Nightfall:Ember

Friday, July 29th 9:15 AM
Cold Springs, The Wake Motel
**Nemo**: While Troy and Shane are getting ready to leave for the pancake festival, Nemo is out in the parking lot. The morning is cold and a bit dark as a cloud bank is rolling in from the eastern mountain. [A normal morning, despite the fact that I was living a Hellmouth for two days.] He turns and makes his way over to the front office where he fell through the floor a few days earlier. [Everything is easy to get over when demons and giant snakes are the normal. It's not as if Yuri and I hadn't been trapped in worse places... The Pesadilla didn't even seem to affect Yuri much, but then again, he has a bad habit of acting like nothing bad happens to him... And getting him out took a lot of effort...] He looks back to Troy's van as he walks up the stairs to the front office. [I'll really have to find a way to thank Troy for dragging him out of there... And I should probably tell Yuri what it took for me to fainlly break that damn thing.] He turns and opens the door to the office as he reaches it, walking in and looking around. The inside is dark, only dimly lit just enough to see. [Well if nothing else, it was really just another long day... Two long days, actually. It was probably hardest on Troy. I'll have to think of a way to make it up to him.] He walks up to the hole in the boards and kneels to look down, creating a plume of blue flames in his hand to light up the basement below, letting out a little sigh. [I hope that dog is still around, the food I've left out is gone, but anything could've taken it out in these woods... Shane said I'd probably be attracting bears... As if bears are at all scary...]

**Black**: His backside and tail can be seen as he walks across the basement but he stops for a moment when he notices the blueish light covering part of the floor beside him. Curious, he starts sniffing the floor before he turns around and notices Nemo standing at the hole in the ceiling. His ears go up, surprised.

**Nemo**: Black? He tilts his head slightly, still unsure if that's actually the dog's name.

**Black**: The wolf's tail wags but only for a second. He's still cautious of the strange human and without warning he turns and runs back to the hole in the wall.

**Nemo**: No doggy wait! He holds out his hand and then lets out a sigh and looks around. He puts the flame out and stands up, looking around to see where that door could even lead. After a moment he just walks out of the office and runs back to his room.

**Shane**: He's drying his hair, watching Nemo as he scrambles through his pack. What are you doing?

**Nemo**: Getting some more jerky. He pulls out a small, almost empty bag of jerky.

**Shane**: ...For the dog?

**Nemo**: I just saw it. He smiles at Shane and then runs out of the room. A few minutes later he's walking about the back of the office, near the old pool, a stick of jerky in his hand. Black? He looks around. Here doggy... He looks along the sides of the building to see if there's anywhere the dog gets in and out. ...Here doggy-doggy... I got a treat... Just for you...

**Black**: His barking can be heard in the distance, over what looks like a small hill that leads into the surrounding trees.

**Nemo**: Doggy barks. He runs out of the pool area, down the small gravelly ravine behind the motel, and starts running up the hill. As he runs up the hill he stops for a moment and looks around, then continues up in the direction he heard the barking from.

**The hill abruptly ends into a small cliff, causing Nemo to lose his footing and slide down the ten foot slope.**

**Nemo**: Wha-Oh shiiiit! **He slides down the face of the cliff and hits the bottom. He lays there for a moment, groaning, still clutching the jerky in his hand. After a second a few small pebbles fall from the top of the cliff and hit him in the back. He lets out a quiet sigh in response and continues to lay there.**

**As Nemo lays there the wind blows past him, it moves something and he hears a creaking sound. When he looks behind him he finds an old wooden door on the side of the hill, it's hanging from one of it's hinges and doesn't look like it can be closed anymore. It's too dark inside to see where it leads to from where he is.**

**Nemo**: He slowly gets up as he sees the door, dusting himself off. He looks at the jerky, which is a little dusty now. He blows on it a little as he starts walking towards the door. He mumbles to himself. Who builds an underground tunnel in a motel? He grabs the door and pulls it open, looking inside. He calls out quietly. Black?

**Nemo's shoe hits something, when he looks down he sees an old tin can with a dirty label. It's licked clean. A closer inspection of the dark room reveals an entire pile of empty food containers. At the end of the small dark room is another door, unlike the broken wooden door outside this one is made entirely out of metal and is locked.**

**Nemo**: It's a bunker. He has a tone of realization, and raises his hand as it ignites with a small blue flame to light his way as he walks into the dark room towards the other door. He pulls on the metal door a few times, then looks around the room again to see if he missed something. Black?

**Nemo's blue light reveals another large hole at the bottom of the left wall, just big enough for Black to go through. Before he can inspect the small room any further his name can be heard being called from outside, back near the motel.**

**Yuri**: Neemmo! His voice echoes throughout the area. He's clearly looking for him.

**Nemo**: He looks at the hole then back out. After a moment he sets the jerky down in front of the hole, then pulls open the bag and sets a few more pieces next to it. There you go... He looks around at the empty cans for a moment, then runs out, quickly making his way back to the motel. After about five minutes he's walking through the parking lot, looking around for Yuri.

**Yuri**: He's standing near Shane's truck, it looks like everyone's already inside waiting for him. He waves him over when he sees him before climbing into the back of the truck.

**Nemo**: He climbs into the front. Let's roll.

**Shane**: He pulls the truck down the driveway. What happened to your hair?

**Nemo**: He grabs the rear-view mirror and looks at his hair, and fixes it. Absolutely nothing.

**About twenty minutes later they're driving into town. It looks like there's a lot of people out today, probably for the festival.**

**Nemo**: You ready for some pancakes Troy? He looks back at him.

**Troy**: He looks at Nemo.

**Shane**: As if drinking almost thirty beers wasn't compensation enough...

**Nemo**: Yuri's life is worth way more than that... Like... At least... Thirty-two beers. He looks at Shane.

**Troy**: If it's any consolation Shane, I think I had to take a ten minute piss before I finally went to sleep. He looks out the window at the diner as they pull up. The street is blocked off, and tables are set up everywhere. There's banners that are strung over the street from light pole to light pole reading things like "Darcy's Bi-Annual All-You-Can-Eat Pancake Festival!" and "Pancake Eating Contest at 11:30!" among a few other things celebrating Cold Springs and Darcy's Diner.

**The entire parking lot is full of people already gathering to sit down and eat. Above the festival is a large canopy and towards the diner is a mic stand with a wooden step for someone to talk from. Everyone looks like they're having a good time even though it's cloudy today. As the group approaches the parking lot they see a table out front, it looks like they're gonna need to buy tickets to get inside.**

**Shane**: Well. He shifts in his seat and reaches into his pocket to pull out his wallet. I'm gonna go find a parking space, why don't you get us some tickets. He opens his wallet as he slowly drives, waiting for people to walk passed his truck, then hands Nemo some money.

**Nemo**: Cold hard cash. He holds it up. The only reason I keep you around. He opens the door.

**Shane**: As Nemo gets out he yells at him. I knew you only wanted me for my money! He waits for Yuri and Troy to get out before slowly driving off to find somewhere to park.

{{Name|Nemo: He looks to Yuri and Troy. Shane's treat I guess.

{{Name|Yuri: He walks up to the front table with Nemo and Troy. There's a fairly large woman with glasses standing behind the table speaking to one of the other mothers.

{{Name|Cheryl: She notices the three boys approaching and sees no one working at the table. Oh, where is she... Elsbeth! She looks around the entrance of the parking lot. She smiles back at the mother and laughs. Excuse me, Suzie. Let me get these boys their tickets. She walks up to the table and grabs the small wheel of tickets. My, three new faces. Let me guess. She smiles and puts her hands on her sides. You're visiting family.
[8:05:04 PM] Omniance: Nemo: Just moved here actually. He smiles, feeling a little out of place. So I guess that makes us residents.
[8:17:33 PM] Arbi: Cheryl: There's a sign on the table that says the tickets are twelve dollars a piece. New residents? My that sounds wonderful! And what lucky timing, you'll be able to meet all your new neighbors at the festival!

Yuri: We have a friend looking for a parking spot. Could we get four tickets?

Cheryl: She winks at Yuri. Sure thing. She grabs the ticket wheel and pulls off four tickets.
[8:19:34 PM] Omniance: Nemo: He goes through the money Shane gave him, then pulls out his own wallet and takes out a few dollars so she doesn't have to give him change. Here you go. He holds out forty-eight dollars to her.

Troy: He's looking around at everyone then to Cheryl. So who came up with the idea of having a pancake festival?
[8:34:01 PM | Edited 8:45:39 PM] Arbi: Cheryl: She takes the money from Nemo's hand. That would be Darcy, bless her big heart. Twice a year she hosts the pancake festival right here in front of her very own diner, bringing everyone together to raise money for the children. As she's speaking she pulls off four tickets and hands them each one, giving Nemo two. It's a wonderful time, and remember it's all you can eat. She smiles happily.
[8:35:00 PM | Edited 8:37:13 PM] Omniance: Troy: He looks at Cheryl and smirks. Is there a penalty if one of us actually eats it all?

Nemo: He rolls his eyes as he puts his ticket into his wallet with Shane's money, and then puts that into his pocket.
[8:44:00 PM] Arbi: Cheryl: Do we have a bottomless pit in our midst? Give the Pancake Eating contest a try, you'll love it. She puts the ticket wheel away and takes another look around the parking lot. Oh, and if it isn't too much to ask, if you see my Elsbeth around please send her back my way. She has dark hair and the prettiest green eyes, you can't miss her.
[8:45:57 PM] Omniance: Troy: He smirks again a little. Yeah, no problem.

Shane: He speaks as he runs up to them. You get the tickets?

Nemo: Yeah. He hands Shane his ticket, then looks back to Cheryl. If we see her we'll tell her you're looking for her. He nods a little.
[8:49:09 PM] Arbi: Yuri: He puts his hands behind his head while the four of them walk into the parking lot. There's several long tables lined up under the canopy, with lots of people already sitting down and eating breakfast. To the left side of the festival there are several lines of people, each of them getting ready to be served fresh pancakes from the cooks. The pancakes do smell nice...
[8:50:06 PM] Omniance: Troy: I haven't had pancakes in almost a year. I'm definitely going to hit up that eating contest. He looks around for the booth to sign up as they walk.
[8:51:34 PM] Arbi: Yuri: You think you can actually win? He looks at him as they pass one of the large tables.
[8:57:13 PM] Omniance: Troy: I can eat forever.

Nemo: Oh yeah, the ticket lady said we're supposed to be looking out for a girl with dark hair and green eyes. He looks at Shane.

Shane: Uhh, alright. He looks at Nemo for a moment, then passed him. Let's get in line and grab some grub. He starts to walk towards one of the long lines, grabbing a small menu from a stack resting on the tables.

Troy: I'm gonna go sign up for the contest. He waves at them a little as he walks off.
[8:58:13 PM | Edited 9:09:36 PM] Arbi: Yuri: He watches Troy walk off before turning and following Nemo towards one of the lines. He knows those contests have timers, right? He looks doubtful and can only imagine him throwing up in front of everyone.
[9:02:05 PM | Edited 9:02:30 PM] Omniance: Nemo: Just let him have his fun. He's looking at the menu as Shane reads it. Maybe he'll actually win and it'll put him in a better mood...

Shane: Listen to all these pancakes they've got... "Classic Buttermilk, Strawberry, Blueberry, Pecan, Peanutbutter, Peach, Taybery, Dewberry, Powdered Sugar, Brown Sugar, Cream, Caramel, Walnut, Raisin, Apple, Cookie, Bacon, Veal..." He keeps looking down the list, continuing silently. Man, this town is heaven on earth...
[9:04:30 PM] Arbi: Meanwhile...
[9:10:26 PM] Omniance: Troy: He's standing in front of the small booth, signing his name for the contest.

Darcy: It's a kindly old woman, short and with an apron on and bright red lipstick. The contest starts at eleven-thirty sharp, remember that! She looks at her watch. That's in about thrity-five minutes.

Troy: Well you can count on me being there. He looks up at her putting the pen down.

Darcy: Lean forward for me dearie so I can pin you with an entry ribbon. Troy leans forwards a bit and she grabs the collar of his shirt. Are you a student?

Troy: Huh? He looks down at his outfit. Yeah, yeah. On vacation right now.

Darcy: Oh, well I sure am glad you decided to stop by in our little neck of the woods. She finishes pinning the ribbon and pats it. There we go. She looks up at him. An announcement will go out before the contest starts. She smiles again.

Troy: Thank you. As he turns away he adjusts the ribbon slightly and then looks around for Shane and the others.
[9:29:47 PM | Edited 9:31:10 PM] Arbi: Just as Troy turns around to look for the others a young woman quickly passes him, she's just close enough for him to smell her hair as it waves through the small breeze. It smells really nice. As if almost in slow motion she turns to look back at him for only a second, he can see her green eyes looking back at him before one of the other festival attendees gets in the way.

Man: Excuse me. He walks up to the booth Troy was just at to sign up for the contest. He gives Darcy a smile, tipping his cap. Good morning, Darcy.

Even though Troy only got a glimpse of her he still knows she's wearing a brown military jacket, a black shirt and dark jeans. It's quite different from how everyone else is dressed here at the festival.
[9:32:57 PM] Omniance: Troy: He looks at the man with annoyance then moves around him. Excuse me. He quickly starts to look around at everyone here, trying to see where the girl went. He walks away from the booth and looks around again.
[9:39:02 PM | Edited 9:48:53 PM] Arbi: Troy's eye for the unusual allows him to catch the sight of her military jacket in the crowd, though it isn't for long as he watches her walk behind the large trailer still parked in the parking lot. He can still see her shoes and lower leg underneath the vehicle before they're gone too.
[9:42:01 PM] Omniance: Troy: He absent mindedly smirks a little before going towards the RV, moving around a small family of people, and some other Cold Springs residents, before he walks out from under the large tent and gets to the RV, he looks around at it, then continues, walking around it. He looks around as he reaches the other side of the RV, figuring that she went inside.
[9:44:51 PM | Edited 9:48:59 PM] Arbi: The door to the trailer is ajar, it doesn't look like she could've gone anywhere else.
[9:46:56 PM | Edited 9:48:30 PM] Omniance: Troy: He looks around, turning and slowly walking backwards towards the trailer home door for a moment and then turning around and grabbing it, peaking in. ...Elsbeth?
[9:54:38 PM | Edited 9:57:23 PM] Arbi: The inside of the trailer doesn't look anywhere near as bad as the outside, it actually looks very well kept. Troy appears to be peaking into the small living room. There isn't any response when he calls out her name. Down the hallway are several doors, one that leads into a small restroom, another to the shower and a closed door that leads to the bedroom.
[9:57:34 PM] Omniance: Troy: He walks up into the trailer home, shutting the door behind him. Looking around at the inside of the trailer as he walks down the short hall, stopping in front of the sink and stove. He pushes a small pan, momentarily thinking of how nice it would be to have something like this, then turns and looks around for the green-eye girl.
[10:04:31 PM] Arbi: Elsbeth: She's steps out of the closet he completely missed when he entered her trailer home. Before Troy can react he gets tackled back into the nearby couch. She pulls his hands behind his back and holds them there so he doesn't try hurting her. Who are you?!
[10:05:23 PM] Omniance: Troy: He looks up at her for a moment as she holds him there. Troy, are you Elsbeth?
[10:14:30 PM | Edited 10:16:41 PM] Arbi: Elsbeth: I don't know anyone named Troy... She turns him a little so she can see his face better. His outfit surprises her a little, since no one in Cold Springs wear a school uniform. I don't know where you're from but following someone into their house here is not nice. She pushes his face into the pillows, keeping him from struggling free.
[10:17:11 PM] Omniance: Troy: H-hey! His voice comes out muffled as she pushes it into a pillow. The ticket lady at the front said she was looking for you! He doesn't really squirm or anything.
[10:28:02 PM] Arbi: Elsbeth: She opens the small curtain over the window beside them and looks outside, she sees her mom at the front table handing someone a ticket. Even though he's telling the truth she still looks annoyed. ...I believe you but what about sneaking into my house? It's still messed up.
[10:29:40 PM] Omniance: Troy: I... You just had a look of someone that needed help. That's all. I called out your name, like, three times! Sorry to barge in, I didn't even know this was your place.
[10:35:20 PM] Arbi: Elsbeth: It's loud outside, I guess I understand... She looks a little less annoyed but she's still holding him down. I'll let you go but you have to promise me one thing.
[10:35:46 PM] Omniance: Troy: Anything. He tries looking back at her.
[10:39:38 PM] Arbi: Elsbeth: She lets go of him and steps back so he can stand up. Don't tell anyone you saw me in here. She looks away from him and crosses her arms.
[10:40:00 PM] Omniance: Troy: He gets up and looks at her. ...Why's that?
[10:40:44 PM] Arbi: Elsbeth: Just don't. Promise?
[10:41:27 PM] Omniance: Troy: He rolls his eyes a little. Sure I guess. I mean, who would I even tell? The only people I know just moved here.
[10:51:49 PM] Arbi: Elsbeth: She nods and is about to say something when she hears something outside. She checks the windows one more time before opening the front door, though she closes it slightly when she looks back at him. You can call me Ember by the way... all my friends do. She's about to leave again but stops herself. Take care of yourself, Troy. She leaves the trailer.
[10:52:34 PM] Omniance: Troy: Hey -Wait! He moves out of the trailer and looks around for her.
[10:54:04 PM] Arbi: There isn't any sign of her around the trailer home. Looks like she's gone.
[10:56:52 PM] Omniance: Troy: He sighs a little. A voice rings out from a megaphone.

Darcy: Her voice rings out through the area. The Pancake Eating contest starts in ten minutes!

Troy: He turns his head a little, his ear catching the announcement, then looks around again for the mysterious girl. Ember... Huh... He smirks and walks around the trailer home, back under the festival tent and towards the small stage.
[10:57:20 PM] Arbi: Meanwhile...
[11:04:15 PM] Omniance: Nemo: Why the hell would you eat that?

Shane: He shoves a chunk of deer-sausage "pancake" into his mouth, which are basically just huge pancakes with chunks of sausage in them. Shane responds to Nemo with his mouth full. Becauff I'm a fucking man? How could I not eat thiff He motions to Nemo's plate as he swallows, which just has a stack of three blueberry pancakes on it, half eaten. You always ask me to take you out to eat, and then you don't eat anything -Here. He pulls one of the large pancakes off his plate and lets it fall onto Nemo's, it covers the pancakes completely and takes up the whole plate. And we add some of this... He grabs a plastic cup and pours syrup all over it.

Nemo: He looks down at his plate as Shane smothers it in syrup. That's not a pancake, that's a sausage pizza with syrup on it.

Shane: He pats Nemo on the back heavy. You're always saying we should go out and eat. We're out, so eat. He nods as Nemo looks at him.
[11:07:42 PM] Arbi: Yuri: He finishes eating the last of his cookie and powdered sugar pancakes and takes a long drink from his milk before finishing it off with a burp. Fuck, that's good... He looks over at Nemo's plate, seeing Shane's offering. You should at least give it a try, it probably tastes amazing.
[11:10:44 PM] Omniance: Nemo: But it's greasy...

Shane: Why are you such a picky eater? You weight like five pounds, you can eat fatty foods for once, here. He cuts off a piece of the pancakes on Nemo's plate with his fork and then raises it to Nemo's mouth. Eat. Eat it.

Nemo: He bends forwards and bites it off Shane's fork, he chews for a few seconds. Mmm... He speaks with his mouth full. Waf ith thith?

Shane: Deer sausage. The cook said it's a specialty here in Cold Springs.

Nemo: Why do deer tayft tho good? He grabs his fork and starts eating.
[11:18:59 PM] Arbi: Yuri: He smiles as he watches his brother finally start eating. Fuck, now I want some of those sausage pancakes... He gets up from his chair but stops when someone places their hand on his shoulder. He turns and sees Trent standing behind him. What-

Trent: Black chains wraps around Yuri's, Nemo's and Shane's ankles before immediately tightening and dragging each of them under the tables. All three of them disappear into the shadows and no one around them notices a thing.