[IC] Wᴇʟᴄᴏᴍᴇ ᴛᴏ Wʜɪᴛᴛɪᴇʀ

[MissCapnCrunch]

Evening Before The Darkness

---

A four note tune chimed through out every hallway through the Begich towers signaling the start of an announcement.

Margorie Bouvier's petite and faint giggle came over the speakers. She had been sitting on the lap of the mayor after a few drinks and was trying hard to keep her composure. "Oh stop.." she insisted, pushing his hands off her and she cleared her throat. "Good evening residents!" she exclaimed, her voice cracking at the end, with the familiar chuckle of the mayor heard in the background.

Margorie continued, "As you all may know, tonight is the last day of the month. Tomorrow marks the start of the annual month of no sunlight that we have all encountered while living her in Whittier." she continued, "We'd like to invite every one up to the 14th floor into the meeting room where we have set up a little banquet of sorts for us to enjoy the company of one another before the hard, cold month ahead. There will be food and drink provided.." her voice traveled off as she thought of anything else to add. "See you soon!"

Slowly but surely the residents of the tower made their way up the stair case or elevator up to the 14th floor.

---

"How quaint." A sarcastic titter was drawn from Margorie's lips as she watched the trail of people come in for the banquet. "You don't have to be so cruel Margie." the mayor replied with his lips pressed to her ear, trying not to draw attention- but their affair had been not secret. He was old enough to be her father, but that didn't seem to bother them much.

Several round tables we're arranged around the room for people to sit and chat at. The food table was not as magnificent as imagined, containing only servings of herring, asparagus, and mashed potatoes. It wasn't the most generous offer but at least it was free.

Dave and Jenny Warbler had brought their selections of whiskey and vodka from their bar to share, propping it on the table next to the food. It too was lacking much excitement, but again- most things in Whittier were just that:

Lacking in excitement.

As most of the residents arrived, the mayor cleared his throat at the front of the room to begin his welcoming speech. "Good evening my neighbors and my friends." a wicked smile drawn across his face, "I'm so thankful you all have made it and we are blessed and delighted for such.." he paused looking at the sparse table, "fantastic food, and even better company." he looked towards every one to see their reactions before continuing. "I don't tend to keep you much longer now, but some of our leaders have some announcements to make...so don't go anywhere!" he exclaimed, trying to be humorous. Margorie laughed alone, as the mayor and her quickly scattered to a seat.

Derek Yates and Daryl Davis both nodded at one another as they stood up and approached the front of the room together. They we're the head of the police department and fire station within the towers and fairly respected members of the community. Derek took lead in the announcement as he spoke with a slight commanding tone as he would to his officers, "As we all know, tomorrow is the start of our annual month of darkness. These are hard times for us all. Please be aware of any suspicious activity in our premises and report them immediately. Thank you." he nodded and stepped away leaving Daryl on the floor.

A warm smile swept along his face before speaking, "Good evening ladies and gentlemen. I won't keep you long from one another, but I just wanted to give you a friendly reminder that because of the increase of fireplace usage in the building during this next month to be extra cautious of your surroundings. We don't want another incident of last year do we Hubert?!" the man chuckled and a few of the residents laughed at the old man's expense as well. Even Hubert gave a faint smile as he remembered setting his apartment a blaze when he had left his fur coat too close to the flame and fell asleep. "Anyway." Daryl continued as the crowd settled back down, "Let's have a nice night, and a good, safe, and easy month here..Cheers!" he too then scurried away.

Rosemary Adams, the pastors wife and one of the two teachers in the towers piped up cheerfully, "I also made my famous apple crumble cake for everyone to eat for dessert!" setting the pan down next to the food.

Residents began helping themselves to the food and drink that had been provided.

[Xandrya]

"Mr. Parona—"

"Please, call me Antonio. Your dad and I were on a first name basis."

"Right. Antonio, please, come with me."

Helena closed the door behind her patient before she showed him to her office. Her work space was medium-sized, the light from the window behind her desk slowly diminishing as the early hours of evening approached. Mr. Parona was her last patient for the day, and she hoped it would be a quick session.

"So, I have here your file, the one my father kept for you. It seems that you may need to have the battery in your pacemaker replaced pretty soon. The earlier we do this, the better. I can place a call to the hospital in Anchorage and talk to the cardiologist and electrophysiologist. We'll schedule you for an appointment and they may even be able to do the procedure in that same trip. Does that sound like something you'd be okay with?"

"I suppose," Antonio shrugged, seemingly worried in reaction to the news. But Helena had gone through this more often than she could remember.

"Look, I know it sounds invasive, but I promise you this procedure is easier than the original one. You'll receive local anesthesia and you'll be out that same day."

Antonio nearly cracked a smile as his face filled with relief. "Outpatient thing, right?"

"That is correct," she replied.

"Alright, let's do it then."

---

Helena walked through the doors into the meeting room. She sat on the far end of the table, keeping mostly to herself as she waited for the others to arrive. The little banquet event had been a nice surprise, mostly because that meant she didn't have to cook that evening.

[ErsatzEmperor]

Twenty minutes earlier:

The apartment was seemingly empty. The two older occupants had already left for the bash upstairs, leaving their son to get ready and he was taking his time. Half dressed, he paced between the kitchen and his bedroom, one sock lingering at the tip of his foot, dangerously close to falling off. He was struggling to decide between two ties, not being markedly pleased by either of them. He turns his attention to the only person he knew he could rely on for an honest opinion. His muse as it were.

"Lieutenant Worf?" He asks, coming to a stop by his mopish German Shepherd. He still wasn't sure about the name, but the dog would no longer respond to anything else, so he figured the jury to be out on that one. Regardless, the dog pricks his ears up, looking up at the man infront of him.

"You're a good boy!" He praises, kneeling down and, while pinning the one tie over his shoulder, goes to stroke his pet. "You're going to help me pick a tie aren't you, you good boy. Aren't you." Worf looks away, visibly bored.

"Aw come on. Help me out?" He asks again, taking a tie in each hand and offering it. Used to this by now, the dog instinctively raises his right paw. Fletcher looks at the tie in his left hand studiously. It was a dark mauve with an orange vine pattern stretching from top to bottom. By all accounts it was putrid.

"You're lucky you've got the colourblind thing going for you." He shrugs, meeting the raised paw and shaking it. "Be back in a second." He zips back into his room.

---

Finally making it to the party, Fletcher opens the door and looks in. It was always odd seeing everybody huddled up in one room, he thought. He makes his way in, but rests at the side of the wall, not entirely wanting to be noticed.

[Ejected]

The sound of soft, breathy snores filled the silent, dark bedroom. The source of the snores, Coraline Hardwick, lay fast asleep in a crumpled heap on her queen-sized mattress, her mouth slightly open and a trail of drool running down her cheek and onto her pillow. She'd been so tired after a long, hard day of making coffee and dealing with the blatant passive-aggressiveness of her boss that she didn't even bother taking off her shoes or uniform before plopping down on the bed. Her lazy, over-sized ball of fur, otherwise known as her German Shepherd Sarge, lay stretched out at the foot of the mattress, snoring even louder than Coraline herself. When the four note tune chimed throughout the hallway, Coral groaned and turned over in bed, pulling the comforter up over her head. At the mention of a banquet on the fourteenth floor, however, her eyes shot wide open.

A very startled Sarge lifted his head and ears when Coral suddenly hopped out of bed. He laid his head back down, his eyes disinterestedly following the young woman as she snatched off her work apron and flung it towards a growing pile of clothes on the floor. Coral didn't remember being told anything about a banquet, but was eager to go; after all, food would be provided, meaning that she wouldn't have to go another day eating a cup of noodles because she was too lazy or tired to cook. Coral had changed into a completely different outfit, brushed her teeth, and fluffed her hair in less than ten minutes. She even sprayed a little bit of light perfume on her wrists, a failed attempt to overpower her faint scent of coffee beans.

Before leaving, the young woman made sure to grab the last unopened bottle of Hennessy VS Cognac from her cabinet. Although Margorie had said that food and drink would be provided, she wasn't entirely sure if that included alcohol. She would also feel a bit odd showing up empty-handed. "Be safe, make good choices, and don't chew up my shoes again." she called to her dog as she shut and locked the front door. After a brief elevator ride, Coral was on the fourteenth floor and approaching the meeting room. She'd arrived just in time to catch the last bit of the mayor's introduction.

On her way towards the food table, Coraline smiled warmly and nodded at Helena, Fletcher, and everyone else she passed by. Her smile slightly faltered, though, once she spotted what had been placed on the table: containers full of servings of herring, asparagus, and mashed potatoes. Taking in a deep breath, she shrugged, placed her bottle of alcohol with the rest, and reached for a plate and fork. It wasn't much, but it sure as hell beat Ramen noodles.

[ErsatzEmperor]

Fletcher shuffles on his feet, his eyes darting across the room. He counted as a bit of a fidget, constantly readjusting and messing with stuff. He finds himself unintentionally thumbing the loop of his tie before promptly stopping. It was a nightmare. Quickly, he adjusts his tie, pulling it back up to the collar of his unbuttoned, grey shirt.

Living in such a relatively confined space as The Begich Towers, it was unsurprising that Fletcher knew nearly everyone in the room with him; he'd eaten their food, drank in their company, and hell, he'd walked nearly all of their dogs at one point or another. It was a comfortable setting to find yourself in - it was familiar. His eyes cast around the room again. He noted the Mayor and his lady friend at the front; he thought he could see his dad's boss around there somewhere too (he had it on good faith that his parents were in there somewhere, though he couldn't place them). He also sees Helena, as well as Coraline, who appears to be starting to load her plate with some of the food on offer. He remarks to himself that that was probably a good idea.

"That's probably a good idea," he thought to himself.

He starts setting off towards the table, laid in all of its splendour with such local delicacies as mouldy fish, some vegetable thing he wouldn't touch in a million years, (hopefully not dry) potatoes and an appetising looking crumble. Milling through the revellers, he picks up a plate and starts tentatively piling potato onto his plate. He stops a moment, to test a bit of it with the end of his fork. He shrugs, and continues to pile.

[Xandrya]

Helena turned to Katherine, the single mother being one of the few people she could call a friend within the towers. Some of those in the small group of residents were her friends, but the rest were just acquaintances she had to live with, although that could be said for just about anyone there. They tolerate each other, but that doesn't mean they have to be close.

"You know, I was never a big fan of seafood. The smell is what gets me the most."

Helena poured herself a full glass of white wine. She gulped down some of it before digging into her food, the wine helping to mask the scent of the fish. "I'd be screwed if I ever get stuck on an island. Not only will I fry under the sun, but I'd have no other choice than to eat whatever I catch. I feel bad for whoever is unlucky enough to have to go through that."

As she was going on about her hypothetical scenario, Helena's phone went off with a single high-pitched tone. She quickly excused herself before she dug her hand into her purse to fetch the small device. Pressing the home button, Helena noticed that she'd received a message from the hospital out of town. A new shipment of medication was going to be delivered soon, and that was her confirmation e-mail. Good. Maybe now she didn't have to bother them as often.