Dark of the Woods [IC]

[Ecalsneerg]

Equinox was leaning against a tree, smoking a cigarette and smiling as she watched Hayley eat a piece of the pie Jack and Jill had brought back. "Well, it's not a pail of water..." she said quietly.

"Sounds like a good plan, though," she concurred, pulling herself to her feet and letting her familiar hop onto her shoulder once more. "But I'm just going to warn you guys... don't let anything get into your heads. We're all a few steps above a small town sheriff, possession could prove disastrous."

[Gizmo]

"No sweat, Equal-Nox-For-Equal-Pay," Jack assured the practitioner as he did an able job of balancing a piece of in one hand and speaking around a mouthful. "I've been possessed and mind whammied plenty of times."

Nearby, Jill cast a skeptical look his way. The younger sibling was for the time being forgoing the pastry in the tied box she carried. While she enjoyed the same impressive metabolism as her brother - one which she suspected was tied to their metamagi abilities, though she couldn't be sure - she was considerably more conscious of what she consumed than he. "You're saying that like it's a good thing..."

"No, it is, 'cause now I've built up a resistance, see?" Jack clarified, apparently quite confident. "My mind is all scabby and stuff."

"...I don't even know where to begin with that."

[trollthumper]

"Well, as long as you don't pick at it, I'm sure everything will be fine," Nick said as he dug into the pie. "Otherwise it'll never get better." He turned to Equinox. "So, who do you want to start with? The sheriff's most likely to be available at this time of night, unless the grocer usually works an evening shift. We could always try the principal, but I don't really want my first act in this town to be breaking and entering. That kind of thing leads to getting off on the wrong foot."

[Ecalsneerg]

"No sweat, Equal-Nox-For-Equal-Pay," Jack assured the practitioner as he did an able job of balancing a piece of in one hand and speaking around a mouthful. "I've been possessed and mind whammied plenty of times."

Nearby, Jill cast a skeptical look his way. The younger sibling was for the time being forgoing the pastry in the tied box she carried. While she enjoyed the same impressive metabolism as her brother - one which she suspected was tied to their metamagi abilities, though she couldn't be sure - she was considerably more conscious of what she consumed than he. "You're saying that like it's a good thing..."

"No, it is, 'cause now I've built up a resistance, see?" Jack clarified, apparently quite confident. "My mind is all scabby and stuff."

"...I don't even know where to begin with that."

"I'd begin with the fact that it could alternately mean you've got a convenient back door into your head," said Siobhan, feeding a small chunk of pie to Hayley, who chittered away happily. "Just... focus on something. Like swords."

"Well, as long as you don't pick at it, I'm sure everything will be fine," Nick said as he dug into the pie. "Otherwise it'll never get better." He turned to Equinox. "So, who do you want to start with? The sheriff's most likely to be available at this time of night, unless the grocer usually works an evening shift. We could always try the principal, but I don't really want my first act in this town to be breaking and entering. That kind of thing leads to getting off on the wrong foot."

"Well," she shrugged, threatening to dislodge the raccoon. "To be honest, I'm not entirely sure. That's why I asked for help, my investigation capabilities begin and end around the point that things start catching fire." She paused to deliberate. "But we may as well try the sheriff. I mean, it's not like we'll be able to identify possession for sure through all that miasma anyway, so we're just going to have to see how odd he's acting. Unless either of you can think of a better plan?" She looked somewhat hopeful about the last part.

[trollthumper]

"Well, if it's a ghost doing the possessing, I might be able to ping to it," Nick said. "I've got a good talent for ferreting them out. But if it's some other sort of entity, we'll probably have to keep an eye out for the subtle cues. Lack of affect - or overdone affect... general unaccustomed manners... verbal tics... and of course, the scent of brimstone's always a good give away. Then there's always the Uncanny Valley effect; some things trying to be human just try to be too human, making 'em look entirely wrong. So if it something pings your general sense of weirdness, may be a good idea to reach for the bell, book and candle."

[Gizmo]

"Hey, hands up, who's shrugged off mind control from Medea?" Jack countered with an exaggerated sniff, lifting one gloved palm into the air. "And I called her fat," he added with a pleased smirk, which fell from his face a split second later as his expression turned contemplative. "And I got shot. So that was less fun."

"Tch, and who had to patch you up?" Jill grumbled to herself before looking to the other heroes. "So we're just going to go up and be all, 'Say, been anything weird lately?'" The young woman shrugged helplessly. "I'm not saying I have a better plan, I just want to be clear."

[Ecalsneerg]

"Well, whether we do so or not really depends on one thing..." considered Equinox.

<Whether they have cookies?> asked Hayley brightly. She took a light flick in the head for that one.

"Nick, I can change in a click of my fingers, and these two clearly have no trouble taking off their disguise. Do you want to go to town in full costume, or are we going to play this under the radar? I mean, I doubt I'll be recognised quickly in a town like this, so we'd be able to wing it for a while without having to charge in wands blazing."

[trollthumper]

"Don't worry," Nick said. "I can take care of that." He ducked behind a tree, said the word, and opened the familiar passageway to Tartarus. In the back rooms of Hades's many roomed mansion, he found the clothes he'd been wearing earlier that evening. He changed out, and managed to wipe off the makeup. By the time he stepped back out into reality, he was once more Eric LaCroix, mild-mannered barista.

"I've got my own tricks for changing," he said. "I've just gotta hope Hades doesn't notice I'm squatting in a part of his manse."

[Ecalsneerg]

Equinox's face remained in a careful, blank expression of neutrality at the expression 'squatting in his manse', and she carefully, calmly set Hayley down on the ground. In a stilted voice, she said "Alright, then. I should... go get changed. Behind this tree." And, walking somewhat stiffly, she disappeared behind a nearby tree.

There came the sound of barely suppressed sniggering, degenerating into peals of laughter. Sitting looking conspicuous in front of the three superheroes, the raccoon let out squeaking raccoon giggles.

Siobhan came back from around the tree, wearing a flannel plaid shirt of red and white, and blue jeans over brown hiking boots. Her brown hair was tied back in a ponytail, and her eyes a gentle grey, not glowing white. And her face was bright red and tears streaming down her face. "Sorry! I'm sorry!" she choked out.

[Gizmo]

The sibling reappeared a few moments after Equinox, the elder carrying a cylindrical rucksack over one shoulder, the thin material suggesting it had been previous bunched up in a coat pocket for just an occasion. The obvious family resemblance included attractively angular features and sienna toned skin, but where Jill had evidently dyed her hair jet black, Jack's natural colour was revealed to be a dusty brown cropped much shorter than in his costumed persona. "Heh, I really wasn't even going to go there," he admitted with a rueful grin at Siobhan's ill restrained laughter. A white t-shirt for Jack and an oversized dress shirt paired with a fitted vest for his sister successfully converted the pair to inconspicuous street clothes.

[trollthumper]

Eric put his palm to his forehead. "Yeah, I really should've thought of my choice of words, there," he said with a sigh. "No, I can safely say I have not dropped a deuce in the house of the lord of Tartarus, and when I set out this evening, I really didn't think I was going to have to say those words. So, that's another thing off my list of 'most unlikely situations.'" He adjusted his jacket. "Now that we've had a good laugh, let's go see who's at home in the sheriff."

[Ecalsneerg]

The sheriff's office was a dingy little building of old, faded red brick. Ivy snaked up and covered a window, which in turn was also apparently coated in a fine layer of dust. An old, rusty iron fence surrounded the little building, with a small slightly overgrown lawn behind it. The path was made up of cracked, well-worn paving slabs leading up to a chipped and flaking green door.

Siobhan turned to her compatriots, and suddenly looked rueful. "Right, major problem. I can't actually go in if we want to keep a low profile. We can probably rely on the average townsperson not knowing who I am. But a sheriff... I'm not taking that chance. I'm really sorry." She shrugged apologetically, nearly dislodging an irate Hayley. "Sorry, fuzzball. Anyway, I'll keep an eye out here. If anything suspicious happens, I can watch it, and if anything big and nasty shows up, I can send the furball to grab you for back-up while I try to blow it up."

[trollthumper]

"Good idea," Nick said. "Plus, if there's something in the sheriff and it recognizes you, then our cover's blown and we've got little chance to dig up details before this thing descends on us. Gotta say, don't think I'm best suited for dealing with a small town sheriff. I mean, look at me - I'm dressed like a refugee from The Wild One." H e looked to Jack and Jill. "But two folks who've already been seen in town, talking to people down at the diner... that might work."

[Gizmo]

"Plus we are pretty darn charming," Jack agreed with an amiable nod at Nick's reasoning.

Jill mimicked her brother's nod exactly as she stepped over to his side. "So charming."

"Super charming." The siblings walked up the to sheriff's office and rapped smartly on the door, all affable smiles and peering curiously though windows. "Anybody home? I think we're in the right place..."

[Ecalsneerg]

After a few moments, the door was opened by a genial looking older woman, with a face creased with laughter lines and framed by a bushy mop of auburn hair under a broad-brimmed grey hat. She had a gun holster hung casually over her left shoulder, and a police badge clipped to her front.

"Hi," she said with a warm smile. "Can I help you two?" Quick brown eyes glanced up and over the siblings. "You four." She frowned. "Has something else happened?" Her hand edged perceptibly up towards her gun. "Has someone else been helped?"

[Gizmo]

"Oh, the whole town's been really helpful, isn't that right Anne?" Jack replied smoothly, smiling winningly even as he noted the odd choice of words from the armed woman. That was one ominous 'helped'. The swordsman's careful control of his body language made it subtle, but he readied himself just in case around the hair-trigger lawwoman. "I'm Andy, this is my sister and our friends over there. We're just passing through, but wouldn't you know, our van cut right out just outside of town."

"Left us high and dry," Jill agreed, continuing right where her sibling left off. "We were looking for a mechanic, but some of the kind folks we ran into mentioned there'd been unusual stuff happening lately and suggested we swing by here and get the official heads-up from you." Like Jack, she was the very picture of friendly enthusiasm and good cheer. "We brought pie!"

[trollthumper]

Eric wasn't there to converse with the sheriff; he was keeping his distance, making sure that all went well. And he really wasn't enthused by what he was hearing. The sheriff might have just woken up, or might have had a few drinks that evening, but odds were that something was addling her brain. Maybe something had just turned her memories into mincemeat, or maybe something was in the driver's seat.

Only one way to find out... He peered out from behind the tree that was providing him shelter, studying the sheriff with his death sight.

[Ecalsneerg]

Apart from looking visibly cautious and distracted, to Nick's sight nothing seemed amiss with the woman. However, she did take one step forwards towards the twins, dropping her hand away from her gun but not so much that she couldn't reach it quickly. "Who gave you the heads up?" she hissed. "Listen, 'helping' is their euphemism for whatever it is they're doing. Take it from me, get out of here while you still can."

She looked from side to side frantically. "Don't talk to anyone, even if you know them. Get away from this town."

[Gizmo]

"Must be bad," Jill remarked, her posture abruptly shifting into something much more self-assured and subtly imposing. "Didn't even look at the pie."

Likewise, her brother went from cheery tourist to coolly capable combatant in an instant, though he still gave the law-woman a confident smile. "Well, with that cleared up, you should probably know we don't even own a van," he admitted, folding his arm. "To be more candid, Sheriff, we're the business of giving the things that go bump in the night a few bumps back. So how about we get down to taking back your town, huh?"

[trollthumper]

On the "they," Eric realized he couldn't exactly stay out of the conversation. He walked out from behind the tree and up the steps, joining with Jack and Jill. "Funny you should mention that," he said. "Small towns in trouble seem to be something of a recurring motif for me. Then again, I'm... something of a freelance exorcist, so it comes with the territory." He looked in the sheriff's eyes. "So who are this 'they'? Ghosts? Demons? Nature spirits? Really bad dogs?"

[Ecalsneerg]

The sheriff looked around, fear etched into her features. "Alright. If you think you can help, we... need all the help we can get. Come inside."

The harried looking woman gestured at the three as she went to close the door behind her, one hand on the handle, the other on her gun. "But, first, what I need to know is... who are you?"