Multiple Settings Crescent Hill ~ IC thread

[Bellz]

Place to put Chapter info eventually lol Pyroclast WanderLust. CapellaStargaze

 

[Bellz]

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Chapter 1: What the Locals Won’t Say
3 days Ago...
Friday, September 30th, 1994
Sheriff Barbara-Jean Lovell​

"Looks familiar, doesn’t it?” one of the deputies said from behind Sheriff Lovell, pulling her attention away from the mutilated body she’d been studying for far too long. Her jaw tightened as she nodded slowly, her voice steady but thoughtful. "And yet… something’s different.”

If anyone could recall the last time a strange “animal” attack had happened in these woods, it was Sheriff Lovell. The memories were etched into her mind like scars—relentless reminders of everything she had lost. Back then, she hadn’t yet decided on law enforcement as her path. Back then, life felt like an unrelenting storm of tragedy, one disaster after another in this cursed town.

The deputy tilted his head, puzzled by her remark, but she didn’t elaborate. Not yet. Something about this scene gnawed at her. From the way the body was positioned to the sheer brutality of Darren Ackers’ death, none of it felt right. Darren’s family were practically founding members of Crescent Hill. Now, she’d have to tell them their son wasn’t coming home. For a beat…that tugged at her heart. A routine check of his car suggested he’d been out for a night of fun, but whatever he’d encountered here in the woods had ended all of that.

Sheriff Lovell stared down at Darren’s lifeless body, her thoughts churning. Oddly, she didn’t feel the same crushing dread that usually dragged her back to the worst moment of her life. Maybe it was because she recognized this was different. No… this was something else, something darker. Something she’d only learned about after years on the force, after she thought she’d seen it all.

"The press is here.” The deputy’s voice jolted her from her thoughts. She straightened, turning to him with a curt nod.

"Don’t let them near the body. Cover it.”

The deputy hurried off to follow her orders while she turned her gaze back toward the woods, her mind already racing ahead. The department would spin the story. If the press could craft a narrative, so could they. Darren Ackers had been killed by an unknown assailant, still at large. That would be the official word.

It wasn’t the whole truth, of course, but the truth wasn’t something Crescent Hill was ready to face. Not yet. The last thing this quiet, unassuming town needed was to know that monsters—real monsters—walked among them...
Pyroclast WanderLust. CapellaStargaze

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[Pyroclast]

Chapter 1: What the Locals Won't Say
Monday, 3rd October 1994
Early evening - dry, mild, cloudy skies

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August Lovell
Crescent Inn

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August had always had a festive spirit. Sometimes he got excited about the holidays so early that he found himself counting down the days until he could start decorating without having to break social convention. Working at his Uncle Blaine's inn was the perfect outlet for him to express such excitement, as it was a large space and he was often given creative control of the decorations. Of course, holidays are never easy for a person who has suffered great loss. Ever since the death of his sister and father, August’s grief had left a dull ache in his chest, and on family holidays like Thanksgiving and Christmas, August felt their absence deeper than ever. Yet, it was a bittersweet sort of pain, as although he missed them, he also remembered them most fondly. Such holidays gave the whole family - himself, his mother, his uncle and his cousins - time to sit together, reminisce and be grateful for each other and the time they got to have with Daphne and Jake.

Crescent Hill’s main event in October was the Thinning of the Veil festival. The small town was rich in supernatural folklore and believed by some to be a place where the veil between the realms of the dead and the living becomes permeable around Halloween. Every year, the town came together to celebrate this festival by building a shrine for the dead, making offerings, lighting paper lanterns in honour of lost loved ones and other activities. The Thinning of the Veil festival was another poignant holiday for August as, much like Thanksgiving and Christmas, it gave him the opportunity to reminisce with others about Daphne and his father, and feel closer to them. It was definitely one of his favourite holidays, and that’s why, when it drew nearer, August was excited to start decorating the inn for the occasion.

“Where did we put those rowan berry garlands that we made last year?” August asked Helena and Lydia as he rummaged through boxes behind the front desk. “Uncle Blaine wouldn’t have just thrown them out, they’re meant to last for - aha!” His hand touched a string of dried berries in one of the boxes and he gently pulled it out, being careful not to get it caught or tangled as he did. He turned to Helena and Lydia. “We should hang this over the front desk to make sure no evil spirits try to book a room,” he said, casting a wink at Lydia. Then he paused. “Or murderers.”

Leaving the box of decorations open for Lydia and Helena to dig around in, August walked through the back office and into a storage cupboard. “I mean, we’ve got nothing to worry about,” he called back to them. He was trying to dislodge a tall ladder that was stowed away without causing anything else in the cupboard to topple over. “Mom told me these kinds of things are almost always premeditated and targeted, so it’s unlikely they’ll strike again.” When August finally lifted the heavy ladder and pulled it out of the closet, he managed to trigger a landslide; he could only stand there and cringe as, with a long, loud crash, everything else in the closet came tumbling out onto the floor. Chewing on his lip, August looked down at a mess he had made for a few seconds before deciding to continue bringing the ladder out into the reception.

“I’ll deal with that in a minute,” he said sheepishly when he returned to the others. “Right, I’m going to climb up this ladder and hang up the berry garland over the - wait!” An idea struck him and he almost dropped the ladder in his excitement. “What if we take all the rowan berry garlands, tie them at one end to the beams around the edges of the whole room, and then tie the other ends to the light fitting in the centre of the room so it creates this, like…protective covering. You know what I mean? And if while I’m up there you find any more garlands or lights or whatever, I can put those up, too.” He shook the tall ladder until the legs were all the way apart, fixed it firmly open to prevent it from closing on him, and then began to climb. “Okay, someone pass me one of the strings when you’re ready.”

Interactions
Bellz Helena
WanderLust. Lydia
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