Southern Desert ~ Old Mine (Cynthia; Omar; Rin)
It took her a moment to gather her senses back together, what with the nerves in her foot screaming bloody murder at being shot. Then again, being a glowing target in a glowing tunnel might have been a tactical blunder on her part, and getting shot was the logical consequence of that.
Suddenly, she was starting to have flash backs of her days back at the academy, and her spartan combat instructor. She learned very quickly that yanking crossbow bolts out of knees was a very bad idea, even with the ability to heal quickly— She snapped back to reality as a surge of pain shot up her leg; Rin had inadvertently caused the knight to land on her injured foot as the woman tossed her out of harm's way.
Cynthia let out a pained squeak as she tried to take stock of her situation; Omar was tending to her, Rin had engaged the survivor of the earlier antagonizing group. And that survivor, the woman, had just lost her arm. Her left arm. At the shoulder.
The young knight gave a very sympathetic wince at the woman's predicament. Shoving Omar aside, she struggled to her feet, leaning against the wall before calling out in a pained voice to Rin; "Stop! Don't kill her!"
Town ~ Main Street (Mari; Oswald; James, John)
Mari's sole response to Oswald consisted of a friendly smile as she gently accepted Pancake. She chuckled softly as the kitten nuzzled her cheek.
As she held the kitten, her attention briefly went back to the sound of the distant engine, or rather, the lack there of. Turning her head slightly towards the last known location of the sound, she subconsciously tucked Pancake in her cleavage.
She frowned slightly before deciding to dismiss it further for now. Instead, she turned back to the others, "So, did ya guys 'ave any plans for t'night?"
Crazy Kiwi
Bed and Breakfast Lobby
[Davey, Rip, Amy, Maya, Aubrey, Finn, Gwion, James, Kaitlyn, Karl, Kris, Peggy, Sophia, Teri, Wolfe]James smiled at Davey's clear and unashamed attempt to solicit business for the "Bed and Breakfast". "Sorry," and he genuinely was, "but now that we've found our compatriot, we'll be having to return home and get him safely back. I'm not sure what Gwion and his companions have planned, but it seems they have other plans that doubtless were interupted when they kindly decided to assist us in our search."
Wolfe gave Maya a smile. "I'm sorry, I only know a little sign - and mostly New Zealand Sign Language at that." The only reason he knew that the ASL sign for 'thanks' was the same as that for NZSL was from his children watching Blue's Clues on television. "Not a lot - I can say little more than 'good morning', 'good night', 'please', 'thank you' and 'I'm off to the toilet'."
Teri grinned at that. She was aware that Wolfe, in addition to "very rusty" French and German and a bit of Māori, knew "just enough to be polite" - and often how to order his coffee - in several languages.
Sophia turned to Davey. "Yeah, sorry, but we've got places we have to be." She looked at her watch and caught Gwion's eye. "Shouldn't we be getting on?"
Aubrey could see that James was right - they would have to head home soon and let Pearl, Sir Archibald and everyone else know that he was safe. It was galling that he couldn't say thanks to the strange lizard-man, Joseph, and he hoped that Const- Connie would be available soon so that he could say a proper thanks and farewell.
Attitude is prohibited
[Old Mine]
Having come to a stop a short distance behind the woman, Rin was slightly surprised to hear that her target had been immediately killed. Even so, it seemed as though their assailant was now thoroughly disabled, and from her current position, the screaming made it easy to pinpoint her location, even in the dark. Rin turned, stepped closer to the noise, raised up her sword and brought it down right-
"Stop! Don't kill her!"
-into the ground, barely an inch from the woman's head. Leaving her sword impaled into the ground, she quickly snatched the Rat's gun away from her, tossing it aside. Then, retrieving her sword, she stared down the dimly lit hallway at Cynthia, bewildered and blood soaked, and had only one thing to say; "WHY?!"
Not entirely dead.
[Town ~ Bed and Breakfast (Main Hall)] (Rip, Davey, Amy, Maya, Aubrey, Finn, Gwion, James, Kaitlyn, Karl, Kris, Peggy, Sophia, Teri, Wolfe)
Davey drew in his breath and lifted his head. It all toppled out in a sigh, stemmed only by a bittersweet smile, though his whiskers drooped all the same.
"Ah, my great loss," he mourned. "In that case, godspeed, and if there's anything I can do to help..."
"Well, you could fetch Connie." Rip interjected, thumbing at Aubrey, "the man wants to talk to her."
Davey met Rip with a mostly neutral frown. He considered giving the man lip about his indelicate bearing— particularly his use of the word 'fetch'. It made Davey feel like a servant, or worse, a dog. And the feeling certainly wasn't helped in the company of strangers. Ultimately, he thought better of it, merely smiling at Rip, and then Aubrey, and saying, "I'll see it done."
While the otter-like man moved dutifully towards the bathroom, Rip glanced back at Amy and Maya. "In a cave?" he repeated, "With Connie?" He paused for a few moments, staring at nothing in particular as he tried to imagine the circumstances that led them to that cave. "Yeah... remind me to find a better chaperone next time."
Davey knocked at the bathroom door and waited. He could hear the shower running and what might've been humming. He glanced at the crowd of waiting travelers, then allowed his ears to twitch; a subtle adjustment towards the door. It was definitely Connie's humming. Connie's oblivious humming.
He knocked again, louder. This time the humming faltered, hitting a discordant note, so Davey followed up with, "Connie? Connie, you have company."
The shower shut off, and Connie sounded back with a muffled, "What?"
"Someone you helped earlier is here to see you," he explained patiently. There was a squeaking of handles, and the confused start and sudden stop of water flow, followed by a long series of almost danceable pitter-pattering, and finally the handle rattling to lead into the door's grand opening.
Connie first peered out at Davey, who stepped back, then swept his arms in the direction of Audrey and company. Slowly, the girl leaned out of the doorway to see for herself. Her hair was wet— not a particularly new sight, considering their venture through a flooded tunnel, though this time the rest of her was much cleaner, and shampoo suds still coated her 'do in parts. She was wrapped in a towel, though from her deer-in-the-headlights expression, she had clearly not been expecting the man to bring his entire entourage.
"H...ey Aubrey..." she said cautiously, speaking it almost more like a confused question than a greeting. She frowned slightly, clicking her teeth together in clear discomfort. "Who're your friends?"
[Town ~ Main Street](Oswald, James, John, Pancake, Mari)
Oswald shook his head, "Only an able night's sleep, with a door open to dreaming." He turned his shadowed eyes back to James and John, though he could not speak for them this time.
In the distance, the sound of the engine from earlier came back, growing louder until the distant dot of a person on a motorcycle could be seen just past the end of Main Street, approaching steadily.
[Southern Desert ~ Old Mine](Omar, Cynthia, Rin, remnant)
"Hold steady," Omar said, as Cynthia returned to a more cognizant state, "Rin is taking care of-"
Before he could finish, he found himself being shoved away yet again. He took a moment to let loose some of his tight-lipped exasperation, grumbling at a nearby wall before stepping back towards Cynthia.
He found himself nodding vigorously at Rin's response. "Yeah, I'm with her," he said, looking back at Cynthia, eyebrows part raised, part knitted, and all perplexed, "what's this about?"
Meanwhile, on the floor of the bunker, the cigarette-thieving woman's screams had dulled into anguished moans and hissing breaths, her feet sliding back and forth as she moved through the pain, grimacing up at Rin with bared, bloodied teeth.
edited 13th Sep '17 3:02:53 AM by Ryuhza
this place needs me here
[Bed And Breakfast]
You're doing a pretty good job. Maya signed, It's better than how most people do it. Keep up the good work.
Amy twisted her lips at Connie.
"Aww," she said, "Don't sound like that! Be a little more excited, Connie! Like this!" She gave a more excited wave at Aubery, "Hello, Aubery! Good to see you again!" S He then turned her attention back to Connie. "Something like that!"
Pancake purred.
"We were just on our way back to the hotel." John said, "We had just ran into Oswald and talked to him for a bit." He chuckled, "She grew attached to him, too."
James could see the person on the motorcycle, and now he was feeling slightly suspicious. Are they coming here? Again, he decided not to pay too much mind to it. It probably wasn't too much of a big deal.
Still...
Southern Desert ~ Old Mine (Cynthia; Rin; Omar, injured lady)
With the spotlight on herself, Cynthia looked very much like a bedraggled kitten as she struggled to explain herself. "It— it's a long story, but I was in a similar position as that woman, but then someone saved me." And then they died, she thought bitterly, but didn't mention it to the others. "I don't want to see any more unnecessary deaths," she added.
The young, foolishly optimistic knight began approaching the woman, bearing a look of compassion. "I've got some knowledge in first aid, and I'm pretty sure I've got some healing magic," Cynthia said as she approached Rin, before attempting to take a more... pragmatic approach, "Besides, might it be possible that she might be more valuable alive, rather than dead?"
Town ~ Main Street (Mari; Oswald; James, John)
Mari smiled and gently petted Pancake, "Yeah, some cats like everyone, and some dislike everyone; that's the way cats are."
She then nodded at the others, "'ad a few beers with some mates I met today; they 'ad other business to attend to, so 'ere I am, wanderin' the town." Turning to Oswald, she added, "I guess turnin' in early don't sound too bad right about now; 'ad a long and mildly interestin' day so far."
Finally, the oni turned her head to watch the approaching motorcycle.
edited 15th Sep '17 4:24:15 PM by WillDeRegio
Crazy Kiwi
Bed and Breakfast
[Rip, Davey, Amy, Maya, Aubrey, Finn, Gwion, James, Kaitlyn, Karl, Kris, Peggy, Sophia, Teri, Wolfe]James gave a grateful acknowledging nod of Davey's farewell and kind offer of assistance should they need it.
Rip, with his usual directness, suggested that Davey "fetch" Connie as though he were a servant and Connie a piece of luggage. James noted Davey's rather unsurprising frown and so was surprised when Davey put on a smile and went and called for Connie.
Aubrey was quite taken aback when Connie opened the door and leaned out, clearly wearing nothing but a towel. He quickly averted his eyes, locking them on Davey who was off to the side, and felt bad that Const- Connie had not been warned that there was a roomful of strangers waiting within view of the door.
He felt acutely embarrassed on her behalf - and it wasn't helped by Amy calling attention to her obvious discomfort.
He managed to stammer out an apology. "It seems that some of my compatriots and others had been looking for me at the time you rescued me from the mine. As you can see, I caught up with them and we came by to say thank you and farewell before I return home." It occurred to him that if he hadn't encountered the others at the saloon, he would still have no idea of how to get home.
Wolfe gave Maya a smile as Amy translated her sign. "Cheers." Then he quickly had to suppress a laugh as Amy turned to Connie and gave a demonstration of the "proper" way to address a crowd of strangers whilst dressed in a towel after having your shower interrupted.
Wolfe and Teri exchanged a quick glance, aware that Aubrey wasn't as "relaxed" about certain things as they were. As far as they were concerned, Connie was amply covered by towel and wall, but they knew without looking that Aubrey would be quite embarrassed. His flustered stammering and the fact that he appeared to be addressing Davey only confirmed this.
Gwion looked at Connie. "Yeah, sorry to drop in unannounced like this."
[Town ~ Bed and Breakfast (Main Hall)] (Rip, Davey, Amy, Maya, Aubrey, Finn, Gwion, James, Kaitlyn, Karl, Kris, Peggy, Sophia, Teri, Wolfe)
"Oh I'm very excited," Connie said, her voice sounding like a tea kettle about to start whistling. She shot Amy a crazed smile before—with a quiet gulp—returning her gaze, normal expression intact, to the crowd ahead.
She listened to Audrey's words, nodding slowly, and when it came time to answer, her eyes traveled to the person nearest by, who, again, was Davey. "Well, that's uh... good to hear dude. I guess that means you won't be staying for dinner, then. I mean it's- it's probably for the best; things have been all sorts of topsy-turvy around here since, uh... since we last saw you."
Davey fixed both Connie and Aubrey in turn with one eyed stares, as though to ask, just who are you speaking to?
Connie made a weird face, but slowly turned to look at Aubrey proper. When Gwion apologized, she offered a halfhearted smile and shrugged. "Hey, look, no biggie. I was expecting Aubrey at some point anyways, just... well... just Aubrey, but..." she waved her hand,"let's just don't worry about it. Besides, it's not as if I've never had this kind of experience before, y'know... in nightmares." She gave a nervous little laugh, then brought her attention back to Aubrey again. "So, I suppose you probably heard about Joe already?"
Meanwhile, Rip had found a good seat from which to watch the proceedings with what appeared to be dull interest, and Davey flashed his dark-brown gaze at the ladies in the crowd, trying to see if he could catch any eyes. He lingered an extra moment on Teri, from whom he had already earned a solitary 'hi'.
[Town ~ Main Street](Oswald, James, John, Pancake, Mari)
"So," Oswald glanced between the three, "you're all here for leisure, I take it?" He flashed his teeth in a teasing grin and continued, "Hoping to wend away from your worldly woes to this, the comfortable isolation of the desert, mm?"
He leaned into a reminiscing sigh, then raised his head to continue, only to take notice of John and Mari's distracted gazes. "Something catch your interest?" he asked, following their eyes. "Is something strange afoot?"
The motorcycle continued its approach, kicking up bits of dust as it bore down the street, aiming towards the side not occupied by. As it came nearer, John and James could see what appeared to be Omar behind the handlebars.
this place needs me here
Attitude is prohibited
[Old Mine]
Rin glared at Cynthia with fiery intensity, her teeth and fists clenched, her weapon trembling slightly as she gripped it with severe force. But then she closed her eyes, took a deep breath and exhaled slowly. She reopened her eyes and her gaze was harsh and cold, but she spoke quietly and calmly. "We don't need a prisoner right now," she said. "If you really want to save her, you can be responsible for her. She is our enemy. And if she stabs any of us in the back - literally or otherwise - I'll kill her. No exceptions." She pointed at Cynthia. "And it'll be your fault."
She sighed, shook her head, and flicked the blood off her sword before carefully putting it back in its sheath. "Whatever you do," she said, looking down at the newly arm-less woman, "you'd better do it quickly. She'll bleed to death any minute." And with that she walked past Cynthia and started heading back down the tunnel/hall towards Omar.
She got about halfway before the pace of her walking slowed dramatically, and she started leaning hard against the wall. In a few more steps, her legs gave out, and she fell to her knees. "Oh, shit," she said, breathlessly. "I just... n-need a minute... catch my... breath..." Her arms gave out, and she collapsed onto her side.
Not entirely dead.
[Bed and Breakfast (Lobby)]
Amy nodded. "Yeah, we told him first thing. Sad he won't be around for dinner; I could probably tell more stories!"
It then dawned on her how dark it was getting outside, and Rin and Cynthia still haven't shown up. She felt worried. She knew that they were grown women and they could handle themselves, but they really should've been back by now. Was it really a good idea to have them go with Omar...? No, she was just overthinking it. They'll be back soon.
[Main Street]
James blinked.
"No, it's probably not a big deal." he said, "I mean, it's a Frontier, so there's gonna be pe-"
His thoughts completely trailed off when he got of (sort of) closer look at the stranger. Could it be...? Had Omar really come back to town so soon? After all the talk of leaving? Well, it could be an identical stranger, but they looked way too much like Omar for that to be the case.
"Oh!" John said, "I didn't think Omar was coming back!"
"M...me neither..." James said, "And he's coming this way, too."
[Southern Desert ~ Old Mine—Subterranean Shelter](Omar, Cynthia, Rin, remnant)
Omar fixed Cynthia with a look of unabashed disbelief, as if she had just claimed—earnest as could be—that the surrounding cave was made of chocolate cake.
"Really?" he asked, "So you once lost your arm after trying to murder three people in cold blood? Is that right?" He stared at her for another few seconds, squinting in the dim light under a hard-creased brow before shaking his head. "Where the hell is this coming from? She just shot you! If she didn't have shit aim, you could have been dead on the spot!"
The bloody one-armed woman's glower moved from the departing Rin to the approaching Cynthia. Her eyes bore a wavering focus, the functions of her body too scattershot to hold on anything for too long. But they took on a new glow as the young knight drew near. Through gritted teeth and rapid breaths, she sneered, "I'll rip out your fffucking throat you get near me. I'll gut you like a fucking pig."
Further back in the tunnel, Omar merely gestured at the woman with a meaningfully stern look on his face. However, he was quickly distracted by Rin's sudden loss of energy. Silently miming her own 'oh shit', he hurried to her side.
"Rin," he said, placing a hand on her shoulder and speaking with a sense of controlled urgency, "Rin, talk to me; what is this? Did you take a bullet? Is this the toll of you moving at the speed of sound? Tell me what can we do, Rin."
The bloody woman's rapid breathing shifted into sharp laughter.
edited 26th Sep '17 1:45:45 PM by Ryuhza
this place needs me here
Southern Desert ~ Old Mine (Cynthia; Rin; Omar, one-armed bandit)
Cynthia shrank back at first at Rin's ferocity, but stood resolute at what the woman had to say. When Rin was finished, the young knight gave a quick salute and a head nod before turning to face Omar, "You're half right, if involuntary manslaughter doesn't count," she said with complete sincerity. The knight then glanced over at the injured woman, "Sure, I got shot, but I'll heal. However, I feel... compelled to help her, as asinine as that may sound," she said, before heading over to aid the bandit.
She stopped when the injured woman threatened her; however, she wasn’t intimidated by those threats. Instead, she gave an audible sigh, "I suppose you'd rather bleed out instead of allowing me to tend to your wound? No matter, I'd rather not re-experience the latter when what I can do I can do from right here."
Making her glowing wing's presence more noticeable, Cynthia gaze blanked over as she detached a geometric 'feather' from her wing and kept it floating above the palm of her left hand. The feather took on a kaleidoscope of colors briefly before Cynthia's focus returned to her patient, "I might not be a full Silver Witch, and this should work in theory— No." She closed her eyes before reopening them, full of confidence, "My aethercraft is correct; this will work this time," she said, before letting the feather fly on non-existent wind towards the woman's wound. Upon alighting, the feather burst into a soothing light that fully enveloped the wound.
At Rin's collapse, Cynthia whirled around, another feather at the ready. Floating over to the pair, the concerned knight cringing slightly at the prospect of potentially having to try and heal someone's internal injuries.
Town ~ Main Street (Mari; Oswald; James, John)
Mari tilted her head in Oswald's direction. "Nah, woke up to find meself in the middle of the bloody desert again. Met some folks, saw some serious shit, road a horse," she said, before jokingly adding, "Ya know, the usual."
She then nodded her head towards the approaching motorcyclist, "Just a man and 'is trusty motorized steed, from what I can tell," she said to him.
The buxom oni then raised an eyebrow in the couple's direction, asking, "Someone you know, I take it?"
[Town ~ Main Street](Oswald, James, John, Pancake, Mari)
"Evidently," Oswald murmured, his sharp eyes focusing for a few seconds longer on the blonde man on the motorcycle."Well," he smiled, shooting John and James a sidelong glance, "more company is rarely in ill favor. Perhaps you can introduce us."
When Mari explained her situation, Oswald turned to face her, his blunt muzzled face burgeoning with a new vein of enthusiasm. "Aha! Another who travels great distances in the space amidst wakings— well-met!" He extended his hand for a friendly shake— a sort of ancillary greeting, "We are few and far between."
Behind him, the person on the motorcycle rode closer, coming within calling distance if one could speak over the rumble of his motor. He didn't seem to be paying the small gathering much mind, however, only meeting them with a discrete stare as he steered towards the other side of the street.
edited 22nd Sep '17 2:59:25 PM by Ryuhza
this place needs me here
[Main Street]
James blinked.
"Well, sort of." he said, "He's someone who's helped us for a time. He said he was leaving town soon, but now..."
"I'll go see how he is!" John said, "I'll be back." he then turned to Pancake, who was still nuzzling Mari, and rubbed her chin, "Dad will be back shortly, ok?"
"W-wait, John!"
Too late; John had already darted off and tried to hail "Omar" down. It probably wasn't a big deal, but James still felt something odd in his gut.
This is short because I am running out of ideas, lol.
Crazy Kiwi
Bed and Breakfast Foyer
[Heaps of peeps]Gwion grinned at Connie's comment about nightmares - he had never had those sort of nightmares himself, but he could understand that people might.
Aubrey nodded when Connie asked if he had heard about "Joe" and Amy clarified that he had already been told. It was sad that Joseph wasn't around - it would have been nice to say a proper thanks and introduce him to the others. Others who, surprisingly, had not been at all disbelieving when he had told them that one of his rescuers was a bipedal talking lizard man.
Kaitlyn was feeling bored. The room was crowded and it was clear there was a degree of awkwardness due to disturbing Connie in her shower. Kaitlyn's eyes roved the room; Rip didn't seem any more sociable than when they met him in the dessert, Amy and Maya seemed nice enough, Connie... Connie was doing fine for someone who had emerged prematurely from a nice hot shower to find herself confronted by a roomful of complete strangers.
Kaitlyn's eyes met Davey's as the otter-like entity was looking at her. She flashed him a grin and twitched an eyebrow in acknowledgement that she had seen him looking.
[Town ~ Bed and Breakfast (Main Hall)] (Connie, Davey, Rip, Amy, Maya, Aubrey, Finn, Gwion, James, Kaitlyn, Karl, Kris, Peggy, Sophia, Teri, Wolfe)
Connie glanced at Amy and nodded almost unconsciously in response to Aubrey's own nodding. Once she realized they were going back and forth like two bobbleheads, she resumed speaking with a, "Yeah, well... like I said: topsy-turvy. You don't know the half of it."
She let out her breath in a low sigh, glancing around quickly. There were too many silent people in too small a space in too strange a situation for her to stop. Not without things becoming terribly uncomfortable.
"He was supposed to be getting to wherever he needed to be," she said. "Joseph, that is. And, I mean, I hope that all works out for him, but I told him to come back here if it doesn't, so if we see him again, I'll tell him what you said." She moved a particularly sudsy lock of hair away from her eye and smiled again. "And really dude, you're welcome. I mean, it's not like we could have just left you locked up in some dark cave— not without a sweaty conscience, anyway."
Davey noticed immediately when his eyes locked with Kaitlyns, though he let it last no longer than a splinter of a moment. Instead he continued perusing the crowd, like nothing had occurred, before turning his gaze away entirely.
He ran a pawlike hand across the top of his head, brushing back his ears and smoothing over some unruly fur, still a little frizzy from his own recent shower. He waited another second, silently wishing that he still had his beige suit on hand, instead of the flowery mess he was wearing at the moment. Still, it wasn't about the clothes— it was about the guy in them. Always.
Without delaying a moment longer, Davey brought his eyes back to the crowd, gliding over each person before stopping, with certainty, on Kaitlyn. He let his deep brown gaze linger on its lonesome for a few seconds before his mouth eased into a smile, drawing from an endless well of confidence he had dug in some other life.
this place needs me here
Town ~ Main Street (Mari; Oswald; James, John, Pancake)
The oni accepted the offered hand and gave Oswald a firm handshake and smile in return, "Well, 'opefully, yours ain't booze induced blackouts leadin' ya t'who knows where; pretty sure I'm in for a nasty bill when I get back 'ome."
As if to bring her drinking habits to the forefront of discussion, Mari maneuvered her hand around Pancake to fish out her seemingly bottomless flask of scotch and took a drink. She then offered it to Oswald before tailing John as he went after the motorcyclist; she too felt something off about this "Omar" fellow from the way he was giving off that cold stare as he drove by.
edited 25th Sep '17 3:54:01 PM by WillDeRegio
Attitude is prohibited
[Underground Shelter/Old Mine]
Rin groaned softly, and slowly propped herself up on one elbow. "I'm... exhausted..." she explained, her breath ragged. "Got nailed... too many times..." she slowly shook her head. "Stupid. Careless. Should know better." She paused for a few moments, still breathing heavily. "Lost a lot... of blood..." she continued, before quickly adding, "not as bad as it sounds!" She offered Omar a reassuring smile, though it was visibly strained. "Really... told you... just need a minute," she said. "Honest."
She looked over at Cynthia then, and seemed quite confused by the sight of her. "Wait, wings?" she said. "Is that... new?" She shook her head. "No, never mind, not important." She pointed at her, hand trembling faintly as she did. "Watch... your prisoner..." she said. "Still... dangerous!"
She lowered her hand and turned back to Omar. "Although..." she said. "Could use some... water, maybe..."
edited 25th Sep '17 3:52:52 PM by Blackfire667
Not entirely dead.
[Town ~ Main Street](Oswald, James, John, Pancake, Mari)
"Nothing so interesting," Oswald grinned, then shook his head. "Mere exhaustion, I'm afraid. In shortness of food and water, one finds it all the more frequently." His eyes lowered, though his smile did not completely abandon his face, and when he looked around, it grew again through bittersweetness. "But... this travel always comes as a well-needed respite. I often fail to see that at first. Perhaps it's the same for you."
He accepted the flask, gave it a sniff, then braved a small swig. A moment later, he was wrinkling his nose and going a little cross-eyed, trying hard to avoid evacuating the drink through his nostrils.
Oswald gave James one pained sidelong glance, then hurried after Mari, if only to return her flask as soon as possible.
[Railway Street](Omar?)
Up ahead, the man on the motorcycle rounded the corner, turning right to head eastward on Railway Street. Three buildings down, he slowed in front of a gated alleyway pointing northward. The alley smelled of wet metal and mustiness, and though the darkened sky made form a nebulous thing, the man clearly had some kind of weapon slung around his shoulder. Without a word or so much as a glance behind him, he turned his motorcycle and slowly puttered inside, vanishing from the sight of all but the most intrepid pursuers. Moments later, the engine once again became silent.
[Southern Desert ~ Old Mine—Subterranean Shelter](Omar, Cynthia, Rin, remnant)
"You were surprised," Omar reassured Rin, "they acted without warning. You can only respond so fast, and you did very well."
He listened to her words, nodding patiently. "Water," he repeated. "Water... yeah, I had a few bottles I was going to send with Weller before everything went to the depths of hobbled Hell. They should still be upstairs; sit tight."
Omar kept his eyes on Rin as he rose to his feet, just in case her condition suddenly grew worse. When it seemed that it wouldn't, he walked back into the shelter. As he passed by Cynthia, he said, "For the record, there's a gulf of difference between manslaughter and an attempted triple homicide. Murderous intent, for one." He continued down the tunnel, walking over to the floor-bound bandit. "I don't know how you could feel compelled to save someone like this. She would have killed Weller too, you know, if given the chance. Would have shot down a defenseless, seventeen year old kid who was just trying to get home."
The one-armed bandit woman, paying little heed to Omar's words, rolled over slowly, inching herself over to her rifle. Omar quickened his pace. The woman reached for the gun, only to have Omar casually trod on her one good hand and whisk the weapon out of her reach. "Hell," he continued as the woman hissed a long string of muddled swears at him, "if it wasn't for you three, the whole plan would have gone smoothly."
"...kept your fuckin' nose out of our fuckin' business," she spat.
"And what business was that?" Omar raised his boot off of her hand, letting her roll back over to try to find something she could cradle it with. "Human trafficking?" he asked, reaching down to snatch a spare rifle magazine from a satchel at her waist. He gestured back towards the cave, "did you have a guy locked up in there you were worried we would find?"
"Fuck you. You're all fucking dead."
Omar loaded the rifle, then looked back at Cynthia, fixing her with an important, unsmiling stare. He let it hang for a few seconds, then stepped over the grounded woman and headed for the stairs, rifle held ready.
"I'll be back in a moment."
edited 26th Sep '17 2:54:57 PM by Ryuhza
this place needs me here
Southern Desert ~ Old Mine (Cynthia; Rin; Omar, one-armed bandit)
"Oh, so you can heal quickly, too?" Cynthia said to Rin. The one-winged Witch-knight then gestured over her shoulder, "Wing, singular, actually. I've been able to do that for a few years now..." She frowned slightly at Rin for a moment before continuing, "How do you not notice a giant glowing wing, anyway?"
Cynthia then (arguably adorably) wrinkled her nose at Omar, "Mmm, call it an integral part of my nature, that's all. Anyway, I think that we, or rather, I, apparently, should bring her to town and hand her over to the proper authorities."
After Omar prevented the bandit from rearming herself and finished exchanging words with the woman, Cynthia waved the man off before approaching the downed bandit. Squatting down, the young knight gave the woman a rather dreadful grin, her gray eye now a sinister red; "Hi. I had an... accident when I was nine; I've had nightmare about it ever since. I'd highly recommend being a bit more cooperative from here on out, least I be the one to haunt your nightmares," she said with a rather uncharacteristically cold demeanor, holding up her left hand armed with magical laser claws.
[Bed and Breakfast-Lobby]
Amy opened her mouth to say something, when suddenly, she felt some kind of buzz in her pocket. She pulled out her phone, and to her complete and utter shock, saw she had several miss calls from her uncle and her grandmother.
She felt dumb. No doubt they were worried sick, and with all that happened today, she didn't even think about calling them back.
She looked apologetically at the others. "Hey, adventurers? I'll be back in a few minutes; I have to call some people back." She gave a salute, "Don't worry! I'll be quick!"
With that, she went outside, leaving Maya with the others.
...So...when do you think Cynthia and Rin are gonna come back? she typed, They're taking a hell of a lot longer than we thought.
[Main Street—Railway Street]
Just when he was about to turn, John looked back and saw the others catching up to him, to his surprise. He quickly stopped in his tracks.
"Oh!" he said, "You guys didn't have to catch up with me..."
James stopped as well. "Considering how fast you were running, yes the hell we did." He looked back at "Omar", and from the way he was moving, it looked like he had some kind of weapon on him. Immediately, James became suspicious. "Honey, I really think you should stay away from him."
John furrowed his eyebrows. "There you go again, worrying so much! It's just Omar! What harm could he possibly-"
"We don't know if that's truly Omar. Just...let me handle it." Without waiting for his response, James carefully walked towards "Omar", one hand on his holster. "Hey there! I didn't expect you to come back to town so soon!"
Pancake was still on Mari's shoulder; apparently she was content with her new friend.
Town ~ Railway Street (Mari; Oswald; James, John, Pancake)
"My gut was tellin' me somethin's not right 'ere," Mari told John as she walked past, depositing the clambering Pancake on his head along the way. She gave the kitten an affectionate ear scratch, "Sorry little cutie; I don't want ya getting' 'urt, 'k?" she told her before departing after James.
She quickly caught up to James, motioning for him to allow her to take the lead as she cast a wary glare at "Omar"'s shadowed armament. "You should allow me t'go in front," she told him, "just in case things go south and that what 'e's carryin' is a gun."
She crossed her arms before grinning at him, "Oh, and before ya ask, no, I'm not crazy."
[Town ~ Railway Street](Oswald, James, John, Pancake, Mari)
Oswald, maintaining a politely restrained gait, reached John just in time for James and Mari to proceed on ahead, after this dubious 'Omar' character.
"Hey- excuse me," he said, halfheartedly raising one hand with Mari's flask in the other. "Mari?"
It seemed to be of little use; she had already caught up with James and was discussing something with the man as they continued their steadfast pursuit. Oswald briefly looked up, breathed a sigh, then reached beneath his cloak and carefully tucked the flask into his rather distressed shirt pocket.
"So," he folded his newly-freed arms and glanced at John from beneath his shadowy hood, "who is this Omar fellow really? What makes it so important that you flag him down, if you don't mind my asking? It seems to me that he didn't pay you much mind— well, not a friendly sort of mind."
He reached up to stroke his thumb across Pancakes forehead while he waited for a response.
Down the street a little ways, Mari and James would find that the alley the man on the motorcycle had turned into appeared to be empty. There was the gate—leaning open, though not quite wide enough to reach across the alley in full. Then the alley itself extended out until it opened into the northern desert. On one side of the alley, there was a small wooden door leading to what might've been a storage closet of some sort. At the very end of the alley was the motorcycle the man had been riding, though at that moment it stood silent and without rider. The man was nowhere in sight.
this place needs me here
Attitude is prohibited
[Old Mine]
How do you not notice a giant glowing wing, anyway?
"There... was a lot going on!" Rin protested, somewhat feebly. There were rather more important things going on at the moment, though, so she was eager to just let the matter drop.
A few moments passed, and as Omar headed out and Cynthia began speaking with the prisoner, Rin finally managed to catch her breath. Slowly, carefully, she pushed herself up off the ground, readjusting into a sitting position, her back against the wall. Though still suffering the effects of her blood loss, she was already starting to feel better. That's about halfway, she thought, gently brushing some dirt off her arm. She stared at the ceiling as she awaited her full recovery - and Omar's promised water - and frowned, reflecting on the past couple of hours. What a mess, she thought. What a disaster. I should have done better. I could have...
Something caught her eye, and she lazily turned her head to look over at Cynthia. Staring at the knight's back, she couldn't see all that much, but she saw the strange claw - held up menacingly above their former attacker - and raised an eyebrow. She hadn't known Cynthia for very long, that much was true, but still, threats and frightful claw-weapons seemed rather unlike her. For now, though, she refrained from commenting, and only watched.
Not entirely dead.
[Main Street]
John chuckled, then gently handed Pancake to Mari. Like before, Pancake sniffed her, then rubbed her head against Mari's cheek.
"She's friendly to almost everyone." John said, "So don't worry about her hissing at you or trying to scratch you."
James simply smiled. For once since Joesph left, meeting new people didn't automatically result in things going haywire. No, it was just them gushing over John's kitten. Who knew something so small could bring joy to a lot of people?
Hi I'm writer's block. Hi writer's block, I'm dad.