Egg Hunt

#1

It's nighttime in the Encampment, few people are stirring on the night before Easter. The decorations are out, there are chocolate eggs and bunnies everywhere-in everyone's houses, and outside. Seemingly to make up for all the past festival disasters, this one was to be one of the biggest Anas main town had ever seen.

A bright light streaks across the cool, peaceful night sky as a shooting star skims across the atmosphere. It gets closer, and closer, then in a flash so bright it lights up the town as though it was day and with an epic boom that briefly wakes everyone up it explodes, tiny pieces flying off in all directions over the settlement. Yet, they don't do any of the buildings any harm.

In fact each piece lands scattered around the rough area of the explosion, forming a brightly coloured and lightly glowing egg on the ground.

The townspeople collectively shrug after watching the eggs for any parrallel to the chocolate spider terror before. Seeing none, most pass it off as simply someone wanting to make the best show.

The next day The Encampment wakes up and all seems to be normal. For now.

#2

Tom stretched as he started his morning. He was up late after the explosion last night, but aside from the eggs, no one was hurt. It'd be a mess to clean, but for once seemingly harmless.

That was when he heard a knock on his door. Opening it, he finds an old woman with a bewildered look on her face.

"I can't transform....I can't transform..." Was all she was muttering to herself. Tom could not get her to meet his eyes or say anything else.

"Alright ma'am, let's get you to the H&H. Maybe your family will be looking for you there."

-------------------------------------------

After 30 minutes of guiding and convincing, he and the woman he dubbed "Grandma" finally enter the town watering hole.

"Let's see if we can find your family...Perhaps they know what you mean"

#3

When they arrived at the H and H, they'd find the usual crowd of patrons there. The innkeeper, the bouncers, even a few extras due to the festival. They'd also find a man sat in Neros usual chair by the fire, minus the radiance that Nero would have had. A tall male human, with dirty blonde hair wearing a yellow suit sat there staring at his finger. There was a drop of blood on it from a cut. The man had yellow irises with normal whites and black pupils that became quite apparent when he turned to look at Tom and the 'Grandma' entering.

"Hello Tom" Neros voice issued from the man "What do you think you have there?"

Lulubelle · #4

The small boy shuffled into view, looking tentatively at his surroundings. He had been fitted into a white bunny costume, looking comically cute for the Easter holiday. His hands grasped a basket full of colorful plastic eggs and wrapped chocolate eggs in disarray. He seemed a little out of place at Horn & Halo, engulfed by the crowd of people.

Damian's voice disrupted the atmosphere of the place as he stepped into the conversation between Tom and Nero. "I got so many eggs-- There's so many everywhere!" He smiled widely, showing no hesitation about butting into the conversation between the two. "It's a good day today, a good day."

#5

"That so?" the man with Neros voice said when he saw Damian, a very slight smile gracing his lips at the kids forwardness. "That certainly is a lot of eggs. What are you going to do with them all?"

#6

Tom was paying attention to his latest charge when Nero spoke, and didn't notice the man with Nero's voice lack of...Nero'ness. It wasn't until Damian came up that he looked up.

"Nero, is that you? What happened? Oh, I think this woman has been touched by Au'Marui. She can't stop muttering something about not being able to transform"

((Not ignoring Damian...Just bigger things afoot

))

Lulubelle · #7

Damian didn't seem to mind Tom's lack of focus being on him. After all, he had Nero's attention for now. He peered up at the face of the body that Nero resided in, gripping the handle of the basket. "I'm not sure yet. I just like collecting them, there's so many everywhere." He reached down for one of the eggs in his basket. "Would you like one? I have plenty!"

#8

((One of these eggs wouldn't happen to be one of the meteor eggs scattered about would it?))

"Sure" Nero said first to Damian, not seeing any harm in humouring him about his rather large easter egg collection "If that's what you wish to do"

The man then resumed conversation with Tom, his yellow human eyes settling on the mumbling old woman first for what was perhaps a little too long.

"Tom" he said eventually, looking back to him "She isn't touched by Au'Marui. She is Au'Marui. As this is me, in this body. This... body... I can feel dying all around me while this opening on the tip of my finger screams at me and leaks. Look" he held it up "I'm bleeding. I'm not supposed to bleed..."

Nero shook his head at that moment to snap himself out of it. "Honestly, I'd suspected that this had something to do with her since it was Chaos magic that forced me and my siblings into a child form of this body before, but your bringing her here in that state means that that suspicion is wrong. As for what happened, well, last night after the meteorite exploded above our heads I felt suddenly cut off from, well, what makes me an Alignment. Just lucky I was in humanoid form at the time I suppose, since I could no longer transform either and wouldn't be able to talk to you if I had been something else. Then as the hours went by the radiance left me and left me, well, dull like this" he paused again, to breathe, because he actually needed to and was running out of breath with how fast he was trying to impart what he knew so far. Apparently it was a strange relief to Nero that he wasn't alone in this situation. "It seems to me, whatever has happened to me has also happened to Au'Marui there. We have been forced mortal"

#9

Tom let "Nero's" words sink in, then turned back to Ariel. Indeed, under the wrinkles and gray hair, Tom could see a similarity between Grandma and the Insanity Goddess female aspect.

He then started laughing. It was a hearty laugh.

"You're telling me after as many times as you all have put us through hell while you all bicker back and forth, someone finally gave you as good as you give? That is hilarious!"

But then, after a bit, his laughter died. A realization kicked in. "What about the enchantments? Is this place still protected? What of the temple?"

Having an idea, Tom pulls out the Sanity Blade pendant and touches it to Grandma (still not quiet believing this is the Insanity Goddess). After a few minutes, nothing happens.

#10

Nero just gave Tom a mute nod first and then stared whilst Tom had his hearty laugh, at one point sitting down and drinking actual orange juice. While he sure didn't think this was funny-in fact he was rather scared if he was honest with himself, he guessed he couldn't blame the man after everything that had happened here. Not like he could do anything about it now anyway.

When Toms laughter eventually died and he started asking about the enchantments, Nero put the now empty glass down and stood up.

"... Excuse me" he said before walking over to Tala briefly, coming back with one of the werewolves little used daggers and rather suddenly stabbing the table with it. There was no barrier and the wood didn't heal itself from the damage. "That answer your question? No, this place isn't protected anymore. As I am cut off so is the power that would have been protecting the Horn and Halo. I'd imagine her Temple is in exactly the same state" he blinked at Toms pressing of the Sanity Blade pendant against 'Grandma'. "Maybe you should let 'Grandma' sit down before you start poking her?"

#11

Tom looked over at "Grandma" Ariel, then with a sigh led her to a chair and had her sit down - where she proceeded to start rocking back and forth while continuing her mantra.

He then turned to Damian. "I'll take one, tyke" he said. The morning's developments were deeply concerning, but there was no reason to worry the kids of the town over it just yet.

Lulubelle · #12

(( Yes!! Meteorite eggs. ))

As the small boy watched the conversation unfold between the two adults, he showed no sign of concern; his smile never wavered. "Everything will be okay-- Things always work out in the end," he said as if he undoubtedly believed this. "And if it doesn't, we'll just have to learn to live with it." He wasn't sure if he understood the situation entirely. But he seemed so sure that the two would be able to fix it, even if he barely knew them. He had an air of oblivious and wholehearted confidence.

Damian presented to Nero a golden egg patterned and dotted with flecks of red; to Tom he gave a bright blue one streaked with glitter all around. "These are the best ones I've found so far. They're beautiful, aren't they?"

#13

Nero had a somewhat more peaceful smile on his face after hearing what the boy had to say. It was strangely comforting to hear such a thing coming from Damian so confidently that he couldn't help it.

"They are beautiful" he reciprocated as he stood up and then leaned forward to take the pretty golden egg"Thank yo-"

However, at the touch of the object, the man that Nero had become paled at an incredible rate before collapsing onto the floor sideways as what remained of his strength drained from him. The egg still gripped in far, far weaker hands Neros eyes turned hazel now rather than yellow and he found himself wracked with sudden, irresistible convulsions, yelling in pain at each one.

#14

As Nero took his, Tom did to. He heard something rattle inside, so he opened his to reveal a strange crystal he couldn't recognize.

As he exposed the crystal, the previously quiet Ariel took notice, and started screaming while falling backwards in what can only be described as terror. She continued crawling backwards until her back was against the wall - and even then she was pressing herself against it to try and get even further from the crystal.

Tom quickly closed and pocketed the egg, before grabbing the one from Nero's hand.

"Damian, is it? I need you to do something very important for me, but it will be fun. I need you to go find as many of these eggs," he says, holding up Nero's egg before putting back into Damian's basket, "from around this building as you can find. Can you do that for me tyke?"

Lulubelle · #15

Damian's eyes widened in alarm. "Mister, are you--" he fell silent as he watched the man-- The man he had just given one of the prized eggs to-- Fall to the ground and start to spasm. He hadn't meant to hurt him, he didn't mean to hurt him. He rushed over to the fallen being, kneeling down beside him, gripping the basket tightly and just watching as each spasm wracked the man's body. He had caused, this hadn't he? He wanted to clamp his hands his ears at each scream but found he couldn't, his eyes were transfixed on the convulsing form of the man.

He finally got to his feet, turning to Tom. "Y-Yes, of course," he said a little shakily. Without another word, he left to continue his egg hunt. He was gone for longer than he would have liked to been, giving the impression that might have gotten lost in the process. He searched every nook and cranny for the bright, colorful strange eggs, putting each and everyone he could find into his basket. When that became too full, he took to pocketing them and eventually stuffing them into the bunny suit. When the young boy returned to the H&H, he had a basket full of the eggs. And his costume seemed to be full of them, too.