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 Posted: Mon Apr 04, 2016 8:10 pm
(Cesc -> Claire)
"Alright!" Cesc didn't want to take any more time than possible with the ruckus, and he pulled Claire close, lifting her in a bridal position. With a powerful snap of his wings, he took off, pulling as high as he could to get out of the building and straight up in the air. He flew toward the birds with his back toward them, curled over Claire. His wings were working, so he had to keep his shield balanced in front of them, the hard light balancing from his forearms to keep Claire safe. His teeth were gritted against the force of them, and once outside, he tried to pull upwards toward the sky, although he was basically flying backwards to keep as much of the flock as possible away from them.
"Can you see anything?" He called, although with his navigating--UGHN, what was that wet snap that hit between his shoulder blades?--he couldn't tell himself what was going on.
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Posted: Mon Apr 04, 2016 8:16 pm
Dead birds littered the floor, the unfortunate ones that flew into walls and tree barks. The area, even inside the building, was littered with bird feathers and unfortunately, bird poop as well. What in the world happened just now?
It didn't took too long for them to find out.
Kyou, confused and still reeling from the shock, decided to check out what type of damage the birds had done to the rest of the Lab building. To his surprise, the door to his office was ajar. He was pretty sure he shut the doors when he exited it earlier today, and there was no way the birds would be able to break it open. Upon entering his office, he discovered to his surprise that two of his metal trunks where he had kept fel essences were forced open, and some fel essences were missing from them!
The birds were a distraction! The true target was stealing the fel essences!
Knowing this, his first thought was that he had to get them back, he has to find them! So he hobbled over to his desk on one crutch, opened his drawer and took out his fel essence detection device - an ornate board with a golden needle. (pictured here) Only to be surprised to see that the needle was going wild, pointing in every direction. This means that the fel essences are not in the same location, they had been spread all over the town!
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Posted: Mon Apr 04, 2016 8:32 pm
((Henry → cafeteria || Claire, Cesc, Nell, Fisher)) Just as soon as Claire had made her decision and the two of them were up in the air, everything stopped – the noise, the birds; it was almost a deadly silence. Henry stood at full height, surveying the cafeteria with his arms instinctively raised.
He looked back to the table after a moment, saying, ”Nell, it's okay to come out... I think...” Henry didn't know Fisher's name as introductions were barely made before the hectic storm that had just happened, so instead the nurse lifted part of the tablecloth and nodded for both of them to come out.
Once things seemed normal, Dr. Kyou made a mad dash towards his office and Henry stared in curiosity. He didn't follow, however, and merely turned his attention back to Claire and Cesc, who were now airborne. Henry immediately recognized the stag's pained expression and lifted an arm towards him in reaction, taking a few quick strides to reach him better. ”Are you alright?” he called, now worried that there was a possibility the stag could drop Claire.
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Posted: Mon Apr 04, 2016 8:53 pm
(( Claire -> Cesc, Henry ))
Claire gasped sharply when Cesc swept her into his arms and held on as tightly as she dare to without hurting him as they launched into the air. It was hard going, trying to dodge the birds, and she kept her eyes closed on the initial ascent but remembered her part of this plan and forced them back open. The birds had been everywhere and as they continued to climb she strained her eyes, squinting into the distance to see where they might be coming from. They were everywhere, and she opened her mouth to reply -
- and then, as though heralded by a stronger call, the birds dispersed. Claire's mouth hung open slightly as the assault ended just as quickly as it had come upon them. Her fingers flexed against Cesc's shoulder uncomfortably, heart hammering against her ribs. This was very odd. There was no rhyme or reason to their dispersal, either, as they seemed to be vanishing in every which way.
"Something's weird," Claire stated uneasily. The last of the birds vanished and activity was resuming below (assumingly the partygoers were coming out of hiding), and Claire heard Henry call the two of them and she glanced down instinctively - only to give a shuddering swallow and return her gaze straight ahead. "We're fine!" she croaked out to the nurse, turning her head to and fro in a bid to not look straight down again and try to glean anything else from the horizon. The birds were fully gone now. "What in the world is going on?" The question was posed out loud, just a musing, but she frowned, pursing her lips and turning to look at Cesc with a questioning gaze. She winced again, becoming fully aware now that the immediate threat had passed of her own bleeding cuts and scrapes. "This doesn't seem normal."
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Friendly Conversationalist
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Posted: Mon Apr 04, 2016 8:57 pm
(( Fisher -> Cafeteria || Nell, Henry ))
What little he could see when he peeked out from under his protective swath of tablecloth made no sense at all. The woman who'd accompanied Henry inside took off into the sky with a pinkish raevan for reasons he couldn't hear, and then, well, it was over. The flock of birds flapped away, rather diminished from what it had been when it had arrived. Not wanting to be seen as completely useless, Fish hurried to his feet, offering Nell a hand up if she wished to take it.
"Everyone's all right?" He looked up at the sigel and his passenger, his question likely too low for them to hear. "What do we do now?" They couldn't very well go back to eating and socializing after that.
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Posted: Mon Apr 04, 2016 9:06 pm
((Cesc--> Claire, Henry))
Cesc was still pushing higher when Claire began to speak, and he slowed his ascent and allowed himself to look as the sound suddenly began to disperse. He frowned. Obviously, that pattern was bizarre--they seemed like they were frenzied, and then now they were released? What had been the trigger?
He paused, and a small breeze passed by them, stinging his cuts. Up this high, the cherry blossom trees--or what was left of their blooms after the attack--were indeed lovely. He heard Henry's voice filtering up through them, and then Rhedefre noticed Claire's look down and subsequent tension. He let out a faint laugh. "I thought you weren't afraid of heights?" he tried to joke, and his wings turned to let them descend slowly. The magic that had made the shield filtered away, melting back into sunlight. "Don't worry, I won't drop you. You barely weigh anything.
As he floated down, he exhaled slowly, turning his thoughts to her comments. "I don't know," he admitted. "But to arrive and leave like that--were they... looking for something? There's powerful magic here. Maybe a malfunction, a miscast?"
Cesc landed gently close to Henry and carefully placed Claire back on her feet, floating close by, absorbed in thought. He knew he must look rather sorry--his hair mussed, scratches everywhere, and they were all sprinkled with just a light frosting of bird s**t. A thought popped in his head, ridiculous, and he couldn't help but let out a laugh.
"You know," he mused, still half-laughing. "This is weird, but this actually is the second time I've come to a garden party at the Lab and gotten bird gunk all over me."
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Posted: Mon Apr 04, 2016 9:41 pm
((Henry → cafeteria || Claire, Cesc, Dr. Kyou)) ”You're right, this is really weird...” sighed Henry as he looked toward the outside party-goers. They seemed to still be in hiding for the moment as all the nurse could see was the aftermath of the birds, themselves. ”Dr. Kyou ran off, I think something's wrong.”
Once Claire and Cesc landed, Henry gingerly placed a hand on the small of the woman's back and examined her wounds, despite how minor they were – completely ignoring his own for now. ”Whatever that was, it can't be good...”
Letting out a strained chuckle at Cesc's attempt to make the moment a little less heavy, once Claire was tended too Henry turned on his heel toward the office where the good doctor had gone. ”Dr. Kyou, what's going on?” he asked before noticing the frantic expression on his face. ”What's wrong?”
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Posted: Tue Apr 05, 2016 5:11 am
((Nell -> cafeteria |Fisher, Henry, Kyou))
Getting out from under the table took a bit more time than diving under it, though thankfully Fisher was kind enough to offer her a hand up. By the time she had gotten up and had glumly surveyed the mess of scratches on her arms and legs, Dr. Kyou had just disappeared down the halfway and Henry had hurried off to look at Claire.
"I'm not sure, " she said, brushing stay feathers out of her dress, "If there's a first aid kit around we could patch people up, but... Another look around showed nothing but birds, feathers, and a whole lot of confused people.
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Posted: Tue Apr 05, 2016 6:51 am
(( Kyou - Cafeteria - Henry and Nell ))
”What's wrong?”
Kyou was in a daze at everything that just happened, and it was Henry's voice that snapped him back into reality. Golden eyes were wide as he stared at the man's face, the sound of the birds incessant chirping still ringing in his ears. He could barely hear himself as he spoke.
"Someone... stole the fel essences." Yes, yes they did. Reality snapped back quickly as his mind whirred into action, thinking about the solutions to their current, more imminent problem. But first, he had to explain.
"The birds, they were just a distraction." Eyes glanced around at the destruction that it brought, at the mess and the injuries. "The Lab's security is lax today because of the party, someone snuck in during the havoc and stole some fel essences!" In the excitement, he didn't even realize that he's only holding one crutch. With his free hand, he gripped Henry's arm. "They're scattered around the city, we need to get them back!"
That was when he overheard Nell mentioned about a first aid kit. Of course, they need to quickly tend to the wounded first. "We have a medical office just across the hall, there are plenty of medical supplies to tend to the wounded. Please use whatever you need!" Hobbling over since it's just a short distance away, he opened the door to whoever that wants to get in. "There are sinks in the kitchen, and a bathroom next to my office as well if everyone need to clean up."
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Posted: Tue Apr 05, 2016 10:53 am
(( Ian - Under a table -> Lorenzo ))
"Oh- um, yeah, I'm okay." Ian kept a hand over his head despite being under the shelter of the table, and did his best to keep his long gangly legs under cover as well. He watched in mild horror and fascination as Lorenzo resurrected one of the birds, almost as good as new. But just as he'd been about to thank him for the offer and tell the bird his message, he realized how quiet it had gotten.
It felt strange and unsettling after such prolonged chaos, but he was grateful nonetheless. "Wait... Is it over?" He craned his neck to peer around the yard, noting a distinct lack of birds. People were beginning to come out of hiding and check on each other; it must be over. He smiled at Lorenzo and offered him a somewhat awkward but nonetheless sincere pat on the shoulder. "I think we're okay now. Come on, I think they're over here."
Climbing out from under the table, he took note of his own injuries -- just a few scrapes and tears in his clothes, but nothing serious -- before heading over to where Eden had taken shelter. He was relieved to see she wasn't alone, but his worry did not dwindle. "Eden? Are you okay?"(( Eden - Under a table -> Vesna, Aadhira, Iorek ->> picnic area ))
The nymph gratefully accepted Vesna's offer of the blanket and sighed, running her hand through her now messy hair. She smiled at Iorek when he introduced himself, a silent thank-you as she found her voice lacking. Almost immediately after, she could hear and see the attack dwindling. Brows furrowed, she craned her neck out to watch. The birds that hadn't killed themselves on the windows or walls were flying away, just as suddenly as they'd come. This whole thing was so weird! "They're leaving..."
A few moments later she spotted a familiar face outside in the grass: Ian. She offered quick smiles to her companions in hiding and laughed softly. "I-I'll be back okay? Thank you," she added with a gentle squeeze to Iorek's arm. Almost embarrassingly so, Eden quickly floated out from beneath the tablecloth and the table to make a beeline for Ian. She hadn't felt particularly close to him since she'd come home from the lab, but right now she wanted nothing more than to be with her guardian. "Ian!"
Ian heaved a sigh of relief when he saw the nymph coming his way, and immediately received her with open arms in a firm hug. He held her at arms' length to inspect her for injuries, his own brows drawn up in concern. "Are you hurt?" Eden shrugged a shoulder and pulled the flimsy wrap back up where it belonged, hugging herself with her arms. "I'm okay... Oh, you're bleeding." She pointed to the nasty-looking cut on his forehead. Her own skin was beginning to bruise in a few places already -- unfortunately neither her soul nor essence lent itself well to durability.
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Posted: Tue Apr 05, 2016 12:21 pm
((Cesc --> Claire, Henry, Dr. Kyou))
"Stolen?" Cesc repeated, approaching the doctor with his brow furrowed, shaking feathers (and, he hoped, only feathers) from his hair. He seemed unsettled, looking around the lab, his eyes trailing the feathers and other debris left over. Normally, this would have been a great time for him to bust out his power, to give the old ' yeah, I found it.' Only…
"Let me…"
He felt nothing. No crying out. No trail to the lost essences. It wasn't faint, wasn't choppy--it wasn't there at all. The fel essences themselves, for whatever it was worth, didn't seem to mind being free or gone. And as such, there was nothing his own power could do about it. No free passes here, Rhedefre.
"Let me know what I can do," he said. "I'm sure we'll all do whatever we can, sir."
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Posted: Tue Apr 05, 2016 12:42 pm
(( Claire -> Cafeteria with Henry, Cesc, Dr. Kyou, heading towards Nell ))
Claire felt a little wobbly as Cesc helped her stand upright again, and it did not take long before Henry was upon her, checking her wounds. Most of them were superficial, the only worrying one was one right above her left eye, and she winced again when the nurse checked it. She, too, hummed a small laugh at Cesc's attempt to lighten the situation.
"That is a disturbing pattern, th -- ahh," she hissed as Henry's fingers touched around her cut. There were others to tend to and Nell had the foresight to mention a first aid kid, and Claire fiddled her fingers together as she tried to order her thoughts and she glanced down, frowning at the white spotting her cardigan. Nobody was getting away scott-free today. In her muddied thoughts, Dr. Kyou's voice cut through the fog like a knife and she looked back up at him, eyes wide. Stolen? And gone to these lengths?
She, admittedly, did not know much of the Lab regarding these sorts of things, as she was still fairly knew. But scientific discoveries were often embroiled in similar situations, if she recalled her history correctly, and the Fel Essences were like nothing she had ever known before. But still.. who would have gone to so much trouble? To cause this much damage towards such a friendly, unassuming community. It did not sit right with her, and she frowned deeply.
"I agree." Claire nodded firmly, fingers laced together over her middle. "Let me know if there's anything I can do to help." First things first however, as she remembered the mention of a first aid kit. "But perhaps, as you have said.. let's get ourselves taken care of first, and get a plan in the works for getting it back." She nodded at Dr. Kyou, then headed off towards Nell, in search of the first aid kid. There was not much she could do otherwise until a plan was formed, but she could see to the guardians and the Raevans and their hurts in the meantime.
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Friendly Conversationalist
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Posted: Tue Apr 05, 2016 4:07 pm
((Nell-> to the first aid kit! | Claire, whoever else wants some bandaids)) She let out a long sigh at the mention of someone stealing essences, her mind immediately imagining dozens of difficult ones like hers had been out and about in the wild, as it were. Well, that was certainly a pickle they got themselves into. But matters at hand demanded their attention first, and with a grateful wave to Kyou she carefully picked her way across the room in the direction he had indicated. The first aid kits were relatively easy to find, and she was looking through them quickly to see exactly how many bandaids there were (from the look of things they were going to need A Lot) when Claire walked up, startling her enough to nearly drop the kit. "Oh! Oh gosh, hi Claire, sorry, I though..." She was a giant flock of birds, come back for round two. A much more pleasant outcome this way, though. "Here, sit down and let me see if I can clean up any of those." She gestured with her chin to a nearby chair and began picking a few things out of the kit, setting the rest aside so if anyone wanted to come in they could grab some as well. "I hope most of the Lab's events aren't this exciting, I don't know if I could handle it if they were," she said with a shaky laugh.
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Posted: Tue Apr 05, 2016 4:19 pm
((Iorek -- Eden, Vesna, Aadhira -- Picnic Area -- Cafeteria for info ))
Iorek peeked out from under the table cloth as the bird attack quieted down. It looked like a bloody feathery gross war zone out there. An absolute mess on a perfectly good garden party.
"Well, looks like it's safe to go out." Reks told them. And with that Eden was off but not before giving a nice little thank you. What a sweet young girl. Hopefully he could meet her and the rest of the newbies when they weren't in danger.
Reks looked back at the duo and smiled encouragingly, "Guess we should all get a move on, huh? I'm going to go check on things. Hope we can meet up another time."
With that he was off to get an update on what exactly happened but not before stopping by the spot he had left the bird. Iorek held his breath as he neared the area he'd squeezed the songbird. Hoping and praying that it would be okay, Iorek's heart broke at the sight of it's small body still laying crumbled on the ground. That right there was his fault. It didn't meet it's demise by flying into the windows like the other birds had. Iorek snuffed it's life out with his own hand.
'Monster...'
Reks shuddered as the word echoed through his head. Quickly he pushed it away and headed inside to find those in charge.
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Posted: Tue Apr 05, 2016 4:30 pm
(( Cruz - under a table -> out in the Picnic Area / Amity, Ronan, Justin ))
And just like that, it was over. The sudden stillness felt strange and Cruz couldn't bring himself to open his eyes until he heard distant voices. The croc lifted his head away from Amity's shoulder, glanced around to Justin beside them, and then Ronan just beyond the table edge.
"O-okay? Are we okay?" Cruz asked, looking Amity over first before giving her some space - he kept one hand on her arm loosely as he leaned toward Justin to inspect him as well. Now that things were dying down, it seemed like most folks were making their way inside but the croc felt hesitant to leave their little haven.
Softly, slowly, he reached for Amity and Justin's hands in the hopes of staying connected, tethered, until it was certain that nothing else was going to happen. "Ronan," Cruz lamented to the man, not with intent to say anything more but a tone that carried apology for many things and was saturated by their mutual understanding of events past that had gone far worse but still felt similar. The croc wore a miserable pout, his eyes misty but not threatening to spill over.
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