11 . clockhouse rebuilding!

[clocktowers]

Who: Those who have offered to help rebuild the Clockhouse, and anyone else who'd like to pitch in!
What: An open mingle log to repair after fires and floods.
When: Throughout September, precise dates not specified.
Where: In Gaze, at the forest's edge.

[ When the weather and chaos dies down, work on the Clockhouse picks up. The building was once an old Deerington mansion, luridly green and eccentric; age faded it into half a ruin, and July's fire did the rest. August's flooding came fast and hard, and now there's very little left to salvage.

The first step has been a damage assessment, with volunteers picking through the structurally unstable ruins, finding singed fiction novels, crisped houseplants, and a weird number of melted grandfather clocks. Demolition goes quickly, while Ozpin stands by and does not even try to control the situation.

Volunteers are needed to design the new structure, carry in materials, and build... and then to decorate and enchant what they've created. The few Sleepers with genuine construction experience provide direction, Ozpin sometimes among them, but things are largely chaotic. A few Sleepers provide snacks and cheerleading.

This is a mingle log. Please feel free to make a toplevel, and comment with your character's contributions below! ]

Comments

[schoolingfish]

"Well, I think this place makes all of us go wrong sometimes."

Even Luca has turned into a beast before, a gigantic sea serpent that wanted to eat people, so he certainly knows how wrong this place can make people and that it's not their fault. Then he hears about the dolls.

"Oh, so he's good at making stuff, too! That sounds really neat. I usually just collect stuff that looks neat. I keep some of the more unusual looking stuff, but a lot of it I used to trade for things I need."

[possessum]

That's... an incredibly good point, actually. Peter's so used to being afraid of the demon wigging out, but truthfully.. "wigging out" seems to be a staple, around here. Corruption is an ever-present threat, and there's all the blood effects every month....

"Yeah, he uh... has kind of a little workshop at home? For all the stuff he's collected. He uses a hot glue gun..." It's still so weird to talk conversationally about Paimon like this, but he's clearly made a favourable impression with Luca.

"....I'm glad you're not scared of him or anything. I guess a demon inside of someone could freak most people out, but... I don't ever want to scare anybody."

[schoolingfish]

"I'd love to see the stuff he's made!"

Luca likes making stuff, after all, so it's kind of neat that Paimon does too.

"Yeah, I understand. Back home a lot of people were afraid of my other form, too, but it got a lot better once they got to know me."

Once Massimo convinced them not to harpoon him and Alberto.

[possessum]

"Oh— I'm sure he'd like to have you over, sometime." Is it weird to help arrange playdates with his demon and the friends he's made here? Yes, but... Well. Paimon will probably end up trying to bring Luca home sometime anyway.... Peter might as well help make the process smoother. Besides... he'd like to get to know the younger boy, too. And help keep an eye on him.

"You're welcome to come over anytime, though. We live in Gaze. It's just me and.... him, and my girlfriend. We're always down for dinner guests. I've got some video games and stuff too, always looking for someone to tag-team with." He smiles, but the expression wavers a bit at Luca's next words.

"Shit, I'm sorry to hear that. I definitely didn't think you looked... scary. If anything, it was really cool? But I guess people are always going to default to being scared of stuff they've never seen before."

[schoolingfish]

"It sounds like fun!"

So basically, he'd love to go on a playdate with Paimon and he doesn't think it's weird at all.

"And I spend a lot of time in the Gaze! I've been studying at the School of Mutter and I love looking at all the stuff in the Archives, so I can always swing by after I'm done there! But I'm glad you didn't think I looked scary. People here have been so much nicer about my other form than they were back home."

[possessum]

"Oh, you have? Luna and I go to school there, too. Well... she does. I've kiiinda been slacking off and playing hooky a lot these days." Peter gives a small, almost sheepish grin. There are a few reasons for his recent absence, but... he probably should try to ease back in.

"But yeah, come over any time...! We live really close to the school itself, in one of the townhouses. It's the only one with a pale blue door."

Peter's listening to the younger, reaching out to start picking up some more rubble as he does, gently setting it into the "burn" pile.

"Really? I uh.. I guess I know what that's like. People here don't freak out so much about the whole demonic possession thing as much as they would back home. I'm still trying to get used to that. honestly." He hesitates, before adding on something that he doesn't often admit aloud. "....It's just hard not to think of myself as a monster or something sometimes, you know?"

[schoolingfish]

Seeing Peter picking up more rubble reminds Luca of what he's supposed to be doing, so he sets to work picking up bits of rubble and moving them to the burn pile himself.

"Yeah, I know what you mean. Humans call us sea monsters where we're from. They even used to hunt us, but one of the humans stopped the others when they were going to kill me and my friend."

'They' was mainly Ercole, but there were certainly other humans helping with that and ready with nets, willing to help dispatch them so they could have a share of the prize.

[possessum]

"Wh... They tried to kill you?" Peter can't hide the shock and horror in his tone, quiet though it may be. Even in his "sea monster" form, Luca was clearly a kid. What the hell was wrong with those people??

"Jesus.... I'm sorry, man. That's horrible." The poor guy.. Peter's visibly disturbed by the idea, and with it, there's a fresh worry — what if someone from Luca's homeworld shows up here? Whether genuinely, or just through one of this place's tricks? It's certainly something that happens.

"If any of them show up here, you let me know, okay? Me and uh.. Mr. Hyde over here, we won't let them get to you." It's a weird thought, being open to that kind of thing, certainly uncomfortable in its ways, but... this is more important than that. The demon is very loyal when it comes to protecting those he's made "friends" with, Peter knows that. It's something they'd actually be on the same page about — keeping these kids safe.

[schoolingfish]

"Yeah. But I'm not worried about anyone trying it here. Back home Massimo talked them out of it anyway, and there's no prize money for killing sea monsters here, so I don't have anything to worry about. There was only like...one person back home who seemed like he'd want to kill me even without the prize money."

Said like it was a normal thing, not a concern at all.

"But if he shows up, I'll definitely let you know."

[possessum]

Holy shit. Peter's looking no less disturbed about that, biting down on his lower lip for a moment. He's probably lucky he's yet to bump into anyone who like, hunts demons or something..... but it's been a fear, for sure. Yeah, he's definitely going to want to keep an eye on this kid. Keep close to him.

Which leads to another question, one that's asked carefully and softly. It's been awhile since they left, but not that long. Things like that can still hurt; he knows that well. He lost his first housemate back in Deerington, and he still misses her ever day.

"Are you still... living in the house Fern and Varian used to?"

[schoolingfish]

"I am, yeah."

He sounds sad about that because, honestly, he misses them.

"But Luz and Ahiru are still there, so I'm not completely alone."

[possessum]

Peter's expression softens further as he hears the tone shift in Luca's voice. He misses them, too. It's still.... so weird, to think that they're gone. Sometimes it hits him all over again, a punch to the gut.

But it's the people who are left that he has to worry about, now. And they're just a bunch of kids...

"If any of you ever need.... well, more company, or food, or just... want somewhere else to crash for a weekend or something, I don't know, just to get out of the house? You guys can come over, okay? Any time." He offers another smile.

"We can all stick together."

[schoolingfish]

"I will! I'll let the others know, too, but I'll definitely come by!"

After all, Peter and Paimon are both really nice so he'd love to spend time with them. Also, even though they're doing fine for food now, he does know it's going to be a lot trickier getting through the winter without them.

possible wrap!

[possessum]

Peter's shy smile brightens at that, warming his features. It'd be nice to have Luca or any of the others over. It aches a little, makes him think of his little sister and all the ways he misses her, and all the guilts that stay buried within him, but it's not something he wants to flinch away from. Not anymore. It'd be nice to watch out for the younger teens here, and genuinely just get to spend time with them more often.

"Awesome! I'll look forward to hanging out with you, dude. And until then, we're a pretty good team with all this trash." He grins again, reaching for some more broken-up pieces of the house to toss into the pile. As weird a thought as it is, he kind of has to thank Paimon for introducing him more to Luca...? At least, the demon had made friends with the younger boy and sort of paved the way for Peter to get to talk to him more. And it'll be really nice to get to know Luca on his own, too.

Wrap!

[schoolingfish]

"All right!" Luca says as he continues to move stuff over to the trash pile. "Hanging out's going to be great, and yeah, we do!"