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The choice, for Cas, was simple. Do whatever it takes to end this now. Do what they could to make sure the people they knew they could keep safe were safe. Maybe if they knew more. had more Intel on the birds. But they didn't.

He didn't need to listen to the arguments, knew that people who had made up their minds would nnot be swayed, just as he would not be swayed by the half cocked rationale of other people. There was one choice that was clear to him, so he made it.

No fuss, no muss.

"Defend the hotel."

Briiva winced at the sudden shout directed at her and turned to look in the direction that it had originated. "Ah..Hey, Beth. I've been here, sorta." She pinched the bride of her nose, a small groan escaping her lips.

"So, things seem pretty tense, do you think you could help me get up to speed on what the hell is going on here?" Briiva readjusted her glasses and looked around the room, doing her best to gauge the situation. It wasn't her forte. She didn manage to catch the tail end of Asher's comment, to which she gave a barely restrained snerk, hiding her mouth behind her hand.

Ewan looked at Mal, and then at Asher -- he'd heard some, about Asher, from Mal -- and then shrugged. "I'm voting -- I vote we defend the hotel." It just seemed the most logical plan of action, even if it was a bit ... black and white.

He raised his eyebrows after this -- maybe sensing that this might cause another round of shitstorm.

Initially, Zebulon decided to stay quiet.

It was best to gather information about a decision before making a decision, after all. Some seemed inclined to make snap judgments one way or another, though most of them appeared to be angled towards "rescue the civilians." Not a bad idea, even if it was tainted with what was likely hopeless optimism.

Zebulon was a scientist first and foremost, and his initial thought about rescuing civilians at this point was a grim one. It had been a few days, in the cold Swiss Alps, surrounded by snow and winds and angered mechanical birds. Another voiced his thoughts succinctly--for all they knew, they could be dead.

Logically, there may be a few still alive, but there were more than a few remaining here. But considering the circumstances and the already damaged lodging, along with the fact that it was snowy, cold, and they were swarmed by birds, the chances of them all still remaining simply didn't seem to add up. And they had no idea where these civilians may be, if they were alive, either. With the limited amount of time they had to act and their limited resources, what were the chances they had of finding several civilians, yet alone any?

In a few days, they had only found a dozen, after all. How did they plan to find who was left of the remaining civilians in an hour or two?

It was incredibly unlikely.

He waited for an opportune moment before speaking up. "He's right, about them being alive," said Zebulon, gesturing towards the Zeus Chosen. "Never mind the threat of the birds, this is the Swiss Alps. It's bitter cold, it's snowy, and it is likely dangerous to be outside for extended periods of time with no shelter. The chances of these civilians all being alive are relatively slim after this amount of time. There may be a few, but I doubt they all are. And we don't even know where they may be. Time is limited. Even if they are alive, would we be able find them?"

Zebulon shrugged.

"I think we should defend the hotel. The people here are alive and present, and we said we would protect them."

He would leave if they all voted to leave, he supposed, but Zebulon thought it made little sense. It was better to go with the certain choice than the uncertain choice, almost always.

Honestly, Zebulon had more or less said what Diryas was thinking. There wasn't too much that he could think of to add onto it. He didn't like the idea of just letting the missing civilians die, but he was on the same path as Zebulon and the Chosen he'd mentioned. They didn't know the status of the missing. They could risk everything at the hotel, lose every civilian in their absence, only to find a collection of frozen corpses in the snow. If they were lucky, all of them would be intact and fit for an open-casket funeral. If they were unlucky--and Diryas did not believe in luck--then all they would find would be remains in various states of consummation by the wildlife who would no doubt appreciate an easy meal or several.

He did not say this out loud.

That did not mean he did not want to rescue the remaining civilians. The optimal goal was that everyone would be recovered alive and get out of this equally as alive, but their situation did not guarantee optimums. So there was only a pair of options. Either they could stay here and protect the civilians whose location and status they knew, who they had promised to help, who had the advantage of fortifications, who had injured among them... or the Chosen could leave them with what they'd managed to repair and locate and go off to find the missing, to hopefully find the missing. They could wander the Alps and not find anyone alive, or at all, and in the process lose everyone at the hotel.

Leaving the civilians with mundane protections against a threat that did not seem terribly mundane, only to risk never finding a single surviving person out in the snow after days of exposure... it was a gamble.

It was a gamble with odds that Diryas did not particularly like.

So what he did say out loud was instead, "we should not sacrifice the birds we have for the birds in the bushes. My vote is to stay and defend."

Ah, birds. Birds everywhere, even in his speech.

What started as a curious expression on Briiva's face quickly became one of mild concern. "We're going to do what? Hell, the chance of us surviving an avalanche here isn't great, out there though? If you stay conscious while being buried under feet of snow, you still have to contend with hypothermia, frostbite, oxygen, I could go on.

Briiva whipped her head around the room, sizing up the building's supports that she could see. "If the building holds up, we just have to contend with trying to dig our way out. If we get caught outside though... We're going to have a bad day."

Taking a long drink of her water, she pinched the bridge of her nose again, fighting through her headache. "Our best chance is to defend the hotel. And we need make sure that those we have saved are kept where cave-in's and collapses are least likely to happen. Hope for the best, prrepare for the worst and all that."

Sylvia had been listening in the back to most of the debate. This whole experience had been a shock, and for now she felt better letting others, who perhaps felt a bit more comfortable doing so, take charge in these situations. But now they all needed to share the burden. The current issue at hand was more than just a difficult decision. Lives were at stake, no matter which choice was made.

She’d been having her own debate while listening to the others. The hotel was fortified, yes, but she wasn’t sure exactly how much good that would do against another attack of the birds plus an avalanche. They had done the best with what they’d found, but even the hotel was only ready for so much, and most of the fortification had been done with ‘common’ items that could be sturdy, but were never meant to stand up to a barrage of snow and ice. All those lost outside, however, had nothing to keep them safe save for any possible trees or rocks or natural shelter, which, even if it stood sturdy against an avalanche, could still leave them stranded if they were buried. She debated the numbers – though it had been said that survivors were currently split about half and half between those who were already in the relative safety of the hotel and those who were still lost. She tried to glance around and determine just how sturdy she thought the hotel was at this point, though she was no architect and had no great idea.

But then she realized there was a question she kept coming back to.

“But if we abandon the hotel to look for other survivors… what happens if the hotel is torn down so much that it serves no shelter at all for any of us against the avalanche – even if we are somehow able to find everyone and get them back here alive?” The right corner of her mouth was tucked back as she chewed at her bottom lip a bit. She couldn’t help the losses – they would be devastated either way, and the comment of needing therapy was no joke. But she was trying to weigh the options and figure out what would help the most people… The choice sucked either way, but if the hotel was gone and they had no shelter against the impending avalanche, they were all doomed.

“I don’t like leaving anyone, I want to save them all as much as any of you… but I think we have to make sure that there’s a safe place for those who are here and surviving, and for any who may still be fighting to make it here without our help. If the hotel falls, we are all that much closer to also falling…”

She shook her head and finally made a clear statement, in case that was needed. “I think we should stay and defend the hotel.” She sighed and tried not to think too heavily on what that meant for any awaiting aid in the surrounding woods. She didn’t like having to make this choice, but at least she had tried to make the best decision she could with the limited time and information provided. She could live with that.