metalogs | OPEN | Of Unicorns and Snow Sculptures

Entry tags:

OPEN | Of Unicorns and Snow Sculptures

Who: Mark Bryant

atypical_echo, Leonardo Hamato

faceguy, Open
What: A Monthly Mission and A Snowy Arts Event
When: Mid December
Where: Outside Sunset Falls, In A Central City Park
Content Warnings: If needed

I. Snow Shaping Spree | Open

Given it's Central City, the competition starts in the daylight hours. Mark can't blame the organizers who have cleared a whole area in one of the moderately sized parks. And hey, he's got the day off so he didn't mind being tapped to do photography for the event. Which of course he's doing now. Just wandering through the work areas where people are making snowmen, snow mermaids, and snow gargoyles among other snow sculptures, taking pictures so that people's creations can be recorded and shown off online.

Of course there's always down time, and while the judging is going down Mark makes his way away from the crowds to one of the unused plots. Considering the snow he thinks, before moving to start getting his hands into it. Time to start rolling. Soon he's got a few large balls of snow all put together into one and he's busy turning it into a long tube. Clearly he's got a plan here. Maybe someone should ask what it is. Or perhaps offer to help.

II. To Catch A Creature | Closed to Leonardo

When the mission orders came down, Mark spent a long time staring at them. Which was of course bad because this was something that he wanted to do sooner rather than later. Still, it takes him a bit to process what he's being asked. There was even a moment where he wanted to ask the agent in charge of the briefing if this was some prank, or maybe they were assuming something about his... romantic history. But no, it's a job, and one they think he'll be able to manage. Okay, yeah, he can accept that.

The good news is he can call for help, and there aren't many options Mark thought he could turn to. They needed to be Alliance, they needed to be able to make up for Mark's lack of powers, and sneakiness would be a plus.

So, at last, here they were. Two guys (or guy and turtle teen), who have been wandering a non-meta sburb of Sunset Falls for a few hours, in costume, following the leads to find a group of children who might have more information. They had absolutely been getting a lot of side eyes throughout it all, but Mark was going to soldier on.

"I don't know how to talk to kids," Mark lamented as they made their way to a group in the middle of what seemed to be an energetic game of hide and seek. "If we can just get a break on where to find this thing, we'll be set."

Especially since Mark had already talked to a Sunset Falls affiliated Alliance member who had enchanted some ropes for them. Ones that they just needed to say the trigger words and throw to successfully lasso the thing without harming it. But first they have to get close enough.

III. Wildcard
[Have another idea? Reach out to me with a direct message here or to

Churbooseanon. Old CR or new, it all works for me. Mark's a photographer by trade, works at the Orpherium in Central City, and is sort of an Alliance member whose power is that he's a ability mimic, all of which might be ideas on how to start. Or just throw something in there in Central and I'll find a way to fold him in (like, he gets mugged a LOT).]

Flat | Top-Level Comments Only

"Well, it's a unicorn, right? Maybe it has its own... glade, or something."

He says that like he knows what the word "glade" means.

"I suppose that's possible," Mark says, as they move now into the tree cover. Soon the children are stopping in front of them.

"I think you need to talk to them now," he says with a nod at Leo. "Be our guide."

He nods back, then gives Mark a little salute. He's got this!

He saunters forward to the kids, grinning at them widely.

"So what do we do now?"

"Well, Neon Leon," the lead kid says, before pointing. "You gotta go that way for twenty minutes of walking. Then you'll find this grove that is sorta open and empty. It shows up there to eat the flowers."

So now they know where to go. Not how to catch it though.

"It's almost dinner time," one of the kids says. "So we gotta go home."

Those are some vague instructions, but it’s better than they had before. Leo nods along. Twenty minutes of walking, grove, flowers. Easy…?

“Alright, got it. Thanks for the info, guys!”

If they have to go home, then sounds like he and Mark are on their own from now on.

Between the two of them, home shouldn't be a problem. Mark nods his thanks to the children and starts walking. His mind is elsewhere. Specifically with this mythical creature they are about to need to catch. Because fuck if he knows how that is going to work.

"Neon, a word?"

Better for them to start planning.

Is Neon his name now? Eh, whatever.

"Shoot."

He's walking along through the woods like he has no care in the world.

It's less syllables. Excuse him if he's going to use it in practical time periods.

"We need a plan. How are we supposed to get this thing back somewhere safe?"

But Leon is right there! Oh well, at least it’s not Blue. Only his dad is allowed to use that one.

“Hmmmm… don’t guess you brought some kind of uh… rope? Reins? Thingy?”

"Of course," he says with a sigh. "But that doesn't mean I think I can lasso anything."

HE's not good with ropes, okay.

Leo has never lassoed anything, either. So he has to think about it.

"Maybe we don't have to? Unicorns are like... smarter than normal horses, right? If we gain its trust, maybe it'll let us just lead it away."

Gain it's trust? How do you gain the trust of a horse.

"I don't really know. They're just... stories back home. I don't know what horses are like."

“I’ve never been around horses, either. I’m a city boy at heart.” Despite being a turtle. “But it can’t be that hard, right? Did you bring any sugar cubes?”

Or carrots? What do unicorns like to eat?

"You and me both I guess," Mark says with a sigh. This is going to be a whole thing.

"Of course I brought sugar cubes. And apples. And even a mini salt-lick. But aren't unicorns supposed to be suspicious of people or something?"

They're such fairy tales at home that he's not entirely sure what to do with them.

"Shit, I didn't think of carrots."

"Well hopefully it likes all that other stuff!"

Leo gives it some thought.

"You think the whole "unicorns like virgins" thing is true here?"

He won't make any assumptions about Mark, but Leo is, which probably isn't surprising since he's only sixteen. And also a giant turtle.

"I asked," Mark says with a sigh. Because that would have been a bit of a problem. "The look I got implied that isn't a thing, either in this world or just in general. And I was told that if we can just catch it, it will obey us."

Which was something, not that he was sure how much hope he had with that.

“Oh, well, then that should make it easy, right?”

Leo grins, all confidence. This’ll be no sweat, so he has decided.

You'd think. Mark frowns. They need to figure this out.

"Maybe a trap then?"

Could that work?

"Do you know a lot about traps?"

“Hmmm… not really, but I have my portals.”

He opens one up to demonstrate.

“So I can at least keep it from running away.”

Right. There's those. Mark considers that with a thought.

"Do they have to be right next to you when you open them?"

They could use this.

“Nope!”

Just to demonstrate he opens two about ten feet ahead of them. A rock slips through and starts falling continuously.

“Oh, whoops,” he says, waving his sword again. One of the portals tilts and shoots the rock off into the trees.

This? This is useful. Mark considers it carefully.

"Yeah, there's definitely ways we can use this to help us. We just have to figure out the safest way."

"Don't worry, it'll be totally safe!" Leo grins. "Just don't have anything stuck between portals when I close 'em."

That's how you get portal-chopped.

Okay, wow, that just made Mark more than a little sick to consider. Why did he have to say that?

"Please, don't say it like that when you're around people. They might get upset."

Because it's true? Doesn't he want to know the hazards of Leo's power?

"What's there to be upset about? Everything'll be fine!"

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