McCoy Apple Orchard A forked tongue drips poison in your ear

[Third on the Match]

The Many-Headed

Difficulty: Master | Gameplay Rules

The Encounter's Dice Pool is inactive until players tag @admin in #mod-request for the combat Encounter card when the mask is found.

DC: 3

Hostile

Keyword: Venom, Acid

Cinder 9d6

Strike 6d6

Luck 4

Once revellers find the many-headed mask, they will see a full-face mask in tarnished bronze, its brilliant sheen just underneath the surface. The full-face mask depicts several faces wearing different expressions, all crowded in and patterned with the suggestion of scales. A trick of the eye makes it difficult to tell if it has six or nine faces peering at its watcher.

[Max Kuryakin]

An open entry toga party was one of the weirder party concepts Max had come across, but he wasn't about to complain about it. Emily was more focused on the bacchanalia aspect of it, voicing her doubts and calling back to their little run-in with the golden cat. Max thought she had a point, but he'd argued that he'd run into a ghost, a tiger monster, and a rat-man without needing a party to serve as an excuse. The world was lousy with the fuckers.

So, here they were, Max looking over the display of togas at one of the Party Planet booths. They looked like they were good quality, the fabric nothing to scoff at when he touched it and rubbed it between his fingers, the rich cloth in purples, reds, and greens accentuating the slightly off-white robes. They looked like sheets folded up, but the manikins on display showed that they weren't fucking around.

Emily had brought her own, so Max was trying to make up his mind when one of the attendants waylaid him and, with a rapid-fire and eager speech on why this one suited him the best, handed him bundles of cloth, thicker green cloth folded over it all. Before he could get a word out to Emily, he was shooed into a changing booth, leaving him at the mercy of the cloth.

In the end, he gave up, the structure of the garment a confusing mess even with the instructions stuck to the mirror.

“Hey, Em!” He called, poking his head out from behind the curtain, just in his briefs and absolutely unbothered. The Party Planet attendee snickered. “Come on, give me a hand.”

[Emily Reyes]

Outfit - An Unsatisfactory Toga

Fortunately, Emily wasn't too far off when Max called, standing a few feet off and studying one of the togas on the manikin as she waited for a dressing room. To her great displeasure, one of the Party Planet associates had taken one look at her try at a toga and cheerfully declared it unsatisfactory. Emily had tried to protest, distract, fog, and defer, but the attendant was insistent, and after a whirlwind of fast-talking and a bit of fluffing ('But this color would be perfect on you!' was always a killer for Emily), she found herself with her own armful of fabric.

She was huffy about it but not overly so--after all, it was the second time she'd been charmed into something this evening, and now that Max had lured her out of the house, her defenses were low. It was nice, honestly, going out knowing that something could happen but deciding they could simply handle it. The purse she balanced on top of the folds of fabric had everything she needed, and her spellqueller was always looped around her neck. Moreover, the togas themselves were not as she feared--where she'd expected cheap fabric smelling of a musty bin in the back of a high school theatre storeroom, they smelled clean, and the material felt quality in her hands.

“Yeah?” she called back, glancing over to see Max was standing there in nothing but his underwear. Naturally, he didn't seem to give a damn--honestly, Emily thought that if she looked as good as Max, maybe she wouldn't either--but she hopped to, a little shocked to see him naked in public. “What? Is that-” She glanced over at the Party Planet worker, but they were already busy with another customer. And they were adults; they could help each other out in a dressing room. “Okay, yeah, yeah, go, go, go,” she said as she hustled him back into the little room. After closing the curtain, Emily admitted with a wry grin, “They got me in a real toga too, so you can help me.”

[Max Kuryakin]

While Max's call for help had been entirely innocent, Emily's hustling him back into the changing room had him grinning like the cat who caught the canary. His grin widened when she admitted she'd gotten called out on wearing a dress to a toga party. They didn't have to wear one, but those Party Planet guys were persistent and charismatic. Just something about it.

“You do me, and I'll do you, huh?” Max joked slyly, flicking the fabric of his chosen toga hanging from the changing room pegs. It looked like a bunch of sheets, but if the instructions were any indication there was a method to the madness.

The space was small enough that there was hardly any space between them, so reaching behind Emily to tug at the zipper of her dress was easy. Somehow teasing Emily was more important than getting dressed.

[Emily Reyes]

After putting her things down on a little chair in the corner of the booth, she turned her attention to the toga instructions, very intent on doing this correctly after being teased by the attendant. Of course, it didn't take long for her to notice that Max was standing very close, that he was half-naked, and that he smelled terrific in this tiny space. Which was nothing new, hilariously, but they were in public.

Once Emily realized what she'd done (shut herself in a tiny room with a naked, flirty werewolf with whom she had a track record) her entire body flushed all at once, heat blushing up her neck to the apples of her cheeks. “Don't do that!” she scolded in a whisper, helplessly grinning as she glanced over at the curtain. Whatever she was telling Max not to do wasn't immediately apparent since he'd have to unzip her dress anyway. However, Emily couldn't immediately clarify, because the air was abruptly very stuffy, and all of her thoughts were in a car crash. Neverthless, better that she didn't since it boiled down to 'I don't want to leave here looking like I just played seven minutes in heaven.'

Squirming away even as Max got the zipper halfway down, she poked her fingers into his sides, insisting, “Let's do you first!”

[Max Kuryakin]

And Max got the reaction he was looking for. As always, it was tough to see Emily's blush, the red getting lost in the hue of her olive skin, but he'd seen it enough that he could see the subtle change. It helped that she scolded him even as she grinned, a surefire sign that he'd gotten her all flushed and blushy.

The squirming helped, too, even if she poked him in the sides and chased his hands away. Giggling, unrepentant and just happy to be fooling around, Max held up his hands in a silent truce. He was grinning, but he didn't step back.

“Alright, alright,” Max relented verbally this time. “You able to figure out these bedsheets?”

[Emily Reyes]

Grinning and still flushed, as Max backed off, she poked him one last time in the ribs, before turning her attention back to her dress. It was a little counterproductive, but now the asymmetrical garment was hanging off her slim frame, about to fall off anyway, so she unzipped it the rest of the way and let it fall to the floor.

“I might be able to figure out the bedsheets,” Emily assured him with a little eye roll and a grin. She could absolutely figure out the bedsheets. If Max didn’t distract her again. She stepped out of her discarded dress and picked it up to hang on a vacant hook. “Where's the largest piece? The half-circle?”

[Max Kuryakin]

Max lazily batted at her hand as Emily tried for one last poke, but he didn't try to escalate it. They had to get the togas on, exemplified by Emily giving up on fighting his would-be overture to slip out of the dress. As she shimmied out of it, he brushed her hair off her shoulder, letting his eyes glance down at her strapless bra and a pair of lacy panties that barely looked like a piece of fabric. Light and breezy for the warm weather.

“Cute,” he remarked warmly, not expecting a response as he brushed his hand over her hip. He wasn't a connoisseur of underwear or anything, but Emily seemed like she bought stuff to look good wearing. He refocused on the toga hanging on the hooks. “I think it's this one?”

Lifting the one Max meant, he stepped back and held it out in front of him, letting the fabric fold out so Emily could look at it better. He made a thoughtful sound, wondering how Romans had dealt with this mass of material.

[Emily Reyes]

The gentle touches Max gave her were fairly innocent all things considered, but they still left her hyperaware of his closeness and all that naked skin and muscle he was putting on display. It made her wonder how close the attendant was to them and if she was paying any attention to the dressing rooms beyond making sure nobody ran off without paying.

However, Emily was not bold enough to pursue anything in the dressing room, even if the way Max pushed her hair back and brushed his warm fingertips over the curve of her hip was sweetly sensual. It was a little embarrassing that he could hear her heartbeat as it picked up, but it wasn't as though she wasn't already blushing.

At the compliment, she grinned at the floor, bashful and unwilling to admit that she'd worn the pair for him to see. Eventually. So, mission accomplished, and it was a nice compliment to boot. Chewing her lip, Emily cleared her throat and forced herself to focus on the toga as Max pulled down the half-moon piece.

There wasn't a lot of room for them to take a good look at the piece, but Emily was able to squish herself into a corner to get a longer view. “I think so.” Stepping close again, she pulled her fingers down along the fabric, saying, “Okay, if you hold one end, I get the other behind and over your shoulder.” Her voice was soft like she expected to be discovered in Max's dressing room if she spoke too loudly.

[Max Kuryakin]

Max grinned at Emily's silent reaction, taking in all the little physiological changes that told him she was reacting but not acting on. He let her keep them on course. He wasn't about to get them in trouble in a dressing room, bacchanalia or not.

“Yeah,” Max said, taking the end Emily meant and focusing on what she was doing, standing straight up and down and holding his arms up so they wouldn't get in the way of where he thought the toga was going. He was going to do the same for Emily, after all. It wouldn't do to walk around in shoddy toga wrapping. Or get judged by the Party Planet attendants. “And then you, uh, wrap the other end, right?”

His eyebrows were scrunched up as he thought it through, giving toga wearing a little more focus than it probably warranted.

[Emily Reyes]

With the other end in hand, Emily glanced at the instructions on the mirror and then answered, “Right. Behind, and over your shoulder. Then around, over the shoulder again.” It was a bad explanation, but she didn't elaborate when she was about to do it for real anyway.

Switching the end she held between her hands, she stepped close as Max straightened and lifted his arms. Pulling the cloth under the same arm he held one end in, she glanced up at him with a grin as she gave in to temptation and pressed herself flush to his front so she could reach around him and pass the cloth from one hand to the other. Like always, his skin was invitingly warm, and Emily hummed, pleased and shimmied against him a little, making it crystal clear that this was no accident.

[Max Kuryakin]

He didn't quite follow, but he focused on what she was doing as she leaned against him to pass the fabric behind him, Max divining what she was doing by the fact that it was, in the end, a simple half-moon-shaped bit of fabric, not rocket science. Some of it he could infer just by which end came out where and got wrapped around what.

Then Emily shimmied, and Max's thoughts switched to something less technical than fabric and clothing folds. It wasn't a businesslike press of bodies, only standing close to get something done quickly, not with how she hummed and moved. Max huffed a small laugh, lowering his right arm to settle a hand on her hip. The left relaxed, dropping to hang by his side as he leaned down, humming as he nestled his nose against her temple and scented her.

Max enjoyed the moment, letting it linger in the relative innocence of closeness, considering he could hear the people moving around beyond the curtain. An attendant was talking about togas with a clueless tourist out by the front of the toga rental booth.

“And then?” Max murmured, grinning against her temple.

[Emily Reyes]

“And then...” Emily murmured, sounding distracted but happy to be even slightly wrapped up in Max. Her heart was now thumping with gentle excitement, although, as always, besides the blush, she kept her cool on the outside.

Maybe she'd look cool as a cucumber if Max couldn't hear her heartbeat, but as it was, Emily knew he had clear signals about how much she was enjoying herself. Maybe it was having that in mind that made flirting easier, though. The cat was already out of the bag, after all. As she pulled the end she had in hand over his left shoulder, she tipped her head to one side, overtly offering up the long line of her throat.

[Max Kuryakin]

As Emily pulled the tail of the fabric over his shoulder and tipped her head, Max took the unspoken invitation. He trailed his nose from her temple down the curve of her neck, his nose picking up more than he thought his brain could fully process, stuck thinking as a human as he was. He caught her perfume, body wash, maybe her moisturiser. The different layers obscured the smell of her prickling sweat in the heat.

Max breathed on her neck for a moment, taking in the smell in a move that wasn't quite human. The hand on her hip slid to grip her ass, broad hand gently squeezing as he held her. The werewolf hummed like he was considering something interesting before he licked along the line of her neck, then fitted his mouth over her skin and started sucking a bruise into her skin, marking her up with a hickey.

Maybe he'd hit low enough that her toga could cover it. Maybe.

[Emily Reyes]

Emily had expected to tease and be teased in return, knowing they had very little privacy or time for fooling around. Instead, she went still as Max took the invitation and wordlessly explored the line of her neck. Then, the witch was forced to suck in a breath and hold it around a moan as he fixed his mouth to her skin. The hand on her ass had her going up on her toes, leaning against Max, one hand gripping his waist while the other fisted in the undone toga.

Eyelashes fluttering with pleasure, she giggled and turned her face into his shoulder to pant lightly against his skin. Emily was trying hard not to make any noise, but she was game, so much so that the hand not holding the toga slipped down to grab his ass in return. She didn't even mind knowing he'd leave marks, maybe because they were already at a party. Where else to do this but at a bacchanalia?

[Max Kuryakin]

And they were tangling together again, wordless and following silent cues. Emily's giggle was cute, especially since Max could tell she was otherwise trying to keep quiet, her breath gusting over his shoulder. He popped off from the spot he was sucking on, laving over the sore spot gently, before he trailed wet kisses back up her neck, gently biting her earlobe as he straightened.

“Gotta get on with it,” Max murmured, although what he wanted them to get on with exactly could be up to interpretation. The toga dressing? The groping? Both? He slid his hand away from her ass, bringing both up to frame her face. He tipped her chin up to give her a leisurely kiss, leaning into it and making it filthier than it needed to be. He wanted to get up to no good with her, but there were better spots in these bacchanalian gardens to do it than the dressing room.

Still, he aimed to get her toes curling with the kiss, lips smacking as he leaned into it, pulling back, only wanting more. But he could hear the attendant rummaging around among the piled fabrics just a few feet away from them.

“Let's get these damn togas on, and I can rip it off you in the orchards or something,” Max muttered, pushing his mouth against hers, his lips curling into a smirk at his hyperbole.

[Emily Reyes]

By the time Max was trailing kisses up her neck to bite at her earlobe, Emily's heartbeat was thundering. Eyes screwed shut, she was open-mouth panting, struggling to stay quiet, laughter and little pleasured noises clamoring in her chest. The laughter continued to win out, stifled little giggles that probably gave her up just as much as the moans if anyone was listening. Hopefully not, but half the fun was still the secrecy.

Emily looked up when Max cupped her cheeks, grinning as she went into the kiss but gasping sharply when he pushed it. Despite herself, Emily melted into it, pleasure and warmth making her head spin and the rest of the world fall away. She pushed herself up onto her toes, forgetting the end of the toga to wrap her arms over Max's broad shoulders. One hand went into his hair as she clung to him, bending back as he leaned over her.

When Max pulled away, her cheeks were burning, and she was panting like she'd just gone for a sprint, sure that her lipgloss was rubbed away. Still, when Emily cocked her head and caught the sound of rustling fabric just on the other side of their curtain, she just bit her lip and grinned, completely unrepentant.

“Yeah... Let's not get kicked out now,” she murmured warmly and lacking conviction. Then, as Max fit his mouth over hers, Emily couldn't resist the slide of their lips and pressed in for another few kisses before finding the will to angle her head so she could plant a kiss on his cheek instead. Her arms tightening as she pulled herself up against him in a hug, swept up in a sudden upwelling of keen affection. She hummed, deeply satisfied, but she couldn't specifically say about what. Just being here with Max was enough.

[Max Kuryakin]

Concordance, exceptional success

Although it didn't always loom in the back of Max's mind, the bond often came alive in situations like this. The distant feeling of what he'd come to recognise as Emily's ebbing emotions, but only when they were powerful. He had to read it in the context of the rest of her, but he couldn't help feeling awed each time he remembered.

Max wasn't feeling anything he didn't already know, but it only reminded him they couldn't get caught up in it, even with Emily's hands in his hair and her arms around his shoulders. Pure temptation, but the rustling of fabric and a huffed laugh from the other side of the curtain, catching on his sharp ears, was enough to make it clear their time of privacy was running out. They might be getting in the way of other toga rentals.

Emily seemed to think the same, her lips going to his cheek and the flirty embrace turning into a hug. There was a surge of emotion from that spot in his head Max had mentally labelled 'Emily', affection so strong it bled over and melded with his own. Although he was still feeling flirty, it was easy to push it aside to turn his face into her hair, smiling as he wrapped his arms around her waist and gently lifted her to hold her in the hug.

After a brief squeeze, Max put her back down, reluctantly stepping back and catching the falling corners of his toga. It had held up, sort of, but it looked rumpled. Laughing gently, he remarked dryly, “Do we have to start over again?”

[Emily Reyes]

Emily hummed in delight as Max effortlessly pulled her off her feet. Then, knowing it wouldn't do much, Emily squeezed him as hard as she could manage, relishing the hug and all of the unspoken affection. It was a good way to recalibrate, even if she was still thinking about his hands on her ass.

When he set her down, she stepped back, sighing and smiling. Reaching out to help catch the toga before it hit the floor, she nodded. “We got up to... Oh, step one,” she revealed with a quiet laugh. That had to be a new record when it came to getting distracted. Aware of the attendant outside, Emily fluffed out the toga to remove a few of the wrinkles, ready to stay on track and get them out of the dressing rooms.

[Max Kuryakin]

“Not too big of a setback, then,” Max joked as Emily started shaking out the toga to remove any possible wrinkles. Not that it would be too obvious, thought Max, considering the whole thing mainly seemed made out of folds. His hair was a worse sign of what they'd gotten up to.

As Emily readied the sheet again, Max's hands went to his hair, ruffling it back into an ordered mess rather than a mess that'd had someone's hands in it. Managing what he could, he dropped his hands to try to help her with folding the toga, glancing at the instructions again.

Together, they had to figure this thing out, right?

[Emily Reyes]

“Not too bad,” she agreed, feeling a little smug as Max fixed his hair. It made her want to mess it all up again, but that would be another step back. Emily would keep her hands to herself.

As they folded it up together, Emily glanced over the refresh herself on the instructions and, before long, draped the sheet back around Max's shoulders. As they worked out the rest of the toga's drapes and folds around his body, she couldn't help feeling both amused and mildly embarrassed. It was painfully simple, and they hadn't gotten past the first step. But, of course, this time, Emily refrained from draping herself all over Max and squirming, which was the key to victory.

When they'd finished the last fold, Emily pinched her chin and seriously scrutinized their work. Turned out, Max looked very nice in a toga, but she kept that to herself as she nodded, satisfied. “Yeah... I think you'll pass Party Planet muster. Now we have to get through mine.”

[Max Kuryakin]

With no distractions, the pair got the toga puzzle solved, Max picking up enough of it that he was confident he could replicate it for Emily. It draped nicely, the fabric settling comfortably and, although foreign, didn't feel too bad to wear. It wouldn't be entering his daily wear, anyway. When Emily stepped back, Max did a little turnaround, laughing and surprised at how the fabric slightly fanned out around his legs as he moved. He exclusively wore trousers and shorts, so it was another thing to get used to.

As Emily gave him the seal of approval, Max grinned at her referencing how the festival attendant had politely shamed her into spending money at the rental booth. But it was only fun to play along. When in Rome and all.

“Yeah, let's get this bedsheet on you. I bet you'll look unbearably sexy.” Max winked at her as he bent to pick up the folded fabric that was Emily's toga. He started by shaking it out and finding the right ends he needed to work with. “Alright, hold this for me...”

With Emily holding the end, Max started wrapping it around her, glancing at the instructions and recalling what Emily'd done for him. Of course, she had the extra concern of getting her chest covered while Max could get away with having the front looser around his torso.

[Emily Reyes]

Max did a little spin, the fabric flaring out around his legs, and Emily couldn't help grinning, and clapping for him. The whole ensemble held together surprisingly well for having no knots or clasps, and she admired how it left Max's chest bare.

Once more, she consciously decided to keep her hands to herself, huffing a self-conscious laugh at Max's bald compliment. Then, charmed pink and distracted by wanting to return the sentiment somehow, Emily reached for the cloth at the same time as Max, but she let him have it, knowing he'd be doing the lion's share of the work on her.

Taking the end as directed, she obediently lifted her arms much like he had, and straightened her spine, all while craning her neck as she watched Max go through the steps. With his height and reach, he had her wrapped up fairly quickly, and she turned her gaze to his face as he worked. “I don't think togas are for women,” she said thoughtfully, concluding this from the few tidbits of Roman history she remembered and the way it hung off her slender frame, baring half her chest as well. “Or we're missing a piece.”

She'd seen plenty of other women at the festival with just the toga, so it probably passed Party Planet muster as well. Besides, her strapless bra would keep her decent enough. However, it didn't look like it was going to cover her hickey, and Emily brushed her fingers over the bruised skin. The witch wasn't upset about it, especially since she'd invited it, but she knew she'd like to get away from the rental booth sooner rather than later. The attendant was sure to pick up on the fact that it was fresh, and Emily would not be able to stand the knowing looks.

[Max Kuryakin]

Max cocked his head, looking at the fit of the toga on Emily and found he had to agree. She looked sexy, in a kind of boudoir photoshoot way, but it looked a little more precarious than the toga he wore felt. And that hickey was a little noticeable, Max noted, as Emily brushed her fingers over it. He lifted his hand to do the same, pressing down gently as he chewed on his bottom lip.

“Yeah... maybe–” he began, looking around on the floor. Hadn't there been more fabric? Even his had been two parts, but the slumped fabric on the floor was proof they'd rushed ahead and ignored the first step. He bent down to scoop it up. “–here. A tunic? Let's start over, huh?”

He discarded the male tunic, Max knowing he'd rather be nice and cool, no matter how much skin he was showing, but the female tunic was held out to Emily, as his other hand tugged at the fit of her toga so it'd slip off her shoulders.

[Emily Reyes]

Emily tilted her head toward his hand as he put gentle pressure on the hickey, blushing faintly. It must be very noticeable on her dark skin if he could find it so quickly.

With an expedient retreat from the rental booth in mind, Emily was about to shake her head and forgo the tunic--the evening was warm, and she'd think of it like wearing a bikini with a cover-up--but then Max pulled at her tunic and neatly disrobed her. It slid off her shoulder first before completely unraveling, and with a little 'ah' of surprise, Emily laughed as she quickly pinned the fabric to her front. Then, bending to gather the material before it hit the floor, she shook her head, clicking her tongue in good-natured disappointment.

“Look at us, two grown adults. Can't even put together a toga,” she chuckled, fluffing out the toga before holding out to trade it for the tunic. This was far easier to figure out, not much more than what looked like a pillowcase cinched with a belt.

[Max Kuryakin]

If a single tug unravelled it, Max probably hadn't wrapped it very well. Snickering at Emily's comment, not too sore about not being able to figure out ancient clothing, Max handed her the tunic. This one was a sheet with a hole and was relatively lightweight. It wouldn't be too bad to wear it with the toga. And it'd save her any nip slips.

“Not that upset that I can't figure out fashion 2,000 years out of date,” Max quipped back as he readied the toga to try putting it on her again once the tunic was on correctly. This time, he'd get it right.

[Emily Reyes]

“You know, I agree… I think the important part is knowing how to get it off,” Emily said, quiet and sly as she completed the thought with her own. She grinned at Max as she cinched the tunic around her waist with the woven belt and fluffed out her hair. Then she held her arms out to let him wrap her up again.

The new outfit was far more comfortable, with the tunic holding the toga in place with mild friction. It was comfortable too, more than Emily had expected, and she liked the fact that she had the option to take the tunic off now. Layering was always the way to go.

[Max Kuryakin]

Laughing, Max nodded, giving her a little smirk at her words. After what they'd been doing in here, it wasn't far-fetched to assume he'd be doing just that later on. Maybe not in the orchards, as he'd said earlier, but later, sure. But he didn't let himself get distracted by the thought, starting to wind the tunic around her properly this time.

It was quick this time, Max flipping the last bit over her shoulder with a grin. “All wrapped up and proper now. C'mon, maybe if we slip out fast enough, we'll avoid that girl staffing the booth giving us any looks.” They'd already paid for their rental togas, after all.

Max didn't wait for Emily to give the okay, tugging at the curtain to pull it aside.

[Emily Reyes]

“Oh... Yes.” Avoiding any awkward encounters was an incentive to get Emily moving. As Max pulled the curtain aside, she snagged her dress from the hook next to the mirror, draping it over her forearm, and picked up her backpack by the top loop.

Leaving the little booth without looking suspicious was a hard sell since Emily didn't look up at the counter and beelined for the exit between the mannequin displays and stands of folded cloth. If she'd looked, she would've known that the attendant only smiled and waved at them on the way out, but it was irrelevant once they stepped out into the festival.

The toga and tunic combination proved itself to be even more comfortable out in the weather--the loose folds and fine fabric felt breezy in the evening air, and moreover, it was very festive. There was that word again.

“Masks next,” Emily mused, throwing a grin at Max as she shook her dress out and folded it to tuck it away in her backpack. “Fortunately, I don't think we need to assemble those.”

[Max Kuryakin]

Max, who had no real shame–only guilt for being an inconvenience–looked for the rental booth attendant and gave her a wave of goodbye as she sent them off. Emily's eyes seeing straight ahead as she marched out, not even acknowledging a potentially awkward situation, amused him, but he strolled after her without calling attention to it.

Leaving the tent and into the sun, Max squinted out over the fairgrounds, glancing at Emily as she folded her dress and put it away. The weather was perfect for togas, a slight breeze taking the sting off the heat, the light fabric of the toga not stifling at all. The masks, though, were another essential piece of the festival. Max could spot people stopping by several booths advertising the masks they were handing out, walking on with their masks fastened on their heads.

“I think I'd quit if I had to start doing arts and crafts. The toga was hard enough,” Max joked with a laugh, gesturing towards one of the mask handout booths. “Looks like we can grab some masks over there.”

Max started walking, slipping his hand into Emily's, not trying to pull her along but expecting her to follow and match his pace.

[Emily Reyes]

As she put her backpack on, Emily laughed and took Max's hand without a thought, speeding her steps to keep pace with his longer strides. The toga felt pleasant fluttering around her legs, although she was glad her backpack straps kept everything in place. It was unfamiliar to wear. As they walked, she tried to remember the last time she'd seen Max doing arts and crafts and couldn't summon up any memories. Strangely, it didn't fit on him--she could more easily envision him putting in an attempt and then getting mischevious.

“Knowing myself, I'd get too into it,” she replied, self-aware as they approached the booth. “We'd be here forever while I looked for the perfect sequin...” There was a rack of masks just outside the little shop that drew a few passersby and more inside. Trailing off, Emily paused, holding Max's hand tightly to stop him with her as she perused these initial displays. Max would be familiar with her expression--it was the look of an avid window shopper, the kind who not only would take ages on arts and crafts but ages just browsing.

[Max Kuryakin]

The toga around Max's legs would take some getting used to, but Max was taking it all in stride. At least his sandals blended in, and he didn't need to put on some strappy nonsense like a few others. But the two of them blended into the crowd, making the people in regular clothing look out of place. Looking like they fit in, the pair merged into the crowd as they approached the mask booth.

Ever self-aware, even as Emily spoke, she was getting distracted, but Max tugged her along. He wasn't going to let her get caught up window shopping when they weren't going to buy masks when they could get a pair for free.

“I think I'd go insane,” Max laughed, tugging her insistently along to the nearest attendant, giving her an exuberant, “Hello,” and a charming grin. “We heard there were masks?”

[Third on the Match]

The attendant gives Max a half-mask of matte black, lined with raised gold curlicues around the eyes and one edge. The left side frames one half of a brilliantly shining sun, a waxy drop drooping down the cheek of the mask. There is something undeniably magical about it to those who can sense it, but it doesn't feel human.

Mechanical Effect: When the mask is worn, the wearer can absorb a hit to Luck meant for someone else on a successful Strike roll. The effect of taking the hit feels like hot wax splashed on the skin. When the mask is removed, the magic disappears.

Emily gets a half-mask of matte white, lined with raised silver curlicues around the eyes and one edge. The right side frames one half of a brilliantly shining sun, silver lines imitating wind around the sun. The mask is magical to those who can tell, but clearly, something beyond human.

Mechanical Effect: When the mask is worn, the wearer is given the "Air" keyword and can use it as if they were blood magic users, without the drawbacks. It primarily manifests in the form of strong winds, pulling the wearer to the black mask of its twin. When the mask is removed, the ability fades, and the magic in the mask goes inert.

[Emily Reyes]

“Wait! Look at this one-” Emily pleaded, pointing at a mask that was covered in embroidered pink flowers while Max gently pulled her away. Although she huffed indignantly, she let him lead her along, and tucked herself up against his side as he spoke to the attendant.

The man took one look at them and noted that he’d been looking for a pair for this pair, before presenting them with a matched set. They were very pretty, the golden paint glinting in the light, and Emily couldn’t help a pleased little flush over the fact that they were matched.

“Oh, I thought we’d get to pick our own?” Emily curiously asked, untangling her hand from Max’s to delicately take the mask from the attendant. She turned it back and forth to admire the gold on matte white as the Party Planet man shrugged. His grin went a little crooked as he leaned in to add that they looked like a capable pair and had been picked for a little scavenger hunt.

She glanced up, lifting an eyebrow as he described a mask of tarnished bronze, depicting many heads, and decorated with scales. A hydra. The man was smiling, but he looked a touch nervous as he told them about this “hunt”.

Although the whole thing made her uneasy, almost tempted to give the mask back, Emily glanced over at Max with a smirk and mouthed, “see? monsters.”

Emily didn’t know if that’s really what it was—hopefully it was a completely innocent game—but if they were going to get embroiled in some Grecian monster hunt, she was going to preemptively be smug about it. It helped with her nerves.

[Max Kuryakin]

Max thought it was a bit of a leap to equate a scavenger hunt with monsters, raising an eyebrow at Emily's mouthing words, a little grin on his face as well. The attendant didn't miss the moment, though, a twist of his mouth telling Max that Emily's leap of logic maybe wasn't far off. Something was afoot, but now they were being selected for it. So not a happenstance run-in like before. This was an active choice.

And still, Max took the mask the attendant was holding out, feeling the tingle of magic as he turned it over in his hands and looked at the way the sunlight shone off the gold. Magic masks and a scavenger hunt for one that sounded more monstrous than not, like it had a secret like these masks did as well.

Looking at Emily, his smile turned wry. Max wasn't one to back down from something potentially dangerous, but he wouldn't charge in if Emily wasn't on board.

“Feels tingly,” Max murmured, pitching his voice low and bumping his shoulder into Emily's, rocking her gently. “You in?” He said it with a little twist of a smile, hoping she said yes, but knowing she might say no, and that'd be fine.

[Emily Reyes]

She'd been joking. It was a joke that skirted on reality, referencing her argument for not leaving the apartment that day, but one she'd only half-expected to be accurate. After all, they did meet monsters on a fairly regular basis--well, Max met monsters on a fairly regular basis--so the possibility was there. But she hadn't expected tonight's dice roll to come up in her worry's favor.

When Max made his observation, Emily felt a mix of emotions: a wash of smugness, a bite of nerves, and then a sense of playful doubt. He was joking. Had to be. Grinning, she squinted up at the werewolf, wondering if he was pulling her leg until he asked earnestly if she wanted to go through with it. Then, after a glance at the attendant, she gazed at their masks, deciding Max must be serious and she ought to take the question seriously.

Emily spent a moment considering all the factors: there was magic, and she'd made the joke, but that didn't mean it was actively dangerous, right? Perhaps it was just a scavenger hunt. However, the attendant had named them as a capable-looking pair... were they handing out magic to everyone? Emily glanced up and around at the crowd-- No, were that the case, Max would've probably sensed something when they walked in.

So, they'd been chosen by some unknown means, handed magic, and told to find a monster. Naturally, the sensible side of Emily did not like it, but then a little voice in the back of her head, the one that recalled how they'd fought the golden cat and won, petitioned her pride and curiosity. They'd been chosen, capable, and more than that, it probably wasn't as bad as she was imagining. Just a little magic scavenger hunt, right?

She touched the pendant beneath her tunic before she leaned into Max, with a nervous little grin, and murmured, “Yeah, let's do it. I'm curious.”

[Max Kuryakin]

The attendant had seemed to sense they were going to agree, so they'd already left to continue their work. This left the werewolf and the witch with two magic masks and a description of a third, a magical scavenger hunt with the implication of a looming fight. But Emily's nervous grin and admitting she was curious got a broader grin spreading across Max's face.

“Maybe curiosity killed the cat,” Max joked, voice still at a murmur as they had a private moment between them, even among a crowd. “But satisfaction brought it back. It'll be interesting to... well, know to expect something, I guess. I've just been ambushed so far.”

He shrugged, the casual movement belying the drip of anticipation he felt. It was like a hunt, something that appealed to the part of Max that took pride in his skills and the instincts that helped him enjoy stalking prey. But the starting point was the masks. Possibly blindly trusting the attendant was a bad idea, but with the Exchange, he felt there was room to trust anyone openly doing something like this.

Max lifted the mask to place it on his face, tying it off even as the magic tingled uncomfortably against his face, setting his hairs on end. Nothing happened, which left Max with an odd feeling of relief even as he was disappointed. Maybe something else triggered it other than wearing it.

[Emily Reyes]

Emily snickered, shaking her head--proverbs were no way to go about facing the supernatural, but it certainly bolstered her resolve. It helped to have a werewolf on her side too. As Max went on, so casual about it it made her gasp, she wondered, “God, how many times have you been ambushed?”

While she asked this, she didn't put on her mask immediately, turning it over a few times to look for runes or other telltale signs of magic. Finding none, she frowned, her curiosity notching up into scholarly indignance. How did they enchant the thing without runes? However, before she could pester anyone, she saw that the attendant was already off with other festival-goers, and Max was putting his mask on without a second question.

The witch gazed up at him for a split second, waiting for an effect of some sort, but when nothing overt happened, she made a thoughtful noise. Privately, she thought it was a shame that half of Max's handsome face was obscured, but she assumed they needed these for whatever business they were getting into, so needs must. Fitting the mask over her face, she didn't feel anything except its light weight on her nose while she tied it behind her head. That didn't seem particularly out of place; in her experience, magic begot magic. Maybe it needed a little push, but she didn't want to do this in the crowd.

[Max Kuryakin]

Able to laugh after the fact, Max grinned at Emily's question, letting his eyes scan the crowd and the festival grounds before he refocused on her. When he looked back, she was putting on the mask. He was half expecting something to spark off, but same as with him, it didn't. Again, the magic seemed to need to be triggered rather than them being passively at its mercy. Preferable, although it wasn't as if they knew how to trigger it. Emily might have a better idea.

“Maybe five times? Once with you,” Max shared, reaching for Emily's hand to begin walking further into the festival. Their masks on and togas fitted around them, fulfilling the dress code enforced by the Party Planet attendants. “A couple of them were 'wrong place at the wrong time' kinda ambushes.”

[Emily Reyes]

After finishing the tie off with a very careful bow that didn't catch her hair, Emily checked herself in the mirror. For all its emergent mysteries, at base, the mask looked nice, contrasting with her walnut skin and glimmering in the late afternoon sun. The craftsmanship alone felt a little like magic. Before she could primp for too long, Max found her hand, and she let him coax her off into the crowd.

“Five,” she repeated, chewing her lip in thought and mildly astonished at the total. She knew a few of them, besides their shared run-in, from the rat people to the ghostly go-go dancer, but five still felt like a lot. “God, you're unlucky-” she said, eyes crinkling behind her mask as she chuckled. “I can only think of the cat...” The creature in the maze didn't count as an ambush for her, but then she struck on another memory. “... but I think I've had a few close ones. I went to a vampire wedding last summer.”

[Max Kuryakin]

Max might've argued that he wasn't unlucky, just unfortunately attention-catching considering what he was, but a fair bit of the run-ins had happened when he looked perfectly human. But there were other ways people could tell. Max knew, still in the process of slowly learning the myriad of ways people could smell inhuman. Still, he'd have to ask Goki if harmful luck radiation was a thing.

Vampire weddings, though. Hadn't he... heard of one? Max had to think back, distantly alarmed that Emily the human had gone to one, but she hadn't come screaming to him about being preyed on, so it presumably ended peacefully. How many vampire weddings happened in Easthaven last summer?

“Still wrapping my head around vampires,” Max muttered, even if he was convinced the bookstore clerk had been one. “Was it... was it Henry or Harold's wedding? Did a vampire try to have a go?”

He knew someone had been very worried about Harold. Or Henry. Whatever the guy's name was.

[Emily Reyes]

Emily's eyebrows both lifted above the upper edge of the mask in surprise. Had she mentioned the wedding to Max already? How else would he know the name? She burst out laughing at his follow-up question.

“Harold--that was the groom. And... Ah, I can't remember the bride's name, but no. No vampire tried to 'have a go,'” Emily snickered as she nudged her shoulder against Max's, leaning into him to direct their steps towards the orchards and away from the crowds. She wouldn't play around with strange magic where people could see. “I met another woman there who gave me the rundown. I didn't really believe her at the time--the fact that nothing happened worked against her, I think.”

[Max Kuryakin]

Huffing a laugh, Max shook his head, a little amazed even as he let Emily angle them towards the orchards. He knew what she wanted, going along because he'd learnt the lesson of doing things in secret very early on in his supernatural life.

Max was glad that Emily hadn't noticed the vampires enough to believe a woman she didn't know because it meant she hadn't been in danger. Still, wasn't that the whole thing about being human, sometimes? Not knowing better, and that had been early in Emily's exposure to the supernatural. She hadn't even known Max was a werewolf yet. Why assume vampires were real?

“I'm not surprised. I didn't even want to believe it until I ran into one. Or, I think I ran into one. The guy didn't give me his vampire business card. He just smelled wrong.” And wasn't that how it usually went? Max had yet to meet someone who admitted to it, but he picked up the scents of people he could only categorise as 'other' to varying degrees. “Did I tell you about that girl who texted me? She was freaking out about Harold getting eaten by vampires. I didn't take her seriously. I just joked about it.”

[Emily Reyes]

Emily hadn't wanted to believe in vampires at the wedding, despite what she'd learned of magic. It hadn't even clicked when Max told her he was a werewolf. An offhand comment he'd made felt like confirmation on the afternoon he'd revealed himself, but she didn't truly start to wrap her mind around the possibility until... Well, she didn't think she managed it until she saw Max as the wolf that the full breadth of possibility opened up for her.

And now, she was quiet, watching the ground beneath their feet as they walked. Emily was trying to get around the heavy realization that Harold, the happy groom at that macabre wedding, might be in the clutches of vampires. As a cop, it wasn't the first time she needed to come to terms with a bad revelation, but it never got easier. What was the trope called? Something about taking something to its final, unnerving logical conclusion. It made her uneasy, but what could they even do?

“What?” Emily asked when Max went on. Startled, she lifted her eyes back up to his face and abruptly wished he wasn't wearing the mask. It was a little distracting, and although she did like his chin, she liked seeing his whole face even better. In response to her thoughts, she pushed hers up to rest on her hairline. Grinning crookedly, she laughed, “So that's how you knew the groom's name! Did she say anything else? Maybe she was the girl I ran into.”

[Max Kuryakin]

Shrugging, Max had no idea if the girl was the same or not, glancing at Emily to see her pushing the mask off her face. The girl he'd been texting with had been eccentric, but he wondered if it was just because she knew too much and wasn't super interested in keeping it all to herself.

“Maybe? We didn't talk about anything important, mostly because I thought she was just crazy,” Max admitted, pushing his mask up to rest on the top of his head. There was a weird little flinch to the tickle of the magic, which made him pull his hand back in surprise, even as the tickle evened out. So maybe he shouldn't pull it off. “I did, uh–” he continued, rubbing his fingertips together as he frowned a little. “–I checked in with her after. She was fine and didn't seem worried about Harold anymore, but she ghosted me, so I don't know anything else.”

[Emily Reyes]

Emily was momentarily alarmed when he pulled his hand back from the mask--it was as if he'd gotten a little shock, but when he just kept talking, she relaxed. Still, her trust in the masks and the attendant who gave them wavering, she hastened her steps.

The crowd was thin as they entered orchards, although plenty of people were still wandering between the neat rows of trees. Even in this facsimile of the woods, Emily abruptly felt safer with the branches meeting overhead, creating verdant passageways. It was an odd change--perhaps a year ago, she might've been worried about getting her shoes dirty, but maybe her associations with the forest were changing. With the mask off and the air cool on her face, she looked around for a clearing they could find a little privacy in.

“Huh,” Emily huffed, thoughtful. That didn't sound like Mina, with her quiet, secretive demeanor, but it seemed the mystery was beyond them at this point. At the end of it all, Emily could only shrug, wrap her hand a little more firmly around Max's and say wistfully, “I suppose all we can do is hope Harold is living happily ever after with his undead bride.”

[Max Kuryakin]

Strike skill check, search, complete success

Max chuckled, remembering the jokes he'd told the girl on the phone. Maybe it wasn't quite like that, but he imagined a vampire could find a meal easier than marrying one. Most likely, there was more to it, not that he knew anything.

“He's probably enjoying himself,” Max said, sharing his thoughts. “A vampire wouldn't have to marry someone to make a meal of them, so there's probably more to it.”

Of course, there was money, but then it was easier for a vampire to wait someone out than make it look suspicious by killing them. Maybe he was giving this anonymous vampire bride too much credit, but he generally liked prescribing the best intentions to most. Maybe Harold wanted to be a vampire? Who the fuck knew.

But with the crowd thinning out and the trees taking over–painfully domesticated in their neat rows–Max wondered at the mask that'd gone missing. How were they supposed to find it? Was there some process that by having the masks, they'd somehow know? Magic gave him a headache.

But he listened and watched, Max's eyes scanning over the ground and seeing signs of people passing through. Footsteps spaced far apart in a run, others at a leisurely walk. Someone was having a very private conversation a few metres away, so Max tuned out and looked back at Emily.

[Emily Reyes]

Glancing around, Emily decided they were as alone as they could be, obscured by the trees and their slowly turning leaves. Unless the mask's magic was particularly showy, they would be okay, especially with the ebbing afternoon light.

As they went on, Emily's face scrunched up in distaste at the whole concept. Max was probably right, the wedding itself had been extravagant--enjoyable, but gaudy in a way she couldn't put her finger on. Marrying a vampire seemed to voluntarily tie oneself to a life just like that; gaudy, dramatic, sunless, and cold. Maybe that was pop culture talking again, but vampires presented a lot of questions, and Emily experienced the bite of fridge horror again as she took marrying the undead to its logical conclusion.

“I wonder if they're cold,” she murmured, quiet but comfortable enough to throw the question out there with Max. She looked up at him, lips turned down into a faint frown. “It's like... Having a go at lunch meat in the fridge.” The witch whispered the last part, horrified at her train of thought.

[Max Kuryakin]

Max couldn't help it, snorting out an inelegant laugh as Emily delved into the sex life of a vampire and her husband. It probably was, if pop culture had anything right. The whole thing about them being cold to the touch. Maybe you wouldn't have a problem with it if you had the heating on full.

“Shit,” he snickered. “Maybe it's like that one Avenged Sevenfold song?” Max joked, still amused as a line from it popped up in his head, and he halfway sang out his morbid answer, “You know, 'got a heater for your thighs.'”

He couldn't keep a straight face, though, and Max had to lift his free hand to muffle his snorting laughter as he ducked his head.

[Emily Reyes]

Still deep in the throes of her horror, Emily took back her hand and covered her face with both. “Oh, no...” she moaned, drawing the word out. Her shoulders were shaking with suppressed laughter, but as Max sang out the lyrics, making it worse, she furiously shook her head. Needing to warm up your lover before getting into it sounded dismal.

With a squeaky laugh, she dropped her hands and propped them on her hips. She looked up at the sky between the branches as if asking the universe why before stating firmly, “I'd rather have a mouthful of fur than room-temperature penis.”