Who: Askeladd Lucius and YOU
What: being paranoid and summoning an Omen, hanging out at the Black Parade, unwisely wandering at night with special ghost guest appearance
When: October
Where: around Trench
Warnings: a headless ghost, other warnings to be added as needed

1. turning and turning in the widening gyre (around Trench)

He's being watched. Askeladd - no, Lucius, he can be Lucius here - feels it constantly. The hair raises at the nape of his neck, there's a passing wind from something coming too close, and someone moving quickly away at the corner of his eye.

His solution to this is to...approach people on the street. If they are the ones responsible for his feeling watched, then he'd better get to know his possible enemies. And if they're not, maybe the presence of potential allies will help chase things away. So you may have a 12-year-old boy approach you with a friendly smile, asking where he's seen you before (probably nowhere, but he'll swear you look familiar), what your line of work is, if you're going to the parade, if you've seen anything interesting lately. It's not an intentional fight against the loneliness many Sleepers are feeling, but it still may work for you.

Still, Lucius can't shake the feeling that someone or something continues to watch. It's one of those times that make you wish for eyes in the back of your head. And it's that thought that shakes something loose, rising from the level of blood to thought. There is a solution, isn't there? He can feel it.

Black smoke begins streaming from his shoulders, but for some reason, he's not alarmed. It solidifies, gaining a shape and turning from mostly black to mostly white, matching its glowing eyes. A falcon.

Took you long enough. The Omen's mental voice, audible to both his Sleeper and any others nearby, is that of an adult man, the tone dry but affectionate. With a few flaps of his wings, he settles on Lucius's shoulder.


2. mere anarchy is loosed upon the world (the Black Parade)

This festival is overwhelming - the sheer number of people, the massive, decorated platforms moving down the street. There are parts of it that are familiar. There are areas with tables set up for people to eat and drink at, and there are the inevitable drunks falling all over themselves. But most of what's familiar has still been made strange. The foods are different. The music is obnoxiously different. Normally, Lucius would stick to the edges of something like this as much as possible, limiting his participation in the chaos.

But right now, he'd be an idiot to miss out on such an abundant opportunity.

He can be found at different vendors every day, chatting with shopkeepers and squinting carefully at different signs. He ends up with a whole collection of masks, and trying just about all the new food. The masks, well, it can't hurt in case local superstition is right. And if he's getting something to hide his identity, isn't it best to have options? As for the food, once he's found something he likes and made a good impression on the shopkeeper, he slips a few extras into his bag the next time the shopkeeper is distracted by someone else. If people are going to have all this food around, isn't it best to stock up?


3. and what rough beast, its hour come round at last (around Trench)

He's been able to get some sleep, with Emrys to keep watch and assure him that there are no actual eyes following him. But at night he hears the whispering more clearly, making it even harder to rest, even if he weren't a light sleeper in the first place.

So Aske- Lucius starts doing what he's often done over the past year when insomnia struck and most people lay in bed. He explores.

When he does so, he is followed, though not by anything he can see. The corpse-like form of a once-beautiful woman, with pale blonde hair and a ragged, simple dress, stumbles behind him. Sometimes she holds a scrap of blanket up above her head. Sometimes she collapses onto her knees and has to crawl a while. But there's nothing truly threatening about her. She simply trails sadly after the boy, whether he's walking the streets to see where else people remain awake or climbing over garden walls as part of an attempt to fully map out various alley pathways and cul de sacs.

The actual threat appears on a night when, exhausted and frustrated, Lucius neglects to wear a mask. The figure of another woman begins to follow him as well, all dressed in gleaming white - and entirely missing her head.

Emrys notices first. The Omen takes off from its position on Lucius's shoulder, letting out an ear-splitting shriek. The boy instantly draws his sword, turning to find the source of the danger.