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Post by sawyer on Sept 24, 2011 17:55:21 GMT -5
The scent of freshly popped popcorn wafted through the air. Ah the carnival. The event that never changed, same rides, same booths. He could remember each of the carnies' names. Sawyer had been to this celebration every year of his life. Even though the scenery was the same, he found out something new each year. A hint or a fact buried deep by the guardians and "legends". Sawyer was set on proving The Tree of Enlightenment true. Of course he wouldn't write a book about it or make it public, but for his ancestry he needed to know. He wanted his grandmother's beliefs not to be in vein. He could maybe even help the spiritual beings.
But first he needed facts. Sawyer had bought some cotton candy and was walking aimlessly throughout the park. He wondered where to start first. Immediately he knew, there was a tent up "Myth Turned Reality" it read. Most of the time these little side shows were full of propaganda and completely wrong theories. But once in awhile there was something that fit the puzzle. He walked in and was surprised to see a crowd growing inside. He listened intently to the speaker.
"Their wingspan the length of skyscrapers..."
Complete bullshit. He blocked out the speaker with that, and decided to shift through some trinkets set out on display. They were items that "proved" the existence of the spirits. He was staring at a metal staff for awhile and instantly named it post-legend. Idiots. It was just a rusted umbrella that had rusted completely. Sawyer allowed a sigh to escape, realizing he'd never find facts this way.
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Post by tigerfire on Sept 24, 2011 18:06:20 GMT -5
Ildar was going to the carnival after a productive trip to the library. He had learned of the various legends surrounding the Tree of Enlightenment at the city's center; perhaps they shed light over his experience at the park earlier.
Regardless, he was now heading to Fernly Park. This time, it was to check out the Scriptor Bay Carnival. He wanted to take in a large amount of sugar. He somehow found the money to buy two large cones of cotton candy.
He saw that there was a section about the legends surrounding the Tree of Enlightenment. There were some spurious objects that apparently proved their reality. He saw another man here. This man was at least four inches taller than Ildar.
He was clearly not Germanic. He gazed with disgust at the speaker at this section. Ildar went to this man and asked, "So what do you think about the legends about this city?"
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Post by sawyer on Sept 25, 2011 0:32:37 GMT -5
He was surprised to hear someone near him, obviously the words spoken directed towards Sawyer. With his brows raised he glanced up at the stranger. "I believe there is some truth to them. We just need to separate facts from stories and go from there. What about you?" He wondered what had brought this man here. He wasn't some white American like the rest of the people in this tent, maybe he had knowledge that was actually useful.
"... some had skin that were half made up of lizard scales!" The speaker shouted above the noise, bellowing his deep bass voice. The little hairs on his mustache twitching with each word.
He glanced over his shoulder, a grimace apparent on his face. He shook his head, obviously, because of the erratic tent owner. He was beginning to hate coming in here. Maybe this stranger in front of him would change his mind. Sawyer had put down the old umbrella neck and leaned his hip against the table neatly. With his arms crossed he smiled at the stranger, hoping he looked nice enough to open up to. When someone had a dark appearance, it made them share less, Sawyer observed. He wanted to know everything this man had to offer so he needed to look as nice as possible.
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Post by tigerfire on Sept 25, 2011 0:45:23 GMT -5
For a few seconds, Ildar paid some attention to the speaker in the tent. Much of what he was saying seemed like propaganda. This seemed to explain this other man's apparent disgust at him. Ildar decided that this man might know more than he did to help place information.
This man's second question, "What about you?" sparked an internal debate inside Ildar. Should he confide in this stranger about what he saw at this park just yesterday? He eventually decided to do so.
What convinced him finally was the first thing he said about there being truth to them. "Well, I was actually ignorant and then very skeptical about the legends. But just the other day, I was right here at Fernley Park. That finally convinced me about the truth that they carried," Ildar said.
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Post by sawyer on Sept 25, 2011 11:05:50 GMT -5
Bingo. Just the words he was looking for. Sawyer nearly jumped for joy as this man hinted at knowledge. Even the smallest fact would jump start his investigation once again. And that he saw this happen only yesterday? Makes it fresher in the mind of the believer, indeed. "Sawyer Cayache." He told his name while offering his hand to this stranger. His winning smile more genuine than ever. Finally, he had some raw truth. Unless this man was trying to pull one over on him. That hadn't been the first time. Sawyer has a hard time depicting truth from lies now, but with some hard studying, he could normally find it out.
"Such a wild flip of beliefs in just one day. Must be good, what did you see?" He hoped his voice wasn't too curious. He didn't want to scare off this guy with his weird obsession. Sawyer then glanced around them, too many people were crowding and he nodded towards the exit of the tent. A silent word to get some privacy. He didn't want eavesdroppers picking up anything this man had to offer. Crazy stories pop up from just a whisper of a rumor. The myth was big enough as is, and Sawyer didn't want to add on to the mass.
As they exited, Sawyer deposited his empty cone, that once had cotton candy in it, in to the trash can. The happy shouts of children could be heard as they neared some of the more fierce rides. That would block out any words to passers.They walked a couple ways down a path before a picnic bench appeared. It was nestled in between some trees. Sawyer took a seat, hoping his newly found resource was following.
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Post by tigerfire on Sept 26, 2011 1:21:01 GMT -5
The stranger Ildar was speaking to seemed to get a bit more excited once he mention the experience that he had yesterday. He introduced himself as Sawyer Cayache and offered a handshake. The two people walked out of the tent.
"Ildar Fayzulin," Ildar said, shaking Sawyer's hand. Sawyer then guided Ildar out of the general vicinity of the tent. Many people were now entering the place. Perhaps he wanted privacy. However, he would tell the story nonetheless.
Ildar began to recite this story. "I was here at about eight o'clock. I was walking alone, thinking to myself. Then, I saw a man. He was clearly much bigger than I was. I paid no attention to him in the beginning. Suddenly, he started to strip himself naked of all of his clothes. Withing a few moments, he had transformed himself into a dog! I followed the dog for a few meters before trying to question what happened. The dog then ran off erratically for several hundred meters. At this point, I decided to leave the park. I glanced once again at the dog, who headed for the pile of clothes," he said.
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Post by sawyer on Sept 26, 2011 16:54:30 GMT -5
"Wow." That was the only word that Sawyer could manage. "You're completely sober and not taking any prescriptions at this point?" Being a private eye, Sawyer knew most hallucinations and tricks of the brain were due to being impaired by some foreign substances. This also wasn't the first "shape-shifter" story he had heard. But he noticed the man said "Dog". That was new. All the other eye witnesses said something along the lines of werewolves. Some even claimed that they were ape-like werewolves, walking on two legs. But this was just "dog". Interesting.
Also the fact that the man had taken his time to remove his clothing. Different indeed. The stories he had gathered were ones of men bursting into a wolf-like creature, the clothing being ripped to shreds in the process. He also heard of a lion before but immediately brushed that one off. But the single thing that stood out, was that yesterday was not a full moon. Sawyer knew all the people he had gathered info about had said it only happened during the fullest moon. Even an elder native had said the full moon was when men were forced into their true form.
Forced. Again he singled out a word. Forced during a full moon. Ildar had said the man was casually stripping down. He was not forced in any way. He stored this knowledge, not marking anything final. This man could be lying about the whole thing for all he knew. Sawyer caught the belief in this man's voice though, slight, almost non-existent, but it was there.
"So I assume you don't believe that bullshit in there," he gestured towards the tent. "that's why you asked me, right?" He was good at reading others. In fact, he had guessed this reason from almost the very beginning. He claimed his theory was right when the man offered his story, but asked just in case the man wanted something in return. He believed this man wasn't greedy, hopefully his instincts were right and he could share some of his knowledge.
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Post by tigerfire on Sept 27, 2011 0:07:54 GMT -5
Ildar felt awkward sharing such an unorthodox story to a complete stranger. However, he hoped that he could gain some insight into these legends. The library helped a little, but not enough for Ildar.
Sawyer asked Ildar whether he was sober and/or taking any drugs. "I was completely sober and I am not prescribed on anything," Ildar responded. The more he thought about it, the more Ildar came to believe that this event was the closest to being abducted by Greys in his life.
"No, I don't believe the bullshit spewed in the tent. That is why I asked you. I simply want the blank spaces regarding these...phenomena. I want to have enough information to separate fact from fiction. Perhaps it could lead to real scientific research one day," Ildar said.
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Post by sawyer on Sept 28, 2011 19:19:00 GMT -5
"I assume you know about the legend, then." Sawyer began after nodding with Ildar's words. He could trust him with some of his information. "I've heard stories like yours. All of them match up almost perfectly, except yours.The usual werewolf tale is what I get. Some hunched over, others full, feral, wolves. I noticed you said dog specifically. I was also told by an elderly native man that these types of guardians are 'forced to turn during a full moon'. This man you saw folded up his clothes for Pete's sake, not during a full moon, and shifted. So I can theorize that these spirits can change whenever, but are against their will on full moons. I concluded this by the addition of your story, so the theory being correct is slim until I get more evidence." Sawyer was speaking like he would during a hearing or to a lawyer. His natural private-eye showing. Serious and hard-edged. "What was the breed of the dog you saw?"
Sawyer crossed his arms over his chest as usual when he was thinking. He was pondering on when Ildar said Scientific research. Sawyer had only been focusing on the forensics part... Then he never had any background scientific knowledge to base off of. It'd be like discovering the atom! There wasn't any place to start, just theories upon theories. What sort of science was involved here? The only thing he could think of was what he called the Haze guardians. Pictures. He'd start there next time.
"Step right up! Win your very own tree charm! Rumor has it, these hold the powers of the guardians!" a carny shouted above the crowd. He tossed a baseball into the air continuously. A little kid was screaming at his father to try, he wanted the powers of the spirits.
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Post by tigerfire on Sept 28, 2011 23:07:40 GMT -5
Ildar kept turning his mind back to getting the DNA of any of these so-called Guardians analyzed. It would potentially prove to be at least mildly interesting. He listened to Sawyer say that the most common stories were standard werewolf stories. He asked Ildar what breed of dog he saw.
"I could not exactly make out the breed of dog, but I would guess that it was a mutt. Probably Doberman Pinscher and rottweiler. I, for one, am still curious as to how these people can change form voluntarily," Ildar responded. "Perhaps I could aid you any acquiring evidence?" he added.
"I have a background in zoology, just for the record," he said finally. "Also, you said elderly native man? That's interesting-I'm half Abenaki," he added. He seemed to have an air of intellectualism about him.
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Post by sawyer on Oct 3, 2011 22:51:09 GMT -5
Sawyer was actually surprised for once. He might have a partner in "crime". He hoped he could get help from Ildar, but he needed to make sure he was trustworthy first. "I'm not looking to exploit these creatures. I, actually, want to help them. It must be hard living in secret. Hell, they probably don't even have health care!" Sawyer's grin showed at the last bit, but he was very serious nonetheless. It was true, they must be struggling to keep their identities secret. With him being a private-eye, he could easily cover up any story that might have gotten loose. Propaganda isn't hard to learn and implant. With Ildar's help he could even give them a place to heal. They must have different ways of dealing with sicknesses too.
"I think this is the beginning of a nice relationship, Ildar. With your help I think I'll be able to crack this mystery." Sawyers hands laced behind his head and he leaned back slightly. He was ecstatic, thrilled at this new discovery. Science now entered his motives and propelled his research further. First he'd need samples. That would prove to be difficult indeed...
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Post by tigerfire on Oct 4, 2011 2:10:37 GMT -5
Ildar merely took in Sawyer's comments regarding these 'creatures', as he called them before replying himself. "Well, we don't know if these events are really just merely isolated phenomena or if they are indeed their own life-forms worthy of the word 'creature.' However, if they are indeed creatures, then I have no desire in exploiting them for personal gain in any way. I merely want to advance the field of science. Perhaps this could develop into its own branch of science, with Scriptor Bay at its epicenter! Clearly, the first thing to accomplish is to get some DNA samples," he said. "As for improving the lives of these...creatures..., that is paramount," he added.
In Ildar's mind, ideas began to ferment then and there. What would he find with just a piece of the DNA? Could he establish links with other organisms, living or extinct, through taxonomy? He realized the importance of Sawyer in the course of this thought experiment.
"Where exactly should we start?" he asked finally.
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Post by sawyer on Oct 5, 2011 21:34:57 GMT -5
He considered Ildar's comments and nodded along. That was very possible. Coincidences happen all the time. "DNA evidence would be next to impossible to find... I don't even know where to look to get that, other than grab a guardian and shave them." He laughed at that, his serious tone fading a bit. "I think to start we should study the things I call the Hazes. Around the tree, during sunrise, you can see a sudden change in the area. It gets increasingly foggier, too foggy to be natural. If you looked hard enough, shapes could be made out. Silhouettes. So I think we should photograph them." That's all he could come up with. He only really had theories for two of the four guardian types. The Hazes and the Shifters were the only two he'd found. Then another thought popped into his head. "What if the Shifters were not only werewolves or canines. What if they were other animals too? We could search for unnatural footprints, hairs, anything that shouldn't belong in this area. Maybe they change into animals not from this environment. It's a slim chance, but it's the only ideas I can come up with."
Sawyer was fascinated. He couldn't wait to put all this knowledge together. The evidence they would find is sure to create some spark. These theories would take off like wildfire. Speaking of fire. A man juggling flaming knives walked pass them, barely missing Sawyer's scalp. He shook his fist at the juggler and shouted, "Hey watch it man!"
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Post by tigerfire on Oct 6, 2011 18:06:27 GMT -5
Ildar nodded in assent with Sawyer's comments. He had done enough research to know what Sawyer was talking about. "Gathering evidence to prove the existence of the so-called 'Hazes' will be relatively easy. I can't say the same for the 'Shifters.' They might have human DNA alongside DNA of whatever the other animal is. Their DNA could be the two animals' DNA split, or it could be completely different. We don't know what we're looking for. However, for the 'Hazes,' we simply need to prove a physical presence," he said.
Just then, a knife-juggler walked by and nearly missed the crown of Sawyer's head. "Hey! Watch it, man!" Sawyer exclaimed. Ildar stared with shock for a few moments as a reaction to this near-miss. "Wow," he finally managed to say.
"That is a good idea. Perhaps we could meet-perhaps tomorrow? Earlier in the day, I assume? I'll need to establish some links with Greenewolfe University, 'cause they probably have equipment that I could borrow. You know, EMF meters, Geiger counters, that sort of thing. Also, a field guide to this region would be helpful, so I'll have to head to the library. When is a convenient time for you?" he asked.
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Post by sawyer on Oct 10, 2011 12:33:34 GMT -5
"I'm open to any time, but to be sure we meet before sunrise, I say around 4am at the Tree of Enlightenment. I usually go around that time if I wasn't there at night anyways." He again remembered the creepiness that came over him during sunrise. The eerie shapes that appeared. He couldn't wait to get a handle on this phenomena. "I could pick up some film and digital cameras, I've been meaning to anyways." He shrugged nonchalantly, he had wanted to capture the tree anyways. He agreed when Idlar talked about the College equipment, hopefully their reason wouldn't be laughed at. Usually it was. Sawyer was used to it, though.
"How about we meet in two days, 4am is kind of early and it's almost 11pm right now. Plus I gotta wrap up some things at the firm. I'm glad I've met you, Ildar." Sawyer smiled genuinely, offering his hand again to his new friend. Finally, someone who he could work with. Two heads are better than one, they always say.
(OOC: I'll ask around/post for a Blurr to maybe join in on the next thread. That way we wont have to make up some of the stuff.))
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