The Hotel was a bit of a mob; people working to fortify windows and doors, people huddled in corners and trying to get warm, someone stoking a fire in the fireplace so they didn't all freeze. Asher shuddered a little, working his coat on better, snow still clinging to dark hair and his eyelashes and the dagger clutched like a lifeline in his hand. His eyes skated over the lot of them, looking for a familiar face -- but if he saw one, somehow he skimmed past it.
He missed the girl in front of him twice, didn't hear a word she said until the third pass, when she finally gave him a little shove.
This wasn't a sweet-faced child but a teenager only a few years younger than him: hands on her hips as she scowled at him, her head tilted to the side.
"Are you here to help? Hey, are you even -- what about you?" She half-turned and reached out to grab the nearest Chosen as well, fingers clutching in Ed's sleeve.
beejoux
OOC:
In order to complete this activity, first make a thread titled [A2] RESCUE. You must complete this prompt with at least one other player.
There are three parts:
Part 1: Running through the birds
Each of you rolls 1d4. If anyone in the thread rolls a 3 or 4, you successfully make it through the swarm outside the hotel. If no one participating succeeds, you each take 3 damage and have to start over. Repeat until you succeed.
Part 2: Searching the mountain
Each of you rolls 1d8. If anyone in the thread rolls an 8, they find 2 people. If anyone in the thread rolls a 6 or 7, they find one person. Otherwise, you're mobbed by birds that force you back inside before you can find someone, each take 3 damage, and have to start over at Part 1.
Part 3: Bringing the lost civilian(s) home
Each of you rolls 1d4. If anyone in the thread rolls a 1, you're viciously attacked and your rescued civilian(s) runs off to hide again while you fend off the birds. You each take 3 damage and have to start over at Part 2. Otherwise, if everyone in the thread rolls a 2+, you successfully bring the civilian(s) back through the mob of birds and back into the safety of the hotel.
If you complete Part 3 with a minimum of 500 words you will receive 10 XP each. Please make sure to post, at the end, a tally of how many people you rescued!
This prompt can be repeated as many times as you'd like, but you can only claim XP once. Your HP recovers between successful rescues.
Posted: Sun Aug 07, 2016 9:43 am
They'd only just arrived, hadn't even had time to settle(not that he'd really been expecting any, given that this was an urgent call to arms.), and Ed was already being yanked around by a small hand curling into the down of his jacket.
He blinked down at the teen as she addressed him, before realizing he wasn't the only one standing there at her mercy. A flick of pale eyes up to Asher, the twitch of his lips, and then down again. Surprisingly strong for someone so petite.
"What's wrong?" It wasn't exactly a rousing how can we help?!, but at least his tone was somewhere on the comforting spectrum. or as close as he was able to get it, given the situation.
Asher still looked like a deer in headlights: blinking at Ed widely and trying to gather his thoughts back into place. So the girl addressed Ed instead, chin thrust out and jaw clenched just a little like she was annoyed with them for merely existing. Her tone was sharp, pointed, direct.
"My step-mom is still missing." There should have been worry in her voice, but there wasn't. Instead, it was almost angry, like she resented having to think about the woman or the fact she was asking for their help. "Are you going to find her?"
beejoux
Beejoux rolled 1 4-sided dice:
4Total: 4 (1-4)
Posted: Sun Aug 07, 2016 11:29 am
Was that part of their job description? Ed wasn't sure, didn't know who to ask, and didn't think the teen would allow either of them to seek out anyone that could answer the question. Which meant, there was only one thing left for them to do. "O...kay." It was hesitant, but resigned.
Shaking her hand off, he asked for a name, a visual, and then reached past her to curl fingers around Asher's forearm, leading him away from the teen, and towards the exit and the cold beyond. He hadn't actually said anything up to this point, hopefully he'd snap out of it by the time they had to run the gauntlet of birds again.
Reaching the door, Edward pulled his hood up again, then looked up at the circling flock of crazy birds. "Watch your head." It was followed by an unceremonious tug out into the cold. "let's go get this over with."
and be blue
Beejoux
Wrathful Demigod
Offline
and be blue rolled 1 4-sided dice:
2Total: 2 (1-4)
Asher would never admit it later, but he was still in a bit of a daze as they emerged into the cold and the snow. A moment's pause, and then he followed Ed's lead, pulling his hood up. The fact of the matter was that on his own, he probably would have been assaulted by the birds, brought down by beaks and driven back inside -- but by following in the larger man's footsteps, they were able to make progress, past the swarm that swooped around the entrance.
One of them laid eyes on the duo and swept close, but it was easily driven back. Then the task was just to find someone out here.
beejoux
Beejoux rolled 1 8-sided dice:
8Total: 8 (1-8)
Posted: Thu Aug 11, 2016 5:05 pm
They were going to have to be quick, but thorough. Or as thorough as was possible with giant, manic birds swooping down at them from every angle. Ed tried to keep up a constant defense between swinging his large hammer and keeping his arms up and moving above his head, but that made looking kind of difficult. Good thing he'd brought a second set of eyes with him.
"You keep a look out for the kid's stepmom. You heard the description, right?" He'd seemed sort of dazed at the time, but maybe he'd been paying more attention than Edward assumed.
and be blue
Beejoux
Wrathful Demigod
Offline
and be blue rolled 1 8-sided dice:
1Total: 1 (1-8)
It wasn't that Asher was exactly looking sharp; it wasn't that he was keen in the art of observation, nor that he had a way of ploughing through the snow. Quite the opposite. In boots that didn't quite fit right, curled up into his coat, he was a hopeless bundle and lacking his usual kinetic grace.
No, he fell on them.
Ed was doing the real work, making a path and leading the way, searching for someone out in the snow. Ash was struggling along next to him when he lost his balance and fell into a drift.
There were two people. Bundled up as they were, he couldn't tell if they were anyone's stepmother -- or even female -- but they did seem desperate for help.
"Hey, Boogie Nights! there's some people..."
beejoux
Beejoux rolled 1 4-sided dice:
4Total: 4 (1-4)
Posted: Thu Aug 11, 2016 6:03 pm
Pausing in his defensive assault against the birds, Ed missed the exactly moment Asher went down, but hen oticed as the smaller man called for his attention. He glanced at him, did a double take, and then rather casually reached out to grab the scruff of the man's coat so he could haul him to his feet again.
The two folks they'd stumbled onto peered up at them owlishly and fearful, a little shell shocked, and Ed crouched down beside the first of the two to offer a hand up. "We're going to get you to safety, you ready?" They just had to keep close. That was easy enough, right?
A glance to the side, to see if Asher was dealing with the other survivor in need of rescue.
and be blue
Beejoux
Wrathful Demigod
Offline
and be blue rolled 1 4-sided dice:
2Total: 2 (1-4)
All it took now was to get them back through the swarm that circled over the hotel: birds that seemed to just be waiting for them to come back through. Asher shook snow out of his hair, hood down now, and peered up at the mess -- desperately missing the heat of Michigan, bike or no bike. He made a soft noise, clearing his throat, and then offered a hand to one of the two people they'd found.
"We'll run through as soon as it's clear." All it took was the word, and all four of them could dash, carefully back into the hotel. Back to the warm, and the dry, and the relative safety.
beejoux
Posted: Thu Aug 11, 2016 6:23 pm
One hand still wrapped around the handle of his hammer, the other resting lightly on the back of the other survivor they'd found, Ed stared up at the birds watching them swoop and circle overhead. Watching for the break they needed to get them all back safely. He could fend off a few, but the less he had to with extra baggage, the better.
Tongue pressed to the back of his teeth, he waited for the break, and then gave a single,command to move. He'd lead, breaking a path while pulling his survivor along with him, and Asher could follow behind, making sure the other person they'd found didn't lag behind.
The walk back seemed to take longer, slowed in progress by the extra bodies, but they made it, and once across the threshold, he'd nudge the woman(she was definitely a woman) hopefully towards the teen. Her response was a roll of her eyes, but since she took the woman by the arm and led her off, Ed had to assume that was the stepmom.
Mission accomplished then.
Cold, covered in snow, and relieved of their burden of survivors, it seemed like now was a great time to find some warm corner to tuck into until they wee called on again for some other task. Nudging Ash on the shoulder, he pointed towards a stretch of empty wall near one a fire place with a small fire being built inside.
Asher looked a little bit cold-burned, pink across the cheek and nose, eyes a little red-rimmed with water frozen in his lashes. He made a little sound, flicking a more-or-less unseeing look around the room, to the spot Ed had pointed out, and then onto the man's face. It took a moment for him to pull himself together enough to wave it off, movement just a little jerky, and take two steps away.
He shed his coat as he went, leaving Ed behind. He needed a little time out of it. And maybe the boots, too, and maybe he didn't want to be around people for a bit.
