lady horatio

Priest & Hawthorne Investigations - An Urban Fantasy Adventure!

Have a safe flight! Can't wait to see what comes next. :)

Priest & Hawthorne Investigations - An Urban Fantasy Adventure!

There's no such thing as too much fussing. :3 I should probably fuss more, but that's what the edit button is for!

@Naril

The edit button is SO DANGEROUS. It just sits there, tempting me... I almost edited Mandy's first post about ten times. I still might. xD

Priest & Hawthorne Investigations - An Urban Fantasy Adventure!

I spent way too much time fussing over it, but my post is finally up! :)

Priest & Hawthorne Investigations - An Urban Fantasy Adventure!

Mandy took a breath. She was familiar with all of the aspects of grief: the sound of it, screamingly loud or soft and subdued; the look of it, all wasting sickness or puffy eyes; the shape of it inside her own chest—something separate and foreign, but impossible to remove.

But the worst part was the smell.

The thick, heavy scent of tears had permeated the rooms in an old, oddball orphanage full of children who didn’t want anyone to know when they cried in the dark. It soaked into the sheets and clotted in the air. If you were the sort of child who could sense such things, you ignored them out of courtesy. But there was no hiding Cat’s tears—not her noisy sniffles or her red-rimmed eyes, or the way she wore her grief like her sweatshirt: something heavy and too large, hanging limply from her shoulders.

Almost as soon as Emmaline started speaking, Mandy got to her feet—not because she wasn’t interested in what the woman had to say, but because it was most likely to hold everyone’s attention. Emmaline’s elegantly clipped accent made her sound calm and capable, its edges softened, but still distinct. It was a very reassuring voice, and Mandy liked that about her.

She slipped unobtrusively from the room and ghosted back in a few moments later, pausing behind Cat’s chair to set something at the woman’s elbow.

A glass of water wasn’t much, as gifts went, but Mandy didn’t know the woman well enough to do more. And she did know this much: it was nearly impossible to drink something and cry at the same time.

She resumed her seat just as Emmaline finished, flitting a glance around the table before dropping her eyes, waiting for the next person to speak.

Priest & Hawthorne Investigations - An Urban Fantasy Adventure!

@Naril On it! :) I've been on the fence about Mandy's response, but I'll make sure something's up before I crash tonight. Also, unrelated, but I hope you're still having fun on your trip!

@Austronaut Late response, but I hope your move is going well! Is it a little easier now that you had your last night at your job?

ETA: My post is done, but I am exhausted, so I'll wait to put it up until the morning, just so I can edit it if need be and make sure it makes sense. :)

Priest & Hawthorne Investigations - An Urban Fantasy Adventure!

I think a back-and-forth conversation makes the most sense! It would play out naturally and therefore read naturally.

Priest & Hawthorne Investigations - An Urban Fantasy Adventure!

Eep, I am delighted to see two updates in the IC thread! And to hear that you've gotten a chance to catch up on your rest, @Naril; it sounds like a really hectic couple of days! Thanks for dropping in to give us a post. :) How are things where you are? And how are you, @Austronaut?

By the way, I will totally answer to my RPG handle or any shortening thereof (though I do prefer "lady" or "lady h" to just "horatio!"), but I go by Marcie IRL, and everybody here is welcome to call me whatever they're comfortable with. :) We seem to be a pretty friendly lot.

Priest & Hawthorne Investigations - An Urban Fantasy Adventure!

Hello, all! How is everybody tonight? (Aside from excited to continue. xD Put me down for that, too!)

Priest & Hawthorne Investigations - An Urban Fantasy Adventure!

I'm pretty good, though a little bleary-eyed. One of the cats we rescued is afraid of our dogs, so she's living in my bedroom for the moment, which means I am all too familiar with Mandy's crepuscular schedule. @_@ But I'm going over to a friend's place to celebrate his birthday today, which will mostly entail a lot of TV and Chinese food, so I'm looking forward to that. :)

Everyone else?

Priest & Hawthorne Investigations - An Urban Fantasy Adventure!

I'm not sure if I'm entirely satisfied with it yet, but my intro is finally up, as promised! So excited for everyone to get the chance to start mingling now. :)