cycleofages | EVENT 1 - A VERY IMPORTANT MEETING

Who; EVERYONE!
What; The fearless leader of HQ has some information for a waiting crowd
Where; Cafeteria
When; August 2nd, 8:30pm - ??
Warnings; None as of yet, can be changed if content changes

A text message will be sent to the phones of all new arrivals in HQ at 2am on the 2nd. The text message contains the following:

"Greetings new arrivals! I'm certain all of you have dozens of questions and I'd very much like to answer them. If you would humor me, please meet me tomorrow evening at 9pm in the Cafeteria. It isn't the best location for a disclosure meeting, but I believe we all may fit. Until then, have a good evening."

When everyone arrives to the cafeteria that night, they will find people who may or may not be familiar seated a table along the far wall near the bar. Luther, Nathan, Gus, and Airy are all present, as well as three faces they have yet to see. At the head of the table, an older man with a noble bearing and friendly smile watches as the new arrivals shuffle in. To his right is a striking woman who seems to be watching people arrive with an air of annoyance, and a younger man to his left who rarely looks up from the sketchbook in front of him.

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[Elena turns, her bright blue eyes inspecting Jefferson curiously. She then follows his gaze to the young girl and her expression softens. Her own childhood had been riddled with pain and she can tell, just from a glance, that this child is something important to this stranger. It isn't so hard to put the pieces together.]

Your daughter is here with you?

[A light smile touches her lips.]

She's lucky to have you looking out for her.

[ Her question got his attention enough for him to fully turn his head to look at her. A bit of the tension on both his face and and in his tone of voice faded, though it was obvious he was still on edge based on certain quirks and tics. ]

She is. Her name is Grace.

[ Once again his gaze went elsewhere. That second statement wasn't as true in his mind as he wanted it to be. ]

It's more that I'm lucky to have her looking out for me, honestly.

I've heard children are like that.

[Elena turns towards Jefferson and offers him her hand. She doesn't know what it's like to have a child but she knows what it's like to depend on someone without them knowing it, she knows what it's like to want to protect someone and she can see all of these traits in him.]

I'm Elena.

They're special in ways that words can't begin to describe.

[ But he was probably divulging more than she cared to hear and getting a little too sentimental to boot. She was stuck there just like he was, so being nice was okay. It wasn't people like her that he didn't trust, after all. He shook his head and positioned himself so his body was facing her before taking her hand shaking it politely. ]

The name's Jefferson. A pleasure to meet you, Elena.

I can imagine.

[Elena smiles though the expression is fleeting and drops when her hand returns to her side. She lightly pushes a bit of her light hair behind her ear, angling her body so she could speak with Jefferson but get a good look at the room at the same time.]

Sorry, this is all very new to me.

[He really is lucky to have his daughter here.]

[ Her change in expression and body language was easy to pick up on. He shoved his hands into the pockets of his jacket, his eyebrows furrowed slightly. The situation was bound to bring up nerves in anyone. Being trapped was awful. ]

You don't have any need to apologize. I think we're all confused.

[ Though he had been to other worlds and realms before, she didn't need to know that just then if at all. Besides, this was different than anything he'd yet to experience. He couldn't have offered advice or knowledge from experience even if he'd wanted to.]

What's the place you're from like? If that isn't too intrusive to ask.

[Elena shakes her head.]

I live in Toronto. [She pauses before continuing.] It's in Canada.

[She doesn't know if he's heard of it or what world he might be from.]

And you?

[ He knew enough about the world outside of the town he'd been stuck in to know about Canada, but the exact whereabouts of Toronto eluded him. He simply nodded as if he fully understood. ]

I haven't been to Canada but I know it. I --

[ Jefferson hesitated when he realized that Grace would tell people a different story than the one he had been about to default to. Stretching the truth a bit and saying he was from a little town in Maine was much easier than daring to make others believe in a place where magic and all manner of fantastical things dwelled, but he know his daughter wouldn't lie if she was asked the same question. That aside, the fact she hadn't even mentioned a life in said town gave him reason to believe that their timelines had converged in some bizarre nonlinear way. Jefferson finally sighed, putting a hand to his face. ]

Do you want a believable lie or the unbelievable truth?

[ It always came down to that, didn't it? To believe or not believe. ]

I think we're living the unbelievable truth.

[There is a small tug to her lips and an unmistakable spark in her blue eyes. She has encountered the unbelievable again and again and while it takes her time to adjust she works her way through it.]

So lets stay with that.

[There isn't any point in lying now, is there?]

[ He exhaled the hint of a dry laugh. ]

I guess you're right. We are.

[ Elena was a believer, then. Or she claimed to be. Hopefully she really was. He didn't know if he could stand one more person looking at him like he was crazy. ]

My daughter and I are from a land called Misthaven, but more widely it's known as the Enchanted Forest. [ Jefferson shot her an unsure look, but he kept going. ] That world is one where magic is real and things that you're likely to read about in fairy tales are actually true. Princesses and princes, heroes and villains, curses and the sort of true love needed to lift those curses? They all coexist, but there's more to it than the stories that make it to other worlds imply. They're never entirely right and things are more deep and complex than they even begin to tell.

[ He'd only scratched the surface, but that was a start. ]

I bet you wish I'd just said I was from Maine now.

[ Jefferson's tone sounded uncertain then, and the way his eyes wandered to the floor made it obvious that there had been people in the past who hadn't even considered that he was being honest. ]

[Elena believes in her own experiences and what she's seen. She isn't the sort of person who could blind herself though she worked very hard to fun from the truth. She lives between extremes but she recognizes that they both exist.

All that's in Stonehaven is blood and death. In Toronto she had a life but this place... it's something unknown and she's keeping her thoughts open to what it could be.]

It sounds like an interesting place.

[She has no doubt of its validity. It would be silly to make things like that up and as a child Elena learned what it felt like for someone not to belief her.]

Maine isn't a bad place either but it won't change the truth.

[ When he looked up at the sound of her voice he actually seemed a little bewildered. Sure, they were both stuck in a place that was unexplainable, but... ]

So you don't think I'm making it up? That I'm delusional?

[ It was hard to comprehend that. The one person he'd needed to believe him to make things work hadn't, but this woman did? Jefferson was having difficulty accepting that reality, and it probably showed on his face. ]

I was actually in Maine for a while. [ A really long while, but he didn't want his kid to overhear anything he wasn't prepared to tell her yet. ] I didn't like it very much.

[Elena shakes her head.]

I'm sorry. I don't- [She exhales a slow breath, her lips pressing into an apologetic smile.] I do believe you. Even before I came here I've seen... [She exhales and shakes her head.] I've seen more than I think I can explain.

If the truth is right in front of me... I don't want to run from it. [She knows what she is but she doesn't like it. She accepts it but only on the surface as a curse. Elena will do everything she could to be human, to act human.] But that doesn't mean I have to like the truth.

[She stops herself and changes the subject to Maine. She isn't interested in talking about herself and she almost let something personal slip from her lips.]

I've been to Maine. Once before, I was just passing through really but I don't think it's the sort of place I could live. I'm sorry you didn't like it.

EVENT 1 - A VERY IMPORTANT MEETING

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