[center][url=http://fontmeme.com/fancy-fonts/][img]http://fontmeme.com/permalink/161204/0a96c21a25cf1dac1ef02faf3203ebd2.png[/img][/url] [hr][hr] [img]http://66.media.tumblr.com/84cdeb8aff313e56d7cfa2153d7f1689/tumblr_nbut7qqUug1qa3emao1_500.gif[/img] [u][color=9300D3]Location[/color][/u]: [i]The Verona Herald[/i]'s offices [u][color=9300D3]Interacting with[/color][/u]: Ashton Hawkins [@The Spectre], Brooks Longwood [@DinoNuts] [u][color=9300D3]Mentions of[/color][/u]: Cal Thompson [@smarty0114], Benji Harlow [@HalfofLancelot] [hr][hr][/center] The room was quite and utterly still. A thin ray of sunlight penetrated the half drawn blinds, illuminating the figure of a young man slumped over his laptop's keyboard, his head cushioned by a thick stack of newspapers. The traces of his previous day, night and early morning were clear across the room, from the half finished pizza to the essay covered in high-lighter marks and notations, all pointing clearly to him having not left this room for some time and having been awake for most of it. The only concession that seemed to have been made to the passing of time was the well used coffee machine in the corner and the stack of used cups beside it. Not six inches from the sleeping boy's ear sat a mobile phone. Screen scratched and ports abused, it sat waiting to perform its duty at the appointed time. Soon, the moment would come to wake its snoozing master and the day would begin. Well, the day began several hours ago but at least the boy would wake up. The seconds dragged by and the silence of the room seemed destined to be broken by the wailing of an alarm and the grunts of a newly roused 'adult'. Here it comes... [b]BEEP [i]BEEP[/i] BEEP[/b] Nothing. [b]BEEP [i]BEEP[/i] BEEP[/b] Nada. [b]BEEP [i]BEEP[/i] BEEP[/b] Zip. [b]BEEP [i]BEEP[/i] BEEP[/b] Zilch. [b]BEEP [i]BEEP[/i] BEEP[/b] And... showtime. Andrew Marlowe jerked upright with a start and mumbled exclamation. One hand slammed down on the mobile, sending it skittering off the table and bouncing over the floor, some reward for loyal service. The other slapped the keyboard out of habit, waking the laptop and displaying the article he'd been reviewing. It was one of Cal's and therefore barely needed editing, being pretty much on point in all regards. Much like its author, its main flaw was that it was too self critical, too lacking in self confidence. Still, when you're an editor you have to at least [i]try[/i] to present an appearance of neutrality and go through everyone's work with the same fine tooth comb. It was good practise too. Yawning hugely and stretching, Andy stood up from the chair for the first time in... what? He glanced at the time on the laptop screen; noon. So, nearly sixteen hours, including nearly about twelve hours of sleep. It was odd, he reflected as he began to make the day's first cup of coffee, that he'd crashed after a mere four hours of work. Generally he was able to squeeze out twice as much or more before his rebellious eyes gave out and forced him to stop. And twelve hours was a long time sleep, especially given the amount of caffeine ingested beforehand. [i]Though that in itself is a bit sad[/i] came the next thought. [i]You know something's gone wrong when it's odd to sleep for a good amount of time.[/i] Still, the coffee was a welcome shot in the arm or, alternatively, kick in the head. It reminded him why he'd set an alarm for a mid-Sunday; he was expected in town, he and Aston has some [i]Herald[/i] related errands to run. He snagged a slice of cold pizza and began the arduous process of selecting which books, papers and essays would travel with him out into the wide world. When he'd finishing the pizza and the packing, he slung now stuffed back over his shoulder and left the messy room to its silence. Outside the [i]Verona Herald[/i]'s offices, Andy scowled at the sun and fumbled with his car-keys. He liked the winter, dark nights and shorter days made it somehow more acceptable to work all night and never sleep. [i]And, if I say so myself[/i] he thought with a silly grin [i]I make scarves and jumpers look good[/i]. His internal self congratulations were interrupted when he arrived at the Main Street and saw a half formed mob of people milling about the place. Most of the glass had been gathered up and packed away but some was still visible and not many shop owners had covered up the wreckage of their windows yet. After parking frantically and asking a few people for the rough details, Andy wiped out his phone and sent off a quick note. [quote][b]To Ashton[/b] [color=9300D3]Get to the highstreet, something weird has happened, i need you to ask people for their storeis.. and scrape up my remains, i'm going to talk tot he sheriff[/color][/quote] Message sent, he approached the two men who no doubt least wanted to be approached; Sheriff Lockwood and Deputy Harlow. Neither man seemed to have noticed him yet, which was good and bad. The Sheriff had no patience for questions, generally, and would probably try to get Harlow to head him off. [i]Not this time, Sheriff, this time you're all mine. Oh goody.[/i] Stepping forward, he cleared his throat loudly and stood ready with an innocent smile, a blank paper pad and ready pen. "[color=9300D3]Good day Sheriff, care to comment on the unusual events on the High Street last night? Freak weather conditions? Vandals? People are eager to know![/color]"