ourearth: Silly Mod icon, reads: MI5 | Current UK threat level: Cup of Tea (current threat level)
Save Our Earth Mods ([personal profile] ourearth) wrote in [community profile] saveourearth2019-01-20 05:30 pm

We shall rebuild [mingle]

Date: 2/1/19
Characters: Open


With the festive season well and truly over, and most wallets smarting from the festivities, Mossgate has, as usual, been extremely quiet through January. The last of the sales are still lingering in the stores, hoping to entice any shoppers who aren't desperately holding out for that first January pay day at the end of the month, and the seafront is empty of all but the hardiest dog walkers, wrapped up against the cold winter winds. At least the evenings are finally starting to ever so slowly get a little bit lighter, but that's small compensation for the otherwise grey and dull month.

It seems as though it will drag on this way all the way through to February, but on the afternoon of the 20th Mossgate is shaken awake. Literally. A 4.5 magnitude earthquake hits the town just after 3:15PM, with the epicentre located at the mouth of the Moss River. The shaking lasts for a couple of seconds, and sends a couple of chimney stacks flying, but there's very little real damage done around town. As earthquakes are extremely rare in the UK, most people are unsure what is happening, and most report it to the media as assuming that a bomb had gone off, or a lorry gone past, or something similar.

Almost immediately the internet lights up with the usual British response to such events, and it's headline news on the local papers and TV for the next few days. Initially they cover the event and the clean up, and then the social media response to it.

However, those who have numbers will not just be subjected to the initial scare and then the following ridicule. As the shaking fades, an unsettled feeling starts to rise; subtly at first, but increasing as the days go by. They are left feeling anxious and uneasy, but also curious and excited. In particular, they will find themselves drawn to the earthquake and the information about it, perhaps checking the news or social media about it more than they usually would, or easier to draw into conversations about it. Whatever they can find just doesn't seem to be enough, and they're drawn to discuss it and the other unusual events (such as the appearance of the poppies in November, or the strange gifts over Christmas) of late more, and to find out more about them. It can be ignored, but as any niggling annoyance it won't disappear if it is.
warped_replica: Temp sketch icon (Human: Surprised)

[personal profile] warped_replica 2019-02-16 04:20 am (UTC)(link)
Her entry into the water brought a satisfying splash, the sight and sound aligning within safe parameters in part due to Sadie preserving her form. The bright orange bobber reappeared on the surface as the water settled, and the teen chuckled as he looked back to Walter with a grin, “I hope we caught some of that with the video!” Protecting the borrowed equipment remains the higher priority, but he would very much like to see the approximation of her point of view through the air.

Almost immediately after, Benjiro took up the lateral line a mere stride from the water’s edge to position at the ready as he focused his attention on the bobber. Seconds steadily ticked away in his head as he tracked the time carefully, remarking the major intervals. One minute. Two minutes. So on. Every so often he adjusted his grasp on the rope with gaze kept on the water.

The time allotted for her extended dive is waning when he catches the dip of the bobber. He counts the tugs, and after that series, he feels certain Sadie is signaling to him purposefully. Benjiro does not hesitate to start pulling at the rope, eating through the meter of slack rapidly only to feel the catch of her weighted feet at the river bed. That the weights remain in place instills a sense of urgency and he pulls faster, hand over hand, to reel Sadie away from the center of the river mouth - intending to rely on the velocity to raise her from the bottom to avoid dragging her. His heart begins to pound faster and harder in his chest as the anxiety swells, “Walter, something’s wrong!”

Agonizing seconds pass and he brings Sadie into water shallow enough for him to visibly see her beneath the surface. That she does not right herself and rise to stand... A numb panic hits him, distancing his mind from his body, and he drops the rope. One step forward and he jumps out into the water to force his way forward in the current to her. Vaguely recognizing the cold as he plunges deeper, he pushes to her with every ounce of strength he can muster. The first touch he gets of her sends a jolt up his arm and he bends down to scoop her partially out of the frigid water and hoists her up into a cradled hold in his arms with worry etched deep into his expression, “Sadie! Sadie, can you hear me?”
saveournpcs: (other)

[personal profile] saveournpcs 2019-02-16 09:26 am (UTC)(link)
As Ben stands there and holds Sadie, ...well, since he is so focused on Sadie, Walter might spot it first.

There's a wave coming towards the coast. It clearly originated somewhere off-coast, and it doesn't look like much yet. But the further it pushes towards the coast, the more visible it gets, one long wave rolling towards the coast and then pushing into the mouth of the river. And while at the beaches, it'll be no more than a particularly high wave that in this cold weather a maximum of four dog-walkers will notice, at the mouth of the river the wave has nowhere to go, and meets the water pushing out of the river and into the sea.

The wave mounts, and breaks, and pushes towards Walter, Sadie and Ben at about one metre height at the crest, and with all the force of a strong ocean wave. Any Numbered who is hit by the wave will receive a plot echo.
iamnotgod: A man staring up and off to the right. (And He Asks Why.)

[personal profile] iamnotgod 2019-02-16 04:52 pm (UTC)(link)
Walter refrains from commenting in response to Ben's enthusiasm, though he does smile as he focuses on keeping a grip on the line.

Despite knowing Sadie doesn't need to worry about air, his worry grows sooner - and faster - than Ben's does, and he doesn't need to be told twice to help bring Sadie to shore.

When Ben dashes in, Walter oh-so-briefly freezes-

And that's when he spots the wave.

"We have incoming!" is all the warning he can let out, before making a dash of his own to cover the teens, fellow Numbered, and friends.

He can't get them out of the water, though; not unless they all run.
warped_replica: Temp sketch icon (Human: Surprised)

[personal profile] warped_replica 2019-02-16 06:16 pm (UTC)(link)
So fixated on assessing Sadie after raising her out of the water, Benjiro processes the warning from Walter with a delay. He looks back over his shoulder to see Walter entering the river after them and finally hears the oncoming wave rushing towards them. Turning half a step to see the wall of water defying the river flow while stretching overhead, his gut clenches in anticipation. Benjiro turns his back to the wave, tucking Sadie tighter to his chest and smaller in his arms to secure his grasp on her. Then suddenly Walter is with them, doing what he can to shield him and Sadie, and he blurts out a commanding word right before the wave hits, “JUMP!”

As a swimmer that has visited the ocean many times, he knows the strength of water. He can’t brace and win, so he has to move into the flow. The water rolls ahead of the wave and provides the cue to leap upwards to meet the wave with Sadie and Walter in tow. Caught in the wave and carried upstream a short distance in the process, he braces to drop out the back of the wave. The floating sensation worsens as his insides are swept out and he hears the thump of a heartbeat. Overtaken by a feeling of warmth despite the cold water surrounding him, his breath slips early from his chest and he stumbles several steps as his feet find the riverbed. Barely gaining traction enough to halt as he gasps for a fresh lungful of air with Sadie still locked in his arms, he feels something heavy and metallic slam into the back of his legs followed by a second one that instead slices the side of his calf straight through the cloth of his jeans in a graze. Staggering from the consecutive impacts, he looks down through the water to see two oblong silver objects settle into the mud ahead.

Wariness sets in, and he starts to move towards the shore as he looks to find Walter and check on Sadie as his grip on her finally eases. Coughing a few times at the taste of the river water, Benjiro trudges to shore to get her out of the cold.
dragoonrouge: (Sadie)

[personal profile] dragoonrouge 2019-02-17 12:42 am (UTC)(link)
Sadie had no idea what was happening. Everything was spinning, she knew logically that she wasn't moving but it was like her inner ear had stopped working, her brain and body felt like it was in a centrifuge. The sharp tug as Ben must have started to pull her in jerks her stomach and sets it rolling, the acid burn of vomit crawls up her throat before the motion settles. Only for her world to jerk and spin as something heaves her out of the water and that's the first of a number of times that the terrible dizziness wins and her stomach looses.

It's almost certainly Ben. She'll have to apologise later. The change from water to air is a distant one and all she can do is groan as whatever is going on spins her and Ben into the water again. Her claws catch in Ben's shirt to try and anchor herself but otherwise Sadie really isn't registering what is happening.
Edited 2019-02-17 01:02 (UTC)
iamnotgod: A man, hands up at chest level, staring left and down (In The Dark)

[personal profile] iamnotgod 2019-02-17 01:17 am (UTC)(link)
Walter can feel his awareness momentarily shrink to almost no range when the wave hits - and fights through the subsequent currents of memory to focus on Benjiro and Sadie. What are those men- wait, did I- Oh gods, what is THAT? Caitlin, what were you doing?

He can analyze what happened to him - Webmind - later; to help his friends, he has to intervene now.

Ben doesn't have to look far to find him, fortunately, as he moves to aid in getting Sadie out of the river. He faintly registers the thunks of something heavy hitting the mud, but they're not important right now.
Edited 2019-02-17 01:50 (UTC)
warped_replica: Temp sketch icon (Human: Nervous)

[personal profile] warped_replica 2019-02-17 03:10 am (UTC)(link)
Each episode of emesis was noted with a faint pulse of nausea by Benjiro, but they were hardly of immediate concern despite her lack of aim given the situation. At least, the wave of water served to wash most traces of it away.

Aware of her claws buried into his coat and shirt alike as he feels the pricking when he tries to adjust his grasp on her, he is heartened that she has enough awareness to latch on, however she can. Benjiro finds relief in locating Walter, especially as he helps manage the lines to avoid tripping on the way ashore. Stepping onto dry land while soaked through himself, the wind bites through the fabric and he walks with as smooth of a gait as he can manage back down the river bank towards the warming blanket with increased cadence of steps. He looks to Walter as they walk and speaks with similar urgency, “My duffle bag. Sadie put in a whole outfit of dry winter clothes. We need those and something to lay her head on.”

By the time he reaches the blanket, he has a vague awareness of pain at his leg but dismisses it as he carefully kneels down to lower Sadie to the blanket and removes her diving mask. He turns her slowly to her side once Walter has something for her head, and works quickly with Walter in a joint effort to remove the harness and ankle weights. Equipment released, he drops it aside and keeps a clinical calm as he moves on to removing her wetsuit. Beneath, she has on her swimsuit afterall. As they work, he speaks softly to her, “You’re going to be okay, Sadie. We’re here... Walter and I have you.”

As he maneuvers an arm out first, he asks, “Walter, did you bring a change of clothes? You’ll be faster than me switching, and we need to get her warmed up as quickly as possible.”
Edited 2019-02-17 03:11 (UTC)
iamnotgod: A man, holding a folder in one hand and gesturing with the other, looking off to the right. (And WHAT Is This?)

[personal profile] iamnotgod 2019-02-17 03:35 pm (UTC)(link)
"Got it."

His heightened speed while running is a massive asset here as well, and Ben's duffle bag is fetched before Sadie's diving mask is even detached. Folding the bag and cleaning it off, he offers that as a headpropper. Nothing going to waste here.

He reflexively combs through the most recent memories as he works with Ben on removing the equipment. The contrast between his memories, and the water, and the Echo-given memories, is just as clear as it was the first time he'd seen as Webmind had.

"Yes," he says, additional reassurance for Sadie and answer for Ben both. His first thought is to add them to Sadie's outfit, something that wouldn't have been out of the question if this were... no.

Now is not then.

"I can wait longer to change, though - Ben, what happened to your leg?"

The belated clicking-together of memories regarding Benjiro's shift in gait and the thunk of suddenly-appearing material that hadn't been accounted-for equipment manifests in a change of tone.

"I can change Sadie, Ben, it's fine."
warped_replica: Temporary sketch mode until I can make better icons (Human: Troubled)

[personal profile] warped_replica 2019-02-17 04:37 pm (UTC)(link)
Duffle bag emptied of both his and her clothes, the oversized towel, and a few other items to fold into a prop for her head works wonderfully, and that speed possessed by Walter is utilized so effectively that it moves the progress along almost as fast as Benjiro wishes for her sake.

A small, single shake of his head is given as he discards any concern for his leg as a mere distraction, words rushing despite his steady hands, "It's fine. I don't doubt you can, but we need to get her as dry as we can so she can actually retain heat, and sharing body heat with her is our best bet to warm her up quickly. I still need to deal with something I saw in the river and the anchors for the lines, so I can't change yet." Essentially, if Walter is willing to change and warm up beside her, that should speed the process for Sadie who is far more chilled. Even if he wants badly to be the one to curl up with her, this plan is best for them.

Gingerly, he starts to roll her wetsuit down from her free shoulder to work the other shoulder out as well in an effort to peel it away rather than jarring her by altering her position. He reaches to lift her hips a couple of inches to aid the process after he manages to get to her waist, and after passing her hips, sets her back down. Benjiro moves his own position to continue down to her legs, and the last comes off her feet with the wetsuit left aside inside out.

Prior to trying to apply her waiting dry clothes, he takes a moment to check her pulse and her breathing. Her breath is quickened, but her heart rate is not so elevated. He slides his hand from her wrist to her hand to give it a soft squeeze as he encourages her, "Hang in there, Sadie."

Reaching across to take up her pants, he rolls the fabric up for each leg and slips them together over her feet. Reversing how he took off the wet suit, he releases the fabric as he pulls them up until he once again lifts her hips to tug them to her waist. Setting her down again, he'll look to Walter for assistance to prepare her sweater. They don't need to get her arms in the sleeves yet, but passing over her head will take effort for one of them to hold up her head while trading hands to slip the sweater over and down to her shoulders to pull down.
Edited 2019-02-17 16:39 (UTC)
iamnotgod: Black and white picture of a man looking up and off to the right. (What Even Is This?)

[personal profile] iamnotgod 2019-02-17 05:13 pm (UTC)(link)
Walter deliberately pauses, seeking eye contact with Ben.

"... If you need help with what's in the river, call for me."

Apart from that, he doesn't protest; the time spent talking can be better spent changing and subsequently warming Sadie up.

He comes back in time to help raise Sadie's head and neck safely and pull her sweater on.
warped_replica: Temp sketch icon (Human: Nervous)

[personal profile] warped_replica 2019-02-17 05:55 pm (UTC)(link)
The only eye contact he receives is a brief glance, but it's something. Benjiro is keeping his focus on what has to be accomplished to barricade against the fear screaming at the edges of his rational thought. His voice is flat but slower when he answers verbally after looking back to Sadie, "I will."

Making progress with dressing Sadie, he bows his head gratefully to Walter, "Thank you," and helps to get her sweater on and down over her torso with her arms tucked in the middle to keep them against her body. Her head rested to the folded bag after, he gets up to his feet to pick up the oversized towel with favor given to one leg. Once Walter finds how he wants to lay with Sadie, Benjiro opens the towel and lays it over them. On top of that, he spreads the wider reaching mylar blanket and tucks the edges down, wet side out, to help trap the warmth. Then, at the bottom, he folds the edge of the blanket on the ground up over their feet.

Benjiro steps back to assess the arrangement, and nodding slowly he looks to Walter with some of the worry starting to seep outward, "Call me if she starts throwing up again, okay?" Hopefully, Walter can keep her comfortable and maybe draw out some sort of response from her.
iamnotgod: A man, hands up at chest level, staring left and down (In The Dark)

Sadie goes next, when Lottie is up!

[personal profile] iamnotgod 2019-02-18 01:23 am (UTC)(link)
They're close, Walter supporting Sadie's head while she's on her side as additional protection if she throws up again.

"Will do," he assures - and it's only once Benjiro walks away that the memory he was showered into makes its way back into his head again.

With his free hand, he starts rubbing circles onto Sadie's back.

"... Did you see anything while you were down there, Sadie? What happened?"

He's not expecting an answer to the latter, not while she's dazed, but the questions are still something she can cling to, to stay awake.
dragoonrouge: (Sadie)

[personal profile] dragoonrouge 2019-02-18 10:57 am (UTC)(link)
Sadie had purposefully been keeping her eyes closed, partially because the disconnect between the constant motion her brain was trying to tell she was in would clash horribly with the stationary image her eyes would provide and she really, really didn't want to throw up again is she could help it. She was a little fed up of Echoes making her sick. She could hear Ben and Walter a lot better now, but with them moving her around opening her mouth to speak was liable to cause the same reaction as opening her eyes. God this was awful.

Finally, they let her rest on the floor and she takes a moment or five to try and get used to the spinning versus the solid, stationary feeling of the ground beneath her. Walter rubbing circles on her back certainly helps, as she sucks in a deep breath through her nose.

"...Echo...Giant,talking crystal..." She trails off and just focuses on breathing for a bit. "Everything's spinning."
warped_replica: Temp sketch icon (Human: Cover Neutral)

[personal profile] warped_replica 2019-02-18 01:41 pm (UTC)(link)
Confident that Sadie is safe to have a chance to recover with Walter looking after her, he walks back up along the river edge. His pace starts initially quick, but he slows down as a stinging creeps into being at his lower leg above the present soreness. He glances down at it with a higher lift of that knee in a step and spots the red staining the fabric at and below where the leg of his pants had been cut cleanly. Well, that’s inconvenient... Yet it is not severe enough to cause him to turn around. The anchors and lines need to be cleaned up. He doesn’t know how long Sadie will need before they can move, and the system will draw suspicion if anyone comes around.

Arriving at the furthest anchor point, he disassembles the attachment quickly and sets it down on the ground. He picks up the connected main line and begins to coil it rapidly by looping it over his elbow and hand alternately. This pulls the end of the line away from where he left Walter and Sadie to rest. If nothing more, the active work quells his urge to shiver for the moment.
iamnotgod: Shade Over Face (What Did You Do To Me?)

[personal profile] iamnotgod 2019-02-18 06:27 pm (UTC)(link)
"Crystal?"

Walter matches Sadie's volume so as not to add to her headache.

"After the turtles, we shouldn't take that as a surprise. The spinning's likely just because you were so close to that phenomenon at the mouth of the river..."

Though, if Sadie didn't get the Echo just from touching the river bottom, then what happened?

The hiss of the line moving back towards Ben cuts Walter off briefly from saying anything more, though he keeps rubbing circles on Sadie's back.
dragoonrouge: (Sadie)

[personal profile] dragoonrouge 2019-02-19 01:35 pm (UTC)(link)
Sadie continues to focus on her breathing to try and fight back the nausea.

"She called Q'uila 'Bringer of Light'. And Q'uila seemed to think of it like some sort of god...'All made one' was what it said."

Not that that was the most concerning thing about the Echo. Considering that Echoes were almost always related to something going on in Mossgate, some of Hydaelyn's words stuck out to Sadie more.

"'For Darkness doth begin to spread.' She mentioned Darkness more than once, that and the threat of it. So, why would that be my Echo?"
warped_replica: Temp sketch icon (Human: Cover Neutral)

[personal profile] warped_replica 2019-02-19 10:45 pm (UTC)(link)
Loops around the length of his forearm thickening, Benjiro wraps along under his humerus as well to accommodate the full length of the main line. When he does retrieve the end, he wraps it around the coils to secure them and links it directly to the anchor. Rather than walk it back the full distance, he takes the bundle in one hand to toss back towards where he parked his motorcycle. It falls short of the location, but near enough he can load it up once he fetches everything else.
iamnotgod: A man, hands up at chest level, staring left and down (In The Dark)

They're just guessing, alas, because these are PLOT Echoes! XD

[personal profile] iamnotgod 2019-02-20 12:02 am (UTC)(link)
Oh joy; worlds with actual gods. If these Echoes of other worlds weren't confusing enough...

"Because whatever you found in the river is similar to that being?"

Which raised the thought: was it somehow tied to Sadie having Q'uila's memories, or was it just a parallel? Or was it entirely random?
dragoonrouge: (Sadie)

/cackles

[personal profile] dragoonrouge 2019-02-22 02:35 pm (UTC)(link)
Sadie groans, and not because of the persistent nausea.

"Fucking hell I hope not." Sadie is quite alright being atheist, she doesn't need the existence of some sort of deity smacking around her head on top of Echoes.
warped_replica: Temp sketch icon (Human: Cover Neutral)

[personal profile] warped_replica 2019-02-22 04:37 pm (UTC)(link)
Main line taken up, Benjiro turns his attention to the lateral line. He picks up the end closest and winds it in a similar fashion to the main line, and this time uses the harness still attached to secure it. Rope secured in the bundle, he tosses it to land by the main line, though it goes slightly further.

Resisting a shiver, he walks along the bank to the spot where he carried Sadie out of the cold water.
iamnotgod: Shade Over Face (What Did You Do To Me?)

[personal profile] iamnotgod 2019-02-22 07:59 pm (UTC)(link)
"That makes two of us."

And quite probably three; Walter makes a note to ask Benjiro once he's returned to them.

"Hope has a lot of mileage to make up for, with us."

The rubbing continues, though Walter eases off a little as Sadie manages larger sentences.
dragoonrouge: (Sadie)

[personal profile] dragoonrouge 2019-02-24 09:28 am (UTC)(link)
The rubbing had helped a lot and Sadie was feeling a little less disorientated and chances cracking an eye open. Nope. Too much. Eyes shut again and skin a little paler Sadie sighs.

"Are you and Ben alright?"
warped_replica: Temp sketch icon (Human: Nervous)

[personal profile] warped_replica 2019-02-24 02:06 pm (UTC)(link)
Benjiro paces a couple times at the river bank slowly as he tries to search for the metal pieces, and finding an angle that minds the morning sun, he locates where they settled. Steeling himself for the second cold plunge with a deep breath, he wades back out until he stands waist deep. Shivering as he looks at the rather large pair, he delays only long enough to decide how to grab them when he won’t be able to see and has to avoid the sharp edges.

One at a time.

He crouches under rather than bending forward while holding his nose to go down quick, and fumbles for the first. Hands finding the cold, smooth surface where he expected, he wraps his hands around the wrist portion of the armor and lifts. Pulling it from the mud with a hard yank and out of the current, he stands with the gauntlet lifts into both arms and feels the weight. It is manageable certainly, but his choice to be the one to retrieve them was necessary. Benjiro walks the first to the edge of the water to set down, then repeats the process.
warped_replica: Temp sketch icon (Human: Nervous)

Feb 9th - A morning phone call to Mary Ann

[personal profile] warped_replica 2019-02-24 02:21 pm (UTC)(link)
When the opportunity arises, and other priorities have been dealt with, Benjiro will try to call Mary Ann directly. He will call her house first, then her cell, and only then her work number until he successfully reaches her. Not wanting to leave a voice message and wait for a return call, he will wait on hold if necessary.

As soon as she answers, he greets her politely before he has to ask, “Good morning, Mrs. Tilly. I hope I’m not catching you at a bad time, but I was hoping you might be able to see me today.”
catted: (professional smile)

[personal profile] catted 2019-02-24 02:24 pm (UTC)(link)
He reaches her mobile, and she responds immediately. It's not like he has called her mobile before, so she figures that it is important.

"I should be - if you call the surgery directly, they should be able to give you an appointment still, and if not, you can come during my lunch break." Numbered and all, it's probably something that she can't send him on to someone else with. "What is it about?"

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