Game Thread: Werewolf- this time it's real!

[Shastanis Althreduin]

"Trust me, Boro, had I meant to hit you, I would have. This is, of course, assuming that I was actually the one that shot at you, which I am not nor will I be admitting to," Shasta said loftily.

[Nogrod]

Nogrod and Greenie entered the pub. Nogrod seemed relieved but a bit annoyed as well - both to Greenie and to himself.

"Now you could have at least sent me an sms or something, right? I was really worried..." he complained.

"But those musicians were such a cool bunch I totally lost my sense of time..."

"Not only the sense of time but also that of direction..." Nogrod put in sarcastically.

"You could have texted me as easily" Greenie snapped back.

"Okay, okay... sorry about that" Nogrod admitted. "Well here we are anyway, all's well that ends well."

"Aren't we only just beginning Nogs?" Greenie grinned.

"Bah..." Nogrod frowned and then smiled, "Let's go meet some people."

[Lariren Shadow]

To Nienna: "As I stated before, the links were all Mira. And Fea started the references and I was just commenting. Plus now I just texted Alonariel to remind her where we are. She probably will have something to say about all this."

Lari looked around and saw Nog and Greenie walk in. She didn't know how to approach them (really the coffee had yet to kick in) but she waved from her corner. She wondered if anyone was staying in England till the 23rd and would be willing to go to the Henry VIII exhibit with her. She assumed that there was a probability that Fea, Nienna, and Mira would all just tune her out if she started talking about it.

[Nogrod]

Nogrod saw Lari wave at them and turned to Greenie only to realise she had already gone off.

So he went to meet Lari by himself.

"Hi there! You must be Lari, the shadowy-one? Nogrod at your service." Nogrod bowed low and went on. "It's nice to see you in person indeed - and I do hope that reverse psychology stuff was only something dictated by Sally the last time". He gave a broad smile and sat down to the chair next to Lari.

"So how are you westerners finding our decadent Europe?"

[Kuruharan]

"But the arrow says 'To Shasta with love' on it," observed Kuru. "Either somebody has really bad aim or somebody got the arrow as a present."

[Feanor of the Peredhil]

"You gave me an Edward Cullen Fantasy Coloring Book, Nienna?!" cried Fea loudly (making it up as she went). She looked down at what was in reality a bunch of Disney villains and picked a handsome shot of Scar on a cliff, pulling out a few earth tones to get started on the rock. "But how shall I color him properly without glitter!?"

Nienna kicked Fea under the table and Fea smiled her thanks for the distraction. She'd traded her gimlet for tea a while ago: tea cups are more functional in shaky hands than martini glasses.

She'd always suspected that martini glasses were status symbols, not because only sophisticates wander around with them, and not because a decent drink in one costs more than the cheap swill most girls her age would consume, but because it is absolutely impossible to hide nerves or shaky hands when you're holding something that attempts, she was certain, to spill itself.

They didn't reveal social status - which was bunk anyway - but they revealed, quite effectively, the comfort level of a person in any given social situation. Martini glasses were an effective measure of confidence or bravado.

Like I said, Fea had switched to tea. Earl grey. (Hot.)

With a crayon in hand, she felt she had a nice solid purpose for being there. Right now, she was coloring Agan a Scar that would surely be better than the one she once sketched for her in the middle of the night and mailed to her. The cost of postage, she'd learned, really wasn't bad at all.

She scumbled in some shadows under Scar's mighty paws, and gave him a loose, effortless sunsetty sky of a background, and tore out the page, folding it neatly into thirds, and wrote "Agan" on it.

Borrowing a piece of blank paper from Nienna, Fea began to sketch Boromir holding an arrow. She thought it seemed delightfully apropos.

Inspired, she flipped the sheet of paper over and wrote in spiky 3D-ish letters, "I wouldn't have missed, dear."

She taped it to the edge of the table, pointed toward Boro, and, with a quiet smirk, returned to Disney.

Ursula? Jafar? Hades? Hm...

[Aganzir]

The DVD ends with Whither Thou Goest as the last of the many encores. Agan sighs deep. "He's coming to Europe again in the summer. I'm interrailing then and I'd really like to see him again. In Lisbon the best seats are cheaper than my seat (which was one of the worst) at his Helsinki gig. I only need to convince my friends first," she says to Shasta, ignorant of the fuss he has caused.

Originally Posted by Kuruharan

“Aganzir you are evil. Did I mention that I am running a pool?”

"Everybody keeps saying that and I can't for the life in me see why!"

The phantom's mobile beeps and he reads Form's message aloud. Aganzir feels compelled to react even before she hears there's something about her, too.

Originally Posted by Formendacil

A good friend of mine just died, so I'll be a bit longer than I thought--don't worry, He said He'll be back.

"Aww I'm sorry to hear that. If you reply, send him virtual hugs."

Originally Posted by Form

And tell Agan that she's not my Esmeralda--though I might be short a Cinderella yet.

"Ah we shall see... In the end he will probably at least want to burn me."

Suddenly Aganzir grasps what has happened between Shasta and Boro. She wrinkles her brow. "Give the crossbow to me, Shasta," she says in a commanding voice, with a hint of annoyance to help cover the slightly self-conscious tone. Then she realises what she's doing. These people are Downers, not my little brothers, she tells herself. Stop trying to control everything. If Lommy had been there, she would have laughed at Agan and called her a dictator.
Slowly, she lets the muscles around her eyes relax. "Well, at least you guys help me feel at home here." She eyes Shasta and Kuru.

Her irritation is quickly forgotten when Greenie enters with Nog. She rushes to hug her. "Hello bunny! Where have you been? See, everyone's here! There's Fea, and Brinn and Nerwen are somewhere, too. And there's also your dear phantom!" She grins at Greenie's expression and starts walking her through the tables. If she was social earlier, she's even more so now that someone she actually knows well has arrived. She has a bit of a showman streak in her, and as long as there are people who know others worse than she, she has no problem with big parties.

On their way to find Brinn, Agan happens to glance at the papers on Fea's table. "Already preparing for the werewolf game so we can draw our names from a hat or something?" she asks, realising the moment the words leave her mouth that it doesn't make sense. If they were to distribute the roles randomly, they would draw a role from the hat, not their own names.
"No- it's for you," Fea replies, "it's better than the sketch I sent you." She watches Agan fold it open and smile. "Thanks, it's awesome! And don't worry, I liked the sketch, too. I really appreciate it that people bother to draw something for me, usually it's vice versa." Agan looks thoughtful for a while and continues, "I promised to mail something to you, too, and I was planning to take them with me now but I forgot. Ah well I suppose I still have your address, it's written on a piece of paper that is supposed to be on my desk... Only there's a big pile of stuff on it. And the sketch I talked to you about - you remember, the one that dates back to Nog's werewolf? In quality it isn't even close to those you have given me, it was made in two minutes. I'll try to find something a bit better to accompany it, otherwise I'll get a bad conscience."

[Feanor of the Peredhil]

"Aww," Fea smiled, "You really don't have to draw me things."

She said it to be polite. She meant it, of course, but she was trying to find a way to modulate her voice so that Agan knew that while Fea really truly didn't expect anything, she would, in fact, be delighted if she got something anyway.

"And I'm sure I'll love your sketches no matter how good or bad you think they are. Nienna," Fea added, "did you know that Agan draws?"

[Nerwen]

"An Edward Cullen Fantasy Colouring book!" Nerwen gasped, forgetting that she was trying not to attract the attention of the crossbow-wielding maniac. "Surely such horror cannot be allowed to exist– and it doesn't," she added, seeing that Fea was actually applying her crayons to a series of Disney pictures. "What's wrong with Disney?"

She did not quite catch Fea's mumbled reply. Indeed, Fea
seemed oddly reluctant to take up her end of the conversation– almost as if she were shy, which was hardly something Nerwen had expected of her– any more than she had expected her to order tea, of all things. Was Fea's extroverted online personality merely a front? Or was the strange situation making everyone act out of character?

Hearing Agan's commanding tone to Shasta, Nerwen decided on the second option.

That should be me, taking charge of things. What am I doing skulking around in the shadows, just because Shasta happens to be running amok with a crossbow? What's the matter with me?

There was only one thing to do. Drawing herself up to her full height, Nerwen ordered, "No. Give the crossbow to me, Shasta."

[Feanor of the Peredhil]

"What I said," repeated Fea, "was that there's nothing at all wrong with Disney, unless they decide to animate Twilight. And they all live happily ever after," she groaned.

"But, since the topic has changed," Fea looked around amusedly, "I rather think that if we're voting on who gets to babysit the crossbow, it should probably be Nienna. Unless she's a were-librarian."

Fea stuck her tongue out and grinned, sipping her tea, enjoying the mellow flavor of the bergamont.

I wonder where the phantom is, she thought. It's like he ran off right after I walked away from him.

Fea stood up, stretching, and rubbed her sore shoulder. Too many nights of not enough sleep, and her body was telling her that it's not as durable as it was when she was a child. For all that she was a fetus compared to some of her companions (she smiled internally), she was older than several others, and had put her body through more than it deserved. A bit stiff, she palmed the note she'd just written, tape-side out, and walked over to Mira and Lari's table, eying Mira's Dr. Pepper and Lari's Pepsi.

"How's it going?" she asked Stick, casually transferring the note to her friend's back. "Have you guys found Alonariel yet?"

Upon their sleepy head shakes - Fea knew they were recovering from finals - she moved off to greet Shasta, who she'd seen, but not said hello to yet."

She resisted the urge to make sure the note hadn't fallen off of Stick. She doubted it would... she'd applied it with great skill.

I Love Edward, it said, in bubble letters, with hearts.

She'd be modfired for sure.

She snickered to herself, as she got between people and the community crossbow.

"Try not to shoot me, y'all, or I'll be very, very unhappy."

[Aganzir]

Originally Posted by Feanor of the Peredhil

"Aww," Fea smiled, "You really don't have to draw me things."

"I've drawn way too little lately, anyway, I haven't had time. It seems I need a reason if I really want to get something finished. I could try to send them in a week or so." Agan always worked better if she had a deadline. She made a mental note to send a christmas card to Kath at the same time. It was a bit late already.

"And I'm sure I'll love your sketches no matter how good or bad you think they are. Nienna," Fea added, "did you know that Agan draws?"

"Oh now you're making it sound as if it was something big. Well, I am quite fond of drawing and art in general, but I'm still quite an amateur."

Originally Posted by Nerwen

"An Edward Cullen Fantasy Colouring book!" Nerwen gasped, forgetting that she was trying not to attract the attention of the crossbow-wielding maniac. "Surely such horror cannot be allowed to exist– and it doesn't," she added, seeing that Fea was actually applying her crayons to a series of Disney pictures. "What's wrong with Disney?"

"I think the Twilight thing is a joke of theirs. I recall vaguely chatting with Fea and some others on MSN and Fea saying something about one of them and Twilight. But it might have been someone else as well." The thought of an Edward Cullen colouring book amuses Agan about as much as Nerwen's reaction. "You should be careful if you don't want anyone to get a heart attack," she says to Fea and Nienna, her grin revealing fangs that are for certain creepier than Edward Cullen's. She had been one of those kids who didn't let their parents convince them to get braces just for aesthetical reasons. Her sense of aesthetics had maybe been more twisted than it was now, but she liked her teeth nonetheless, especially the two pointy fangs.

Aganzir follows Nerwen with her eyes when she tells Shasta to give the crossbow away. On such a moment it is easy to see how Nerwen ended up choosing the screenname she has. The only thing that doesn't remind Agan of Galadriel is Nerwen's dark hair. I wouldn't like to be in Shasta's shoes, she thinks.

Her thoughts are interrupted by Nogrod's grave voice. Worried, she follows him into the next room. It reeks of male - sweat, alcohol, greasy food, slightly overheated TV. Still, she feels the need to defend Boro when Izzy complains about the smell. "He did have a pretty rough day." Besides, Agan realises, she has started to associate the smell of alcohol to Barrow-Downs meetings. It's not that she wouldn't smell it in other situations, too, it's just that it seems to fit there. It makes her feel cosy. And it is the only concrete thing that unites her memories of previous BD meetings.

Lari reads aloud the note at the end of the bed.

The first words Agan hears after that are "Oh you son of a..." cried by Nogrod in a still shocked but somewhat lighter tone. She notices she's leaning on Nienna, who entered the room together with her, and shaking. Her lower lip is bleeding. She pulls herself together and mutters an apology.

"What an earth is happening? Has anyone called an ambulance? Did someone try to kill Boro? Is he alright?" Aganzir's voice is shriller than usual.

[Feanor of the Peredhil]

Agan always worked better if she had a deadline.

"I shall expect something in my mailbox when I return to school, then. I'll be back on campus a week from Sunday." Fea grinned, knowing she wasn't giving Agan much time at all. Trans-Atlantic mail could be quite slow, if it put its mind to it.

Fea glared down at Boromir. "That's not funny."

For good measure, she kicked him, though not hard enough to hurt him.

She shivered, displeased by the temperature difference between her typical haunts and this place. She'd been cold since arriving, and it was souring her mood.

"You're like a 12 year old playing with a paper-cutter, Boro. If I hear screams, you'd better be missing an appendage. Didn't you ever read The Boy Who Cried Wolf?"

[Kuruharan]

"Are things always like this here?"

Normally its worse.

Incongruously enough, Kuruharan has suddenly become utterly engrossed with a baby ladybug he just found and is watching it crawl all over his hands, oblivious to the world.

[Boromir88]

Nogrod came out into the hall where most of the downers were gathered. "I think you all need to come take a look at this."

They all followed Nog into a room, where Boro lay passed out.

"Eww it reeks of booze in here" said Izzy.

"He did have a pretty rough day" said Agan, as she shoots a glare at Shasta.

He lay, face down, half on the bed, and his other half falling off. Nogrod and other 'Downers helped roll him back onto the bed.

"Sleeping pills!" Kuru pointed to the desk, next to the bed.

"Alcohol and sleeping pills don't tend to mix." Shasta remarked, to point out that he had nothing to do with Boro's secret habits. "Let's just go and let him sleep it off."

"I doubt he did that to himself, and I don't think he's going to be waking up." Nogrod said, bowing his head. The rest of the 'Downers let out a big gasp! Lodged in Boro's mouth and, shoved down his throat, lay four chicken wings, still with the meat on the bone.

Lari stooped down to pick up a piece of paper, lying at the end of the bed. She began to read:

We warned you about bringing sports talk into the next game. We told you the consequences, but you did not listen. Now you will die by the hands of the wings, beer, and sports that you admire so dearly.

Yours truly,

In the corner, on mute, a TV was playing the 1998 Rose Bowl, where Michigan defeated WSU 21-16. Boro had brought it on the trip to remember the last glory days of his beloved Wolverines.

Boro was dead.

[Feanor of the Peredhil]

Oh dear...

[the phantom]

Phantom elbowed several Downers out of the way and knelt beside Boro to check his pulse.

"First off, those aren't sleeping pills Kuru- they're Advil. And he's not dead, either! Why wouldn't you check?" Phantom cleared the blockage out of Boro's mouth so he wouldn't choke and whipped out his phone and called for emergency workers.

Over the general noise in the room, Phantom thought he heard Boro half hiss and half snort, as if he were holding back a laugh. Phantom leaned in close to Boro. "You wrote this note, didn't you?" Boro remained silent, but the corner of his mouth twitched slightly.

"I won't tell," whispered Phantom. "I can understand wanting to exit in grand style."

[Nogrod]

"Shut that darn telly, will you" Nogrod said in anguish staring at Boro's body. Just as he was bowing down to pick the chicken wings from Boro's mouth and to try recover him back to life the phantom came in elbowing him away and checked Boro's pulse telling he was not dead.

"Who wants to give him the mouth-to-mouth? I can do the pressing. We must at least try". Nogrod called over phantom's voice only realising there had been a hiss and a snort.

"Oh you son of a..." Nogrod exclaimed - but with a lightened heart.


(OOC: I had already quite written this with a different plot when I realised tp had already made that good...)

[Kent2010]

"This is so strange," Kent said after finding out Boromir faked his death. "Are things always like this here?"