sword inside along with a lot of glass jars with herbs.

 

Ava calls Benji on the way to explain the situation, specifically that Fetch Diego (you know, his husband) has been found and that Team Hold My Beer is about to go kick the ass of the one responsible. 

 

They go to Greg’s apartment and find the Duke there, sitting with his foot on Greg who is bound on the floor. We banter back and forth and when the Duke admits he was the one who fucked up Fetch Diego, Ava shoots him in the shoulder and Rowan lunges. The Duke throws a lamp and it knocks the bigass iron sword out of Diego’s hand and across the hall as he’s too busy being traumatized to enter the fray.

 

Jacob grabs for Greg and pulls him away from the Duke, while Ava starts getting an impending sense of doom. Ava grabs a glass jar and throws it at the duke and while she doesn’t hit him it lets out an area of effect gas and he starts getting all twisted and weird and Do Not Want. 

 

We decide about then that discretion is the better part of valor. 

 

As we pull back the Duke tries to reach for us again. Opener of Ways gets between us and says “NO.” in a voice that is neither his nor Leofric’s. It’s a voice Ava recognizes from her memory of the Last Indigo Scholar - that Leo had come for her when the Scholar grabbed her, the Scholar told Leo that Ava was his, that if Leo wanted back what he gave to the Scholar he needed to give back what he took from him? And Leofric said NO in the same voice. 

 

And then the Duke gets hit by a giant fireball and knocked through a wall. 

 

Okay. 

 

Boop!

 

We’re back at the clinic, Ava’s phone rings, it’s Benji. The doom sense hasn’t really gone away. He’s on a helicopter! He asks if we’re all okay. Ava says yes - asks if that was him?? And yeah apparently they didn’t FIREBOMB the Duke - Panya just rearranged Time so that a meteor would hit at that exact moment in that exact place. 

 

Ava thanks them, profusely, telling Benji that this is literally the coolest thing she’s ever seen. 

 

Rowan takes Greg to the clinic room 1 while Fetch Diego is in Clinic Room 2. 

 

Ava goes in to check on Diego and Greg while doing the rounds. Diego reluctantly admits to Greg that this is his sister, who is nosey. Ava holds her hand out quickly and cheerfully introduces herself. Greg is nice, says Diego talked about her a lot. Ava said she didn’t hear about Greg until today  - but that usually means he likes someone. Greg says he won’t hold it against Diego. 

 

Ava likes Greg.