Back on the Doghouse Again...

[velesdonnersen]

 [The doghouse in the backyard of 1126 Taylor Road is turning into Tarvek's personal little corner.  He sits on the roof, with just enough shade from a shade tree, and just enough sun, and the doghouse has a flat peak, so he can sit comfortably cross-legged. He's there, today, far more sober than he's been in awhile, in more senses than one.]

[The

Comments

[catslooklikeme]

[Oh hey, Tarvek! Nall decided to pay you a visit, but he didn't feel like walking, so he decided to just teleport into your back yard.]

Hey, Tarvek!

[velesdonnersen]

[Jumps, swears, blinks, and prepares to fight... then realizes it's Nall.]

Hello, Nall! It's good to see you.

[catslooklikeme]

Uh, hi...

...sorry about that, I know teleportation can be kinda jarring if you're not expecting it...

[velesdonnersen]

No, no! It's interesting. Is it magic, or technology?

[catslooklikeme]

It's magic, one of the few tricks I've managed to regain since I showed up here...

[velesdonnersen]

I wonder...

I wonder if it's possible to regain things you never originally had? Like...

I'd like to regain teleportation myself!

[Ponders] Do you know if anyone in Mayfield has tried to regain something they never owned before?

1/2

[catslooklikeme]

...not that I know of... but if you'd like to experience it, I could teleport ya somewhere...

2/2

[catslooklikeme]

...but darnit, I'm getting sidetracked. Did you get one of those form thingies too?

Re: 2/2

[velesdonnersen]

{For a moment boyish excitement flickered, at the idea of the teleport, but the mention of the census damps that down fast. He's been involved in government in one form or another his entire life, and he knows bureaucratic BS when it shows up. And he doesn't like it forcing him to fill in the blanks.]

Yes. The last few days have handed me my first taste of the dark side of Mayfield. That census is... nasty. And Mayfield wouldn't let me fake much. The best I managed to was to tell the truth with some, er, manipulation of tone. But it's an ugly thing.

I'm told we can expect trouble, soon. But so near as I can determine, there's really no way to prepare. Is that true?

[catslooklikeme]

...maybe. Depends on how original this place is. That wasn't the first stupid form that I've seen...

[velesdonnersen]

[He's finally got something to explore, not just word-of-mouth, or Old History. And he was not happy to see how they wiped out The Betty... for all he likes much of Mayfield, he's irked to see the place really does decide to mess with people.]

Can you tell me what they've done with forms previously? Is there a pattern to work with? A way to determine what directions an outbreak may take?

Huh. No, let's start simple. What else have you seen in forms?

[catslooklikeme]

The only other form I've seen was a simple survey that was supposed to be anonymous. One question: If you had the choice to leave Mayfield and return home or stay here, which would you do? The darn thing filled itself out whether people wanted to answer or not and then up and mailed itself out.

Well a few days later, the results were announced... and some of the names of people who voted that they would rather stay in Mayfield were casually dropped.

[velesdonnersen]

[Ponders, and gets a nasty sort of smile. Not that of a person who likes what he hears, but one who knows what sort of dirty trick that is.]

Yesssssss. I see. And, of course, here in Mayfield many consider it a moral obligation to hate the town.

Might I suspect that the town itself had to do very little from that point on to keep the witch-hunt going?

[catslooklikeme]

No one with any "authority" stepped in, but if a witch-hunt occurred, then I didn't see it. In fact, some people spoke up to defend the people whose names had been dropped. Some people spoke up and said they'd voted the same and explained why.

Can't say for sure that there weren't people sporting pitchforks and torches, but if there were, I didn't see them.

[velesdonnersen]

[Oh, now that perks him up!]

Reeeeeeally!?

Oh, now that's impressive. People keep telling me how horrible this place is, and I do understand. But I'm impressed that that particular game didn't work. It's one of the ways the canny could have turned the place into true hell, with neighbor hating neighbor and no one you could ever trust.

[Dark and brooding for a second.]

It's possible to live that way, but you have to believe in something or it wears you down.

I've been warned of people in Mayfield. Are there many here who truly torment each other? How strong are the friendships, and how stable the social bonds? Can you trust your friends?

[catslooklikeme]

...I have faith in people. Humans are amazing... you can change the entire world with willpower and courage. Sometimes people fall off their course... sometimes they let their own pain and loneliness blind them to the world around them. But for every person who loses their way and happiness, there's another person who has the power to help them find it!

There are some people in Mayfield who are consumed by their own fears and personal demons... some people will betray each other and scheme for their own purposes. But there are also people here who are kind and genuinely want to help one another.

At the end of the day, I keep finding reasons to hope. I keep finding people who GIVE me hope!