Five Thousand Miles for Something, at Least (open)

@"Penumbra"

If anyone paid attention enough to the background, they would have noticed several things. One, the weather was magnificent. Two, the people were actively moving around, and three, there was, in the distance barely visible, a massive eldritch abomination, tentacles softly swaying in the wind.

Then it disappeared, disappearing as if it fell straight down somewhere.

Elsewhere, near the bench, a zipper manifested on an empty patch of pavilion and opened up, and up shot a man in a white dress shirt. His hair was slicked back, neat, but his sideburns, beard and mustache along his chiseled and weathered face gave a more rugged look almost contrasting with the neatness of the top of his head.

His sleeves were folded up to his elbow, his collar was popped, and in one hand he held a tiny folding umbrella. Freddy had come to town to play.

Even from the distance he was earlier in his other form, he could sense everyone that entered the grounds. There were so many familiar souls, those he noticed every single day, that when a new pair came in it was fire to his nerves. Instantly, once the two stopped moving, he ported himself to where they were, and now he stood feet behind the bench.

There was but one person sitting there. Strange. He could sense two - oh.

A sinister grin formed slowly across his face. A newcomer... who also had a newcomer inside. Was she aware or was she not? Either way, it would be an interesting day.

He fixed up his shirt a bit and strode over to the bench, leaning with his arms folded on it. "How do you like the place so far?"

Neil was totally lost, which was a weird thing because he had been living on this island for his entire life. He had ended up in the schools courtyard, a place he hadn't been for several years. Ah yes school, he remembered school very fondly. Even though Neil Harmon was completely human, the school welcomed and accepted him with open arms.

But Neil was lost in a place in which he had become fairly unfamiliar. He stood close to a bench and tapped his chin in thought.
"This is just like the movie Home Alone 2: Lost in New York, starring Macaulay Culkin, Joe Pecsi, and Daniel Stern. Directed by Chris Columbus, and written by John Hughes. I can remember the tag line "Yikes! I did it again!" Refreing to how Kevin McCallister had found himself separated from his family again on Christmas!"
He looked to his left and noticed the bench he was standing next to was occupied.
"Oh! I apologize, I didnt see you there!"

Darren was strolling down a path of a park, somewhere between heaven and hell. On one end, it was a positively splendid morning, birds chirping, kids laughing, teens talking amongst friend groups, all that happy-go-lucky stuff. On the other end, it was swelteringly hot. He pulled and tugged at the collar of his polo shirt, wishing he had chosen to dress a bit more appropriately for this weather. While he wore black cargo-stlyed shorts, he had chosen the polo to at least look the tiniest bit official. It was white, a black gear adorning the stomach of the shirt. Instead of buttoning it all the way up, he left it mostly unbuttoned and wore a small red informal ascot, hung to the right side.

So, to sum it up, he was boiling. For a second, he thought about bringing up Falinwen to form some kind of hand fan, or at least summon Maya to have some conversation with, but no. That would simply be a waste. Instead, he looked for shelter, some kind of shade somewhere. What he found was a simple wooden bench, which sat by a tree that cast a shadow that covered some grass...

Oh, sweet salvation. Running a hand across his forehead, Darren would walk over to the bench, noting the three people in the immediate area. Darren would find a place to sit just to the left of the bench, in the shade of the tree. He would look to the three, giving each a simple once over before smiling and speaking. "Ah, don't mind me. I'm just here to get out of the burning sun for a sec."

Tanau's first impression of this school was, well, a positive one. The mere turnout this place had was enough to fill him with wonder; there were about as many, if not more, races in this little pocket of reality than he had ever seen in many others!

The weather, however, was a different story. It was sweltering. He thanked whatever deity was acknowledged on Earth that he was given that tee shirt and grey shorts on the way to the island. The hint of a gentle breeze was nice, but wasn't quite enough to make much of a difference. He formed his hand into a handfan to help alleviate the heat but even that wasn't enough. At least he had his cracked shades to protect his eyes from blindness. It seemed the heat had managed to win the day. Until he found a spot of shade under a tree. As a bonus, he could get to know some of its other occupants. Too worn out from the heat to fly, he walked closer to that spot of salvation.

"Ditto" he spoke in response to another person who had just arrived.

"Well well well," Freddy began, clapping his hands almost excitedly. "People are gathering. Screws up my plan, but having, let's see... having six people in the same area is - fuck, I forgot where I was going with that. You folks want coffee?"

Freddy sat himself right on the brnch, ignoring all senses of personal space, legs crossed and arms spread out. One hand zipped a small hole in the air open, reached in, and pulled out a mug os hot coffee, while the other clapped Neil lightly on the back. "Oh, sure, you didn't notice. It's bright out, hiw the hell could you not? Thinking of something else, boy?"

He turned his attention to that chunk of prime real estate by the tree and said, "You there... with the - I have no idea what that is actually - you seem new. You met any of the demons running around town yet?"

"Oh id love a cup of coffee!" Neil said to the person who had been mumbling something about a 'plan' earlier, probably noting suspicious. Then he put his hand on Neils back.

"Well I dont think im a boy anymore, and I was thinking all about Home Alone 2: Lost in New York. Thats a title that just dosnt make a lot of sense, lost in New York. How can you get lost in New York? Ive been a few times! The streets are numbered. Where are you 24th and 5th? Where do you want to go, 35th and 6th? 11 up and 1 over! Its quite simple!" Neil said, sounding passionate.

Freddy was torn between wanting to give this young one coffee - not like he particularly seemed to need such - and not doing so, out of some half-assed concern that he might explode from the sheer energy. Then he figured that coffee would be more fun. "Okay, okay, simmer down, boy, I'll get you some coffee. Or rather, you'll do it."

He put a hand on Neil's chest - down the middle - and then abruptly pulled him open. Down his torso now was an opened zipper, and peering inside, one could see a desk with three cups of coffee. "But, you know, you're not getting it for free - you'll have to play for it."

Carefully, Freddy stuck his head into Neil's chest and peered around for a bit, then put an arm in and brought a fourth cup into view. "Okay, one of these is coffee. One is water, one is empty, and the last one is... some sort of special wine. It's simple - just pick one out and test your luck!"