#portvaledrop003

[portvalehq]

PLOT DROP 003 - A PORT VALE WINTER 

For many of the locals, once the festivities of Halloween ended, it was time to begin the preparations for the colder months - Port Vale is no stranger to snow, and though the ocean never manages to freeze over, ice and chilly winds are only of a few threats they must face as a community as the holidays draw near. The last half of December always promises a small burst of tourism, the crazy adventuring types who get out for winter break or crave a small-town setting to huddle down with their hot cocoa and projects. For those who call Port Vale home?... the peaceful falling snow overnight is far from what their lives look like behind closed doors. 

Though the unsuspecting locals were able to finally relax with Xander Blackmore’s wedding to Siobhan Waters delayed, there were more than a few souls finding plenty of other things to worry about. Word had begun to spread, slowly at first, of Siobhan’s true nature - a selkie, alleged to not be in town alone, and many feared her intentions. However, despite the shocking revelations of October, Port Vale had entered the sleepy spell that the winter months always promise. Of course, it doesn’t last long... 

ANOTHER NEW FACE ARRIVES IN TOWN

It was Thomas O’Cuilinn who the first to get the opportunity to see her - Scylla had come to shore, looking perfectly human. Her first stop? The Mermaid Museum. She may have managed to spend the entirety of her visit undetected by him; but her own surprise was what gave her away. Upon seeing Thomas, Scylla’s fingers went slack, and released their grip on an artifact she’d been inspecting closely. It fell with a crash and shattered, a priceless treasure from the depths of a shipwreck gone in a flash. “You... came back? You’re- alive?” The woman gasped out, looking almost as if she would reach out and touch him... but instead, uttered a promise to repay the cost of damages, and all but fled the building. 

Seeing the hippocampi had done nothing but inspire Scylla more to investigate this town, so different from how she remembered it - the lighthouse, still standing strong as ever, though it was obvious it had faced many a storm in the centuries that had passed. It was that; the beacon of the town, that had drawn her from the sea, and it wasn’t until later when she was safely settled in Soren Nader and Wren Salmon’s apartment, joined by Siobhan and Aylin Topal, that Scylla was able to put her next plan into motion. 

“I have a great interest in the North Star, the lighthouse,” She explained to the small group of them; those she considered her closest allies here, those of her creations which she felt she could trust. Not all of the selkies had taken as well to her gift than others; so to them, she entrusted this task. “I want to know who owns it, who owned it before them, I want to have a detailed history of the repairs, especially. I need to know... everything about it. That Moray man, I need that information, too.” 

To this, Siobhan was visibly uncomfortable, eyes darting down low, and offering nothing more than a nod - strange behavior, but they knew better than to question her with Scylla around. She promised to return in the new year, with others like them - with more tasks, too, most likely, and Scylla would be expecting reports on the mermaids, sirens, and now... the North Star Lighthouse. As she left, the woman began to lose her strength; faltering, and falling to the snowy ground. It was evening, and the shore was still quite far, so she called out to the single lone person on the street with her - hoping to catch the attention of Gemma Walker. “You! You Coral Sea girl, assist me,” Scylla demanded, reaching out with a shaky hand to be assisted to the beach. If Gemma were to ask questions, they were waved off - the siren was given only the name, Scylla, and once more; a promise of her return. She stressed that she had little time, and a return to the water was essential, but once she reached the water, it was not a tail that appeared. 

INSTEAD.... SCYLLA DISAPPEARED BELOW THE WAVES WITH NO TRACE.

A couple of days pass, and more concerning news wafts through the town’s streets; somehow able to keep ahold of secrets, yet at the same time, managing to spill them all over. Reports of illness in the sea were more frequent now, and some facts were beginning to emerge. The mermaids were suffering the most, but exposure to land seemed to help symptoms. In town, Ridley Alara and Allegra Weaving had become sick, though it was hard to tell if it was a common winter cold or the mysterious illness of Assyria - both were unwell, and showing severe cold symptoms. 

But they were not the only sirens to be up late worrying; Elistra Smith had an interesting dream the same night that Scylla was in town, though she was oblivious at the time to her presence. In the dream, there was a voice - she spoke comfortingly, in the dream, just a vague figure in the water with Elistra, in her siren form. It was calm in the sea, but dark - thick, almost, but the figure continued speaking. Elistra. I’m sorry you did not find a home here, in what I created for you all. There was a terrible mistake, and the reckoning for it is upon us all now. Even you. You may hide behind your legs, but you are seen, and you are very much needed. I have not yet faded, not entirely. Do not lose faith. If anything else, do not lose that, for I exist, and I am coming. 

Perhaps it could have been only that; a dream, and nothing more, but when Elistra awoke the next morning, her hair was wet, dripping onto her pillow, and she smelled exactly of the sea. There were kelp bits matted into her hair, and that morning, the seas were gentle and calm against the surf, as if an echo of the words spoken in the dead of night. 

IN A TOWN OF MERMAIDS, A SIGHTING OCCURS

Something about the wintertime in Port Vale inspired the imagination; if you were to study, really study, the legends and lore that created the town, you’d see a major uptick in alleged mermaid sightings, or otherwise odd occurrences, in these chilly months. For Tiago Nussbaum, it was entirely a product of wrong place, right time; a late night walk, an odd hum from the beach, and an overly curious mind brought him to the shores in the darkness. He was there; he saw it happen, the way Gemma helped Scylla into the sea; how the fragile woman had never resurfaced. At first, you could assume murder had conspired, but that wasn’t all that went noticed under his gaze - but instead, two sirens arriving to the shore, dragging themselves from the water and losing their tail before ducking off to a meeting place to speak of reports back home. Among the locals that the sirens met, Tiago knew he recognized a face somewhere in the mix - but who would believe his stories, if he was able to share them? A town where mermaid sightings are as spoken of as stray cats, but very little taken seriously... 

WINTER WAS UPON PORT VALE. AND SECRETS NEVER TAKE WELL TO THE COLD; AS HEARTS WARM, LIPS LOOSEN, AND THE CRASH OF WAVES AGAINST ROCK PROMISE THAT THE HOLIDAYS WILL BRING PLENTY MORE THAN GOOD CHEER AND JOY FOR ALL.

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