The Hannya Mask

[warandpeace]

Who: Event Post | Open
When: Dec. 5th - 15th
Where: Around Avagi
What: A demon is haunting the station, spurred on by emotional responses. More information can be found here.
Warnings: Violence, possible death, body horror, etc.

THE HAUNTING

The onryō starts making her first patrols in the early morning when most people are comfortably asleep and not wanting to wake up. The sense of unease she creates is palpable, and initially she just looks at who is around. She chooses in the dark who she should be angry with, who is a foolish idiot for making her mistakes and who is an ignorant soul who ignored the anguish of someone else's attention. Everyone else is unimportant.

Occasionally, rarely though, she'll stop and look at something. Usually carved or drawn or molded, something someone used their hands to create. The very faintest of scraps of who she used to be, though that's barely significant. There's not enough left of that self to deter her from stopping more of the foolishness that damned her.

The Noh mask appears the same day, the same time as her first investigations get underway, and there it remains, conveniently close to where the Ingress once was.

The mask will always return to this original state the moment it's not being observed. It'll be returned to its resting place. If it's been destroyed or altered or damaged in any way, it'll be back to the state that it was when previously examined (even permanent marker would disappear).

It's made of cypress wood and is covered in layers of chalk paint and a glue-like sealant. On the back is a raised signature, indicating that it was handmade by an artisan. On closer examination (like swabbing or enhanced senses or super scanner) there's a bit of smoke damage, but otherwise it's not been worn many times. The straps attached are hardly frayed at all. However it's aged, it's not from scuffing or rough handling.

There might not be much time to notice or to bother with it, though. Not when people are being hunted in the shadows, when quick hands reach out from cabinets or a hunched form hangs upside down from underneath a table, waiting for someone to sit down too close to her.

Comments

[beeped]

[Richie can only barely glance away from the ever-approaching demon when he hears Hawke call for him. The demon hasn't seemed to notice him, but that doesn't stop him from being freaked out. He doesn't know how this things differs from It, but in the end it doesn't matter.

It's still a demon.

It's grotesque looking.

It still scares the shit out of him.

He doesn't have anything to protect him, either. Eventually his legs decide to work, though, and he starts running toward Hawke.]

WHAT THE FUCK IS THAT!!!

[otiosity]

[When Richie runs towards her, Hawke reaches out to grab his arm and pull him to her side. With the other she raises her staff and shoots a forceful wave of magic down the hall, hoping to throw whatever is attacking him off guard.]

No idea! Do we want to find out? We probably will regardless if we want to or not.

[beeped]

[There's an eerie sound from down the hall as the magic collides with the monster down the hall.]

Do you think you can fucking kill that thing--with that? 'Cause if now we gotta hightail it.

[otiosity]

Dunno! Let's find out! Think of it as a very important experiment.

[Then she whips the staff around in a circle and fires off a barrage of flames and lightning that ricochet and rip through the hall.]