Repose

[VERY backdated. Written not long after Misha's suggestion.]

[Daniel W.]

Dear Daniel,

Misha tells me you are on a journey of self improvement, and so I’d like to send you my best wishes for your success. I hope my letter finds you well as it leaves me at present. I also hope that you will not be away and on your own for too long. I feel we haven’t had many opportunities to talk before you left, and I regret that, as I do enjoy talking with you and appreciate your interest in my music.

Life in Repose has been carrying on with it's usual strangeness, though I doubt that is anything anyone would miss, so I’ll tell you of the more normal goings on instead. I’ve worked on another production by Ren Solitaire. It was a musical this time, as well as a comedy; Spamalot. The humor was quite lost on me, it all seemed rather nonsensical, but being able to lose myself in the challenge of getting the music side of it all together was strangely exciting, albeit stressful.

In general, though, I have not been as stressed as I was before. You might think me a new person when we meet again. I often feel like one. I suppose that is the good being in love will do. I feel guilty, however, feeling happy when my friends are going through difficult times. I assume you’ve heard what happened to Holly? Noah told me he had been shot during an incident at the facility. He recovered, but that same incident has caused much trouble for my roommate, Adrian March. It is all shrouded in mystery, I know very little of what happened, only that Adrian is now incarcerated at the facility due to his involvement. It is terribly frustrating not to be able to do anything about it.

Ah, I said I wasn’t going to write about Repose’s strangeness, but it seems impossible to avoid doing so when it is threaded through everything that happens here. Wherever you are, enjoy being free of it! Unless you are missing it? Either way, I hope to see you again soon.

Yours, Dietre Abendroth

PS: Forgive me if this letter lacks focus, I’ve not written very many in my life. I promise to do better in my next, should you wish for me to write another.

[Hannah S]

[It is sent care of Hookerville and the courier diligently goes from trailer to trailer. The handwriting isn't Cass's. It's somebody with flamboyant curls and swirls of blue ink, and the paper wrapping isn't neat, but sloppy and heavy on tape. On the inside is written, 'Cass said something about this is easier' and it's wrapped in bubble-wrap over a soft, canvas bag it has been wrapped in. Whoever it is signs a slash of a name that's illegible. The canvas cotton smells like crumbling incense and old wine and the necessary wires are thoughtfully twisted into an elastic band at the bottom of the bag.]

( Check your mailbox. )

[There are a few assorted homemade cookie deliveries around town, as Claire is wont to do.
One to Janus: You are too smart for me. How have you manipulated me into making you cookies all the time? ~Claire
One to Hannah: Thank you for being you. Dinner soon. ~Claire
One to Ren: You certainly picked an interesting show. ~Claire
One to Misha: Love you. No matter what. ~Claire
One to Alex: I hope the new job is going well! Thank you for the story time! ~Claire
And TWO to Kratos: For the both of you. Thank you, again. ~Claire]

[Text: Lucifer M]
Will you be coming to Rome?

[Letter: Daniel W]
( A letter penned thoughtfully, in French, on her heavy pristine white stationary. )

[It comes in a cardboard box, one of the large ones in which a bunch of Girlscout cookie boxes fit. It still smells ever so faintly of chocolate and coconut.

Inside the box, in a bed of crumpled newspaper, is a promised puzzle box. This one is steel forged in hellfire--it has a kind of zing she'll recognize, and it's sort of blue-ish, the way Janus' eyes get sometimes these days. It is three boxes in one, and each rectangular piece turns on a hinge, creating something like a book. Each individual box has a puzzle in it that unlocks a key to the next "page."

The puzzles include a miniature flattened version of a Burr puzzle, a vaguely planetary one and various interlocking pieces that eventually assemble to make a final key to the final box. (Assuming she gets that far...)]

[sent in a plain shipping envelope with the comic shop as the return address, is a hardcover copy of this

Inside the front cover is the envelope from Bea, as well as a handwritten note on a torn scrap of notebook paper. In the sort of handwriting that says the owner knows it's bad, but he's really, really, trying, reads:]

hope you like it
alex

[Circa two days post-facility-go-boom.]

[Locked to Ren S]
Hey man

[Locked to Dietre A]
Dietre you ok?

[Locked to Tandy B]
Sorry for freaking on you

[Delivery: Adrian M]
[In an Amazon delivery box, addressed to Adrian March via the facility, is just a blanket. It's nothing dope af or expensive, but Noah remembers feeling cold and, well, maybe it'll Adrian feel less alone or something. It comes with one of those included notes, but Noah gets that everything probably gets looked through, so it's just: From Noah]

[In the weeks since their meeting, Vaughn has been the recipient of a variety of gifts. Not daily, but several times a week when he returns home from work there is something waiting for him. Sometimes they are left on the kitchen counter, sometimes the couch, but more often than not they are left on his bed.

Some of the gifts are as follows (in no particular order):

A pair of designer sunglasses.

A copy of the movie Ravenous.

A very expensive watch.

A Day of the Dead skeleton made of wood and clay with red sequins for eyes and glitter dusting it's ribs.

$214.63 in total over the course of several days, appearing in wads of crumpled mixed bills and handfuls of change.

A very nice, and very empty, pre-owned leather wallet.

A small pile of black feathers (left as a joke to make Vaughn think he’d find a dead bird somewhere in his apartment, but not to worry, the feathers are from a craft store.)

An opened three pack of Ring Pops with the blue raspberry flavored pop missing.

A white on black #1 Dad baseball hat.

If asked about the origins of these things Mao is elusive, assuring only that they 'won't be missed.']

Tags: *delivery, mao senri, vaughn thomas

[locked to adrian m]
hey.
so about the portal under the facility.

[locked to marta f]
so, sunny,
let's talk about how i got upset,
and you got upset,
and we both got upset.

[delivered to bea h]
[Divorce papers. They're delivered via courier, using the Webster family lawyer, and they're crazy generous. The lawyer was actually way disapproving, but she gets alimony until she marries, and she gets the lion's share of Holly's military earnings and his entire pension, regardless of her married-unmarried state.]

[Delivery: Adrian M]

[Delivered by owl, after sundown. A note. It simply tells Adrian that Newt is going to join Patrick for a time. He's taken his case, the dog, and the cats. They'll be back and please, take care of himself.]

[Delivery: Daniel W]

[Left under the door to Daniel's flat is a note from Newt. It says he's going abroad for a bit, but that he'll be back and would he please look after Adrian now and again.]

["News"ish]
[Any forums locked to Newt do go through, but they remain unanswered. The cabin in the woods is empty and locked up.]

[He considers leaving a note for Adrian, posting to the dude, but in the end he only leaves a note for Newt. Left upon the bed, in his silken script (and accompanied by one blue elfstone in a small satchel), the morning after the dreaming has ceased:]

Bad dream, man. Visiting home for a few weeks. Work has been notified, and I will be in contact. Attempt not to seek out too much trouble while I am away. If you need me, hold onto what is within. - Patrick

[B&B]
[On Tuesday, early in the morning, the B&B goes up for sale. There's a sign in the front window, and the sale is listed in the local newspaper and in various Capital publications and realtor websites. Incredibly, the place, which is a historical landmark, is being sold for the sum of $100. The seller will pay all closing costs, and title transfer is available immediately upon closing. Interested parties are given a number to call which belongs to a well-respected law firm in the Capital. Should any current residents of the B&B or Repose show interest they have, as it were, 'dibs.' Until the B&B is sold, it will be run by offsite management.

Oh, and one last thing. Workers arrive at the Carriage House, which stands adjacent to the B&B, early in the morning. A wrecking ball soon follows, and the Carriage House is brought down by lunchtime. The area is cleared and trees and flowers are planted where the Carriage House once stood.

As for the previous owner of the B&B, a new ownership deed is filed on Tuesday for the old homestead on the island in the middle of the lake.]

[Delivery, Janus A]
[On Tuesday, early in the morning, the property that the container house sits on is deeded over to one Janus Allen. A lawyer from the Capital brings the paperwork to Janus at the Greyhound Station. The paperwork includes a caveat that the land Billy's trailer sits on in his for as long as Billy wants it.]

[Left inside Misha's school locker with no sign of how it got there, is a small carved wooden box. The outside motifs are largely leaves and vines, the hint of branches hidden by the "greenery". Intertwined with it are symbols so old that there are very few able to read it, though its closest translation is עֵץ הַחַיִּים.

Inside is a note, unsigned:
For your beloved, only if it is needed. You'll know when, and you'll know what to do.

And a leaf. And a single fruit.

Both have the feeling of being older than ancient, but neither has wilted or withered a single bit, and they never will. Any time the box is opened, they still smell as if they've been picked right from the tree, though the outside of the box holds the slightest scent of charred wood.]

( Delivery for Hannah Smith )

[When Mason enters The Chamberlain's Men in time for work, he'll find a bottle of whiskey waiting in his office for him. There's a little heart shaped note attached to it, which simply reads 'Happy Thursday x']

[Delivery: Hannah S]
[Delivered to Hannah's trailer is just a CD. There's no case, no anything.]

[Locked to Destiny S]
hey, boss.

[Locked to Mayers+]
share whatever song you're listening to the most right now.

[Public]
i'm looking for whoever i gave a deathdate to.

[Patrick G]

You are so lucky I'm tone deaf.

[Damian W]

Is Misha okay?

[A Thank You Card for Newt P]

[Adrian sends a small thank you card in the mail. It reads simply:] Thanks, and happy holidays. -Adrian

[The box is small and white. Inside is a red velvet ribbon tied into a neat bow. Handwritten instructions tell him to unravel the bow in order to feel carefree for a day. Included within the box are a couple of enamel pins that made Santa think of him.]

[Inside of a small, glossy box lined with cotton, there is an pendant of Amazonite stone touched by the magic he requested. It comes with a small, black cord inside the box as well, may be easily removed, and won't leave any lasting effects on him.]

[Sure enough, the mortgage is paid off on Mercy H's shop. It just takes the proper number of business days after Christmas to acknowledge it. There's a card with something hand written on the inside. Merry Christmas punk.]