The Egg Hunt

[Levi]

Outline Four friends decide to get together for on last hunt before one of their number gets married. They decide to do an egg /scavenger hunt in fancy dress but something goes wrong and they become their fancy dress personas....will they survive?!

Turn order
Used random.org

1.Marek
2. MissKaia
3.KatKwik

Edit extended to a medium to finish story :)

[Marek]

As much as he hated the reason for their gathering, Cole could hardly refuse to go. It was the last gathering the four of them - the vaunted Four Seasons, who’d sworn when they first started college that their friendship would never die - would ever have before everything changed. Before the heaviness Cole felt in his chest at Laurel’s upcoming wedding became permanent, and he’d truly lost her forever. Not, of course, that he’d ever had her, as timing and the awkwardness of too many shared close friendships had always gotten in the way somehow. Still, in his heart it had always been Laurel, and now even the potential of one day being with her and finding happiness was slipping away somehow right in front of his eyes.

They were dressed to pay homage to their corresponding seasons for the scavenger hunt, with each of them having hidden a present for each other around the city. It was to be their grand hurrah, a form of send-off for Laurel and a celebration of all that they’d meant to each other. To his left, Amy either felt the unvoiced sentiments radiating off Cole no matter how hard he pretended that everything was all right, or she simply knew what her friend must be going through; that he’d shared the secret with her had made it easier at the time, yet oddly harder for them now as they both watched events unfold. Across the room Laurel, in her guise as the Spring Witch, was as light as the season for which she’d been named that drunken night as freshmen – cheery and warm, full of life and promise. Luke, the good-hearted yet cold and imposing Vampire of Winter, sat beside her in his white costume and toasted her happily, excited about the hunt. Even the characteristic warmth of Amy, the Summer Fairy Queen in her bright costume, could not revive his spirits as she playfully shouldered him and gave him a silent look of understanding, but he smiled nonetheless in gratitude for her attempt. Perhaps he, the thoughtful Autumn Wizard, was indeed destined for life alone in a tower, forever pondering what might have been.

Still, they had tonight and each other, and as Amy rose and informed everyone that it was time to begin, the buzz of excited laughter and the closeness of good friends eventually took hold. In the small little park, the one well off the beaten track that was largely forgotten and was therefore perfect to start off from, they gathered by the fountain and formed a circle, extending their hands into the middle and joining them. They had all provided clues on where to find the items they’d hidden for each other, and by drawing lots it had been determined that Luke’s were the ones they would search for first. Amy opened the envelope with its snowflake drawings and withdrew a single piece of paper, upon which was several lines in Luke’s orderly, neat handwriting. As she began to read the first clue Cole began to smile in spite of himself, but could not help but turn to the fountain and withdraw a coin from his pocket. Resolving himself to make the best of things, he nonetheless flipped the coin into the fountain with a sigh, silently wishing that things would always be as they were that night, and that for the four of them things would never change.

[Kaia]

Even as he made his wish and tossed the coin, he could hear the laugh that came from behind him.  If he didn't know better, he could swear that was Laurel, and yet, she sounded different than she normally did.  As he turned around, his eyes saw a sight that he couldn't believe.  It was no longer just the outfits that were out of place, it was them.  They seemed to change before his eyes, but none so much as the Spring Witch. 

Names seemed to fade away, like they didn't belong to the four of them.  They simply were their personas, in a way that the Autumn Wizard had never even imagined.  It was as if his wish had come true, even if that wish suddenly seemed a million miles away.  "Well then, shall we commence with the search?"  He turned to face the Summer Fairy Queen as she bent her head in acknowledgment of their attention.   

They began to search, the Vampire of Winter delighted in the game.  It would be his turn soon enough to search, so for now he watched as the remaining three looked high and low.  It wasn't very surprising to Winter or Autumn that Spring did find the boon.

[KatKwik]

Life has a funny way of teaching one a lesson and it seemed an Easter Egg Hunt was about to become very interesting indeed. Who knew that an innocent wish by an Autumn wizard would become the tale of fantasy and intrigue. Cole looked bewildered, but almost out of body as he surveyed the scene before him. Then in a flash he was no more, and they were their personas.

The Autumn wizard instead looked down at his clue.

“You will find me at your favourite bar…One each to make you and your friends happy…”

He smiled and wondered what this world held for him as far as wizards go it seemed new and full of magic. His eye caught sight of the Vampire, dressed in white, which to him seemed rather conspicuous for one who hid in the shadows and that smile he have suggested hunger and delight. The wizard wondered if the ladies knew the peril they were in if Winter struck.

Winter looked up at the people before him and while he felt akin to them he also felt an unnatural thirst that drove him, so he was pleased when Autumn directed him out the park, to follow the scent of coppery deliciousness into a bar. Spring and Summer followed, chattering together on their mutual love of all that is natural and full of colour.

Together they, Spring and Summer, scoured the area of the bar for their next part of the clue as Autumn ordered the drinks and brought it to the table a pumpkin spiced concoction to suit his season. Spring found it under that very table.

“For a smile and a wink, the bar tender will hand over his prize…”

For Spring he did just that; a velvet box with a blue, sapphire necklace and note that read, “For my beloved, here is that something blue.”

Spring was entranced by the beauty of the gift, but she was a fairy and she couldn’t remember ever having a beloved or what the significance of blue was. Instead she appreciated the natural beauty and donned the gift with gusto. As she smoothed the necklace on her neck, she found envelopes tucked beneath her top. With a sense of fun and brightness she dropped them on the table allowing them to choose which they thought was theirs.

[Marek]

Though the sapphire necklace sparkled against the good Spring Witch’s fair skin, in the eyes of the Autumn Wizard the true beauty – and in fact, the real magic – of the sight was her. Bittersweet it was, the sight of her so adorned, and yet he could hardly be other than breathless at the vision. He felt compelled to admit as such to her. “Beloved, eh? Why my dear Spring, perhaps you are beloved to more hearts than you ever knew?”

The Fairy Queen looked at him in amazement, startled by his boldness and the risk he took, but the part of the Autumn Wizard that remembered being Cole, being the man that had lost her to his own timid nature, no longer cared; it seemed that here in this new guise, a wizard smiling at his dear witch, he had gained that precious courage he’d most needed. His eyes stayed upon the fair Spring Witch, in fact, as he selected an envelope without looking and opened it. Peering inside, he smiled softly and fondly, then met her eyes and inclined his head in gratitude as he hid his gift from view. When the Winter Vampire asked him if he’d received what he most wanted, the Autumn Wizard still regarded her intently and said softly “almost”.

Sensing her friend daring too much, the Fairy Queen selected an envelope as well, then promptly seized the one the Vampire selected before he could open it, trading him. Both laughed as they opened their gifts, and the Winter Vampire smiled in delight; an intricate comb of silver and ivory, with which to straighten his perfectly groomed hair. The Fairy Queen laughed in glee at the sight of a new variety of pixie dust to play with, and all seemed pleased. They were still laughing, in fact, when the tall man in the floor-length black robe approached them. He apologized for interrupting, politely even, but then insisted that they attend his mistress – the great and feared Dragon of the West commanded their presence, and they must not dally.

[Kaia]

The longer that they were in these guises, the more he forgot that he ever loved her.  To Cole, there was no one more important than the fair Laurel.  To the Autumn Wizard that had replaced him, the Spring Witch was merely a symbol of the renewal that helped complete the Ring of Seasons, no different than the Summer Fairy Queen or Winter Vampire.  All needed, all necessary.  Without even one of them, life on the earth would change.  For this reason, the four seasons could never be together, for to do so would throw off the seasons for mortals. 

The Fairy queen stood as tall as she could, commanding everyone's eyes as she considered the figure before them.  A trek to the West?  It sounded long and possibly dangerous.  Even so, if the Dragon was requesting the presence of the Seasons, then surely the risk was worth it.  "We'll come with you."  So it was that the five of them gathered the horses and started to the West. 

When they finally reached their objective, The Dragon's cave seemed dark, desolate.  Their guide pointed to the cave entrance and vanished.  Suddenly nervous, the Fairy Queen took the hand of Spring Witch and started into the cave.  It was damp, but as they got further in, it seemed to light up, become warm and inviting.  When they reached the end of the cavern, they saw a tiny woman tending to a fire, valuables all around.  "Hello?" Spring Witch called out to her.

[KatKwik]

Even with the arrival of the stranger the modern world morphed into one that seemed ancient and complex, horses replacing vehicles and throwing things into turmoil. Not that it mattered to them as they no longer remembered those things, instead they followed this so called being with a modicum of trust and who knew what awaited them for Dragons in this fantasy world were dangerous.

Arriving at this cave after what seemed like forever and now faced with the tiniest of elderly women, stared in wonder at how she moved beneath the wide sky of the cave. She didn't respond to these mere creatures. Seasons as they were, were of no concern to her as she was the Dragon of the West. As she moved to a rhythm all her own the air above her quivered and a shape took form. The man who had accompanied them was all but forgotten and seemed to have vanished. Their focus now on the shape that swirled around the woman, incorporating and consuming her until there stood before them a blue dragon, the colour of midnight and wonder, whose skin sparkled with every movement.

"Are you here to steal my valuables?" the dragon asked in a voice that would crack glass, "But alas! I remember now...Age befalls the wicked...I need your help. When the seasons combine, there is destruction, but also great power and it is that power which I seek."

By now the four were shaking as her voice echoed and grated in the room but with effort they focused. She needed their help to carry a message to each of the compass points or dimensions which, combined, the seasons had the power to do. They would have to ask each of her sisters to come to her for age and frailty made it impossible for her to make the journey to each of them. By asking them to come to her, they could combine and reset the balance of the problem of the morphing worlds. So it seemed that one little wish had thrown off course all that is real and blurred the lines between reality and surreal.

[Marek]

“I propose we first go east”, the Autumn Wizard said with a smile, though he was not entirely sure why he had done so. Vaguely he had some notion of wishing to please the Spring Witch – that it was important to him somehow – but for the life of him he could not recall why. As a sorcerer such a thing was unsettling, for he was a serious man with serious talents, and not knowing his own mind was an unfamiliar feeling. Still, east was as good as any other direction, and so the companions had set off at a good pace.

As they traveled east, the air growing sweeter and the sunlight more gentle, the friends had time to reflect while they talked among themselves. Though not wishing to be unkind, it was the Dragon’s age that gave them all pause and became the subject of their conversation, or at least an item of keen interest for two of their number; to the timeless Summer Queen and the likewise immortal Winter Vampire, age was something to observed with passing interest yet not to be feared or even noted. But to the Wizard and the Witch, whose powers slowed the encroachment of time but who both knew they would someday succumb to its pull, time and the dragon’s age were as fascinating as they were intimidating. It was the Spring Witch who said it first, adding that she could hardly imagine being that old, nor would she wish to be that old and alone.

It resonated with the Autumn Wizard, that reluctance for an old age spent alone in one form of solitary cave or another. Reminded him that though his powers were considerable, they were very much an also; he was also a wizard, but was even before that a man. A man, as it turned out, with the steel in his spine and cool water in his veins that the young man he’d once been so thoroughly lacked. “Would that the seasons might meet. Would that our duties not keep us all apart, my friends, I would this very moment pledge that none of us would need to go into our dotage alone. I would pledge that our timeless friends here would be forced by our frequent invitations to visit us, my dear good Witch, and that you and I would share a cozy and welcome cave of our own.” As he said it he frowned a bit sadly, for the idea was altogether appealing to him, even if their duties as seasons denied them such a thing. Still, it was satisfying to see the surprise on the sweet face of the Spring Witch as they reached the tower of the Dragon of the East… and the way she seemed to rather like the idea.

[Kaia]

She looked at him in puzzlement, his words confusing her.  Did they not have their separate places?  Why would they be in the same cave, knowing that the seasons were never meant to be in the same space for very long?  After a moment, Spring Witch spoke, "While it is good to commune together from time to time, it would not do to stay together for long.  No, my friend," the sadness showing on her features only momentarily, "I'm afraid that our final days will see us separate." 

The Fairy Queen looked upon them with wise, understanding eyes.  Spring Witch caught her watching and gave a warm smile.  "We shall help you, your Dragonness.  We exist for this very reason; we keep the cycle going no matter what.  Just tell us what to do, and we'll do it."  There was no hesitation on her part, no guile.  Merely a wish to help, to keep the cycle going as it should be.  She was the Spring Witch, after all. 

Autumn Wizard heard her words, and even though the thought sent a rather confusing pang through his heart, he knew that she was right.  They could no sooner be in this reality as the one they came from.  This was beyond him, beyond his understanding even.  "I'll not bring it up again.  I, too, am ready to right things, Dragonness."

Old, wise eyes looked upon the Summer Fairy and Winter Vampire, waiting until they too agreed.  "Very well.  We should get started."  Clapping her hands expectantly, the Dragon of the West looked years younger, if such a thing were possible.

[KatKwik]

Time and age were irrelevant when one controlled the seasons and ensured the balance of the world. As time moved on the friends were no longer and instead they each remembered the role they had to play. Once this quest was over they would return to the way things should be. Each to their own and peace to the lands.

For now though the tower before them loomed and together they stepped through the entrance and followed the curved staircase to the top. In this shifting world, it seemed eons before they reached the top. It seemed that the game continued when they stepped into the chamberat the top and the heavy door clicked behind them.

Each looking at the other when a voice rang out.

“Escape this room and I shall grant that which you desire.”

So they would, escape, restore order and return to whence they came.

[Marek]

The friends looked at each other in curiosity, yet already their connection one to the next seemed strained. It was as if they were separated, perhaps, by the role each had to play, and that by being too closely together those distinctive lines were less sharp than they should be. It was Winter who spoke first, his cold gaze sweeping about the featureless room devoid of decoration or even doors.

“If we’re to escape, we need to find the exits. And to do that…” He swept his hand about the room, smiling, and presently heavy frost coated every surface. Suddenly visible, thin lines showing as contrasts in the frost, was the outline of a door. The icy vampire swept his hand in a bow, as if his part in the effort was complete.

Shivering, Summer look at him in annoyance but conceded the wisdom of his strategy. “Well play, good Winter, but let us dispense with your hoary gift and win our freedom.” Lifting her hands and spinning slowly about the room, the frost soon slid down the walls to pool on the floor. Not stopping there, Summer increased the heat upon the pool in front of the door, and steam began to rise upwards.

The door began to bow under the pressure of such steam, then popped open with a groan of wood. Spring shouted in alarm just in time as a shambling creature of twigs and leaves ambled out, but Autumn at once caused it to fade, its leaves turning red and orange before settling to the floor. Within moments the guardian was still, a harmless pile of twigs, and the door stood open behind it. Smiling, he looked to the others. “Shall we friends? Let’s be on our way.”

[Kaia]

They looked from one to the other, exchanging surprised glances as the shambling figure was reduced to nothing.  Autumn was certainly effective, as were the others.  Together, their abilities blended to work together instead of against, which was perhaps why this had to be them to right the balance of the world.  They broke it, and now they had to fix it, as was only right.

Stepping through the door, the four of them were careful not to touch anything, not knowing just what to expect.  They were moving about in this manner when along came a stout black rabbit running through with only a silver vest adorning him.  Spring called out to the creature, "Hello there!  Where might you be going?"

"To find the way
One must go
North and South
To and Fro"

The group looked at the rabbit and then at one another.  It seemed like gibberish to them, but they asked again, this time Summer taking the lead.  "I'm sorry, I don't understand.  Where are you going?  This is just a hallway."  It was true enough.  They were standing in a long hallway that seemed to not have an end. 

"To find the egg
You must hurry
Red or blue
That's your query"

Winter looked with concern at the dark and small creature.  His fangs glistened in the light filtering in through the windows.  "I think we're supposed to do as he says," he quietly made mention, watching the others with detached hunger.  Autumn was puzzled by the little rabbit.  Why did he speak?  Why did he wear a little vest?  Hell, where did he come from? 

Scratching his head, the Wizard shrugged.  "Like a riddle then?  Riddles are my specialty."  To be a wizard, one had to have a crafty grasp of the language, able to form words in such a way as to produce a magical result. 

[KatKwik]

North, South, East and West; from witches to seasons they follow the quest. A rabbit that seemed familiar with dragons that offer a test. So the seasons must flourish to reach the end and fix what is broken or time will bend. A wish to be broken and they will return to the beginning and to life will return.

The seasons took their cue from the rabbit and finding the centre they found the witch. She gestured them forward and they relayed the message to return to their beginnning then they had to bring the witches together. They told her of her sister’s plight, to return the order they must all convene at the centre from where they had started.

By relaying the message they would bring order to that which their union had destroyed and the sisters would have the power to return then to where they should be.