We shall rebuild [mingle]

[ourearth]

Date: 2/1/19
Characters: Open

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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.

Comments

[dragoonrouge]

Sadie squeezes his hand back, shooting him a thankful smile.

"I'm going to go swim down to the bottom of the river mouth." She tells him plainly, "It can't be coincidence that the centre of the barrier and the earthquake epicentre are the same place. All of the stuff from Halloween, Bonfire Night, and Christmas just keep swirling around my head. I think this might yield some answers."

[warped_replica]

Restraining the initial flare of worry, Benjiro considers the endeavor on the whole rather than only the risks to Sadie. Brows lowering in concentration, he replies, “All of the events, including the tremor, have been rather intrusive since yesterday for me as well. That shouldn’t press us to act rashly, but I agree that coincidence is highly unlikely and should be investigated.”

Then he moves to planning, “After classes are over, we should head there to scope the layout of the banks. That should give me a solid plan of how to set an anchor and line to keep you from being swept out of the river. I can put a basic one together in minutes once I have the correct supplies... What about a wetsuit and a diving mask for you? Do you think James would know someone your size you could borrow from?”

[dragoonrouge]

Sadie nods in agreement, "I've barely been able to think of anything else since the quake. I do miss when life was a series of unrelated random events." She jokes wryly.

"I've already asked James for his GoPro, didn't want to chance the Network, and he'll have a suit for me by tomorrow afternoon. The only thing I need then are goggles." Sadie lays out what she's already sorted so that Ben can adjust his plans accordingly, "I will bow to your expertise of course."

[warped_replica]

Her joke is met with a faint smile and a soft huff of air. Finally, a chance for answers, and the anxiety is making the unknown wait they have suffered almost appealing.

That last remark regarding his expertise stirs clear surprise and a flustered blush at the edges of his facemask as he disagrees, “Expertise usually requires experience.” Nevertheless, he needs to come up with a plan. “A diving mask might stand up to the current better that goggles. Maybe add gloves and a swim cap to keep your hair out of your way and keep you a little warmer...” he muses before focusing on practicality, “All of which we can order and have in within a couple days if we cannot find them at the sporting shop.”

Benjiro fishes out a notebook from his bag to start making a short-hand list as he continues to talk, “The anchor system will be very basic but will require a harness. You will not be able to stay submerged long without risking hypothermia so we might consider periodic dives beginning with a first swim down the length of the area we think is most promising. After that, you can go back into certain spots. Ankle weights could reduce your effort to stay in place if you need to move or collect anything. Those should be easy to make from sand and cloth, so worst case scenario you can ditch them and they’ll degrade safely.” He jots those down then taps his pencil tip in thought only three times before he shifts, “We can use my bike to go there and back, but keeping you warm between dives will be the hardest. Dry clothes and gear should suffice at the end if we get you straight back home, but some pocket warmers wouldn’t hurt...”

[dragoonrouge]

"And out of the two of us you are the one with those expertise." Sadie gently reminds him.

As Ben starts to outline thoughts and plans, Sadie rests her head on her hands. This was one of the things she loved about Ben, his meticulousness and attention to detail.

"I love you." She says with a sappy smile.

[warped_replica]

So absorbed in that planning he fails to notice her reaction until she speaks up, disrupting a less confident idea, “Maybe I can rig a low power outlet on my bike and-...” But her words bring his full attention as he looks up from his notebook to her. Chin in her hands and such an adoring smile at her lips immediately sends a rush of red across his cheeks as he smiles shyly in turn with a pull at his shoulders. He glances down, then back to her as he fends off that self-conscious spike, “I love you too, Sadie. I’ll get everything sorted before we leave today.”

No doubt he will have multiple plans already vaguely outlined should their survey of the river mouth demonstrate any unforeseen obstacles. Closing his notebook with one last scribbled word, he’ll put it away. Better not to linger so long they end up noticeably late to lunch.

Time skip now?

[dragoonrouge]

Sadie ends up beaming as she packs her pencil case and workbooks away, her general reaction to Ben saying that he loves her. Waiting for Ben to pack away she stands up and, once he's done so too, links their arms.

"I know...Come on, let's go and be sociable and provide the nosey hoards with some gossip to feed on."

YES - Feb 9th

[warped_replica]

Quick to deposit his own things into his backpack, he’ll stand and open his arm to her so that they can walk out arm in arm with his hand finding hers to close the link. Her suggestion of providing their classmates with a seed of infectious conversation gets a brow raised and a curious smile, “I wonder what you have in mind.”

Lunch time eventually gives way to more class time, and during those classes Benjiro is multitasking in doing his classwork and formulating a primary plan along with solutions to a variety of potential factors that might alter the approach. A simple shorthand line scribbled intermittently into his personal notebook between taking notes during lecture is enough to construct a clear strategy and provisions for variables that may or may not come into play by the end of the day. Once class is over, he heads out with Sadie and he drives them out to the mouth of Moss River. A notable lack of officials, signage, or barriers makes it easy to venture along the river’s edge. Nothing stands out during a cursory walk together, so Benjiro sets about drawing a map of the area; marking out estimated distances, hashing areas of high or low terrain, marking symbols to note large trees, rocks, or other useful anchor points, and observing the river itself for shallow sections or areas of unusual flow. As much detail as he feels he needs to anticipate obstacles. Spending the last daylight hours there, he drives back to Sadie’s house after to review the plan in full.

Over the following week, Benjiro goes about shopping in his free moments, and puts together the equipment including fashioning a harness for Sadie with a detachable collection bag, sand-filled ankle weights, strap anchors with pulleys, an extensive length of rope, and a belt for himself to act as a final anchor point as necessary. Between them, they had managed to get a diving mask, gloves, a swim cap, and an emergency thermal blanket in addition to the GoPro and her borrowed wetsuit. Friday night, he stays over at the Moore household to minimize delays, and while he sleeps better at Sadie's side, he still wakes every so often to check on her. He simply cannot fully dismiss anxiety around the dangers of the situation, both rational and irrational. If he missed anything...

Supplies collected and stowed on the back rack of his motorcycle with some extras, he drives out with Sadie first thing a full week since the earthquake to return to the mouth of Moss River. While Sadie prepares herself for the expedition under the surface, he sets about securing the temporary anchor points and testing the line with his boosted strength. They had chosen the length to explore, and the system covers it all sufficiently, yet he stands at the edge of the river after the third test and stares at the water with tension in his jaw and his brow knit.

[dragoonrouge]

Sadie snorts, "Unfortunately for us Ben, just walking into the room is enough to get people talking." She gives his hand a squeeze, "I'll admit it is funny to overhear some of the wildly inaccurate gossip."

School is school, nothing particularly taxing and, driven by anticipation, it feels like next to no time before Ben is driving to the river with Sadie clinging to his back like a very stubborn koala. The reccy at the river is mostly poking about and tossing ideas back and forth, pinpointing the dive area, and discussing where Sadie would feel safe diving when considering her swimming strength.

The rest of the week is definitely more relaxing for Sadie than it is for Ben, and so she places herself on Ben Stress Watch; cuddling, cooking, and just generally making sure that Ben takes appropriate breaks.

The successfulness of which appeared to be minimal from the way Ben was frowning at the river set-up. Sighing, Sadie wanders over and gently nudges him.

"Keep that up and the wind will change, then you'll be stuck like that forever. Honestly though Ben...I know you're worried, but we've planned, and you've tested it, and we both know I'm the best person to be doing this." She reaches up to cradle his cheek, "Walter will be here soon as well, so please, try and relax a little. You've made this as safe for me as is possible."

[warped_replica]

Yet were it not for Sadie, Benjiro would have slept and ate only when his body forced it. Every morsle and each respite are recognized with gratitude as they are given, and thanks to her aid, it was only last night that he lost much rest for his mind to the heightened anxiety and excitement. Otherwise, perhaps he would have reached a new record of time spent awake.

The nudge is enough to startle him out of the look and contemplation, and looking over to Sadie as she coaxes him towards a calmer mindset he turns to her rather than the river. At the touch to his cheek, he bows his head and finds her wrist to loosely grasp in turn as he sighs with a visible effort to tug at the tangle of thoughts and worry, “Reasonably safe. Safe as possible would have included diving chainmail.” The tinge of humor is too weak in his voice to have been something he is only now considering as a joke.

“I know you are the best choice, Sadie, and that we need to do this. It’s simply that we’ve already been dealing with so much that has no clear explanation, and I don’t have the foresight to anticipate anything that resembles magic.”

[dragoonrouge]

"I'm worried about the magic too," She admits even as her lips curl up in a smile, "But we can't prepare for something like that. The best we can do is plan and mitigate as much as possible... Which is what you've done. You know I wouldn't have proposed this if I didn't think we couldn't make this safe."

"I trust you."

[warped_replica]

His other hand lifts to brush his fingers against her cheek as he leans forward to touch his forehead to her own, voice murmuring a simple reply, “Yeah...” Benjiro understands he has given her a safety net. In case of emergency, in which she exceeds a set dive time or pulls the line with a bobber on the harness under the surface as a signal, he can reel her in to the shore within moments using the distantly anchored main support line and the secondary lateral line. Should something detain her, he can follow the lateral line in as a guide and aid her directly after locking his belt on one of several anchor points he has already identified as stable.

But this is Sadie. This is the hard part of loving someone.

Swallowing back his apprehension, he draws his forehead away only enough to place a feathery kiss at her lips, “...you can do this.” For her, he finds the start of a smile.

Good time for Walter to jump in?

[dragoonrouge]

"I can...And you can too Ben." The kiss is warm and comforting, and Sadie's lips pull up into a far stronger smile under Ben's gentle touch.

She pulls back further, "Now, Walter should be here soon, so I'm going to start getting my top layers off. The sooner we can start, the sooner you can have me out of the river and in a nice, big towel hug."

But Sadie's the one doing the jumping! ;) /tease

[iamnotgod]

Walter had pulled in quietly, parking and leaving only his bike away from the river, choosing to carry the pack of (probably not strictly needed, given Ben's own preparations) supplies.

"You needn't wait for me," he says, smiling wryly in place of a regular greeting.

"And there's no one in range to spot us from above ground level, not without some serious investment behind it; we're as prepared as we can be," he agrees with Sadie.

Sneaky friendo

[warped_replica]

In turn, that beautiful smile brings out a full smile in answer. He nods as he reluctantly lowers his hands away as she moves back. He would indeed bundle her up in the largest, heaviest bath towel he had managed to find at his great aunts’ house. It was bordering on identifying as a blanket. Yet he does not get the chance to confirm it out loud.

Optimism barely touched, he stiffens through his back at the sound of Walter announcing his presence at a position far nearer than his usual perception would have allowed him to come unnoticed. Yet, having been thoroughly distracted, he is left flushing visibly without his facemask in place. He turns away to cough then half glances back as he busies himself with retrieving the harness for Sadie to wear as he replies, “I disagree. If Sadie and I are overwhelmed, you are our best hope.” Not only would Walter be able to process the situation the fastest and respond accordingly the most efficiently (even to obtain emergency services), but he has the speed to escape danger himself.

“Thanks for checking the surroundings.”

Walter was the real ninja all along

[dragoonrouge]

Sadie blushes alongside Ben as Walter manages to sneak up on them both, but she greats Walter with her usual smile and disengages with Ben to go and give Walter a big hug.

"Thank you Walter! It's a relief to know that things are safe to go, and your help will be invaluable for this!" She takes the harness from Ben, "Let's do this!"

Well, my choral&drama teachers in high school thought *I* could be a ninja...

[iamnotgod]

Internally cursing himself for ruining the moment (why are these two teens so cute? No one could truly explain it, he thinks), Walter deposits the supplies by the rest of Ben's things after returning Sadie's hug.

"Never hurts to tackle these things as a team," he points out.

"Did you want two anchor points, or should I just stay on watch?"

Feb 9th - A morning phone call to Mary Ann

[warped_replica]

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]

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?"

[warped_replica]

All the better. Benjiro really did not want to talk to anyone else first.

“I’m sorry, I wasn’t sure if you were working today or not,” he offers first in way of explanation for bucking standard contact. He hesitates at the thought of occupying her lunch break, “Oh... I, uh, cut my leg walking in the river. It’s not bad, but it is a little deeper than I first thought.”

[catted]

She raises an eyebrow at the empty air before her. Walking in the river, huh?

Either way, that sounds like a risk of infection, if not treated properly, so it's definitely that he lets a medical professional look at it.

"I'll see you soon, then." And she will most definitely inquire how he ended up cutting his leg in the river at this time of the year.

[warped_replica]

“Thank you,” he responds before ending the call with Dr. Tilly. As instructed, he makes an immediate second call to arrange for an appointment through the surgery for the afternoon. Fortunately, a cancellation lands him a slot.

He waits until close to the appointment time to enter the building, and sits until he is called to see her. As he walks back, he tries not to favor his right leg too much, but it is noticeable.

“...thanks again for agreeing to see me.”

[catted]

"It's no problem at all, really.

I'm glad you came. Show me the injury?" She needs to assess it before she can really do something about it, after all.

CW Wound description

[warped_replica]

He would rather not impose on his neighbor like this, but even he recognizes the necessity. Nodding his head once, Benjiro complies with exposing the wound. He sits down on the open seat for patients and bends forward to roll up the leg of his pants. The dressing Walter had applied for him has kept it covered, and the teenager breaks the tape to unwind the gauze. The final layer pulls off with some pain as the threads stick in the open wound bed, gauze stained by the dried blood. A fresh trickle of red seeps from the slice into his leg, the gash an inch below his knee wrapping around the lateral side of his calf and nearly the length of her hand. The center of it is a centimeter wide, and despite the way it comes around, only the superficial layer of muscle has been cut. It could have been much worse.

[catted]

She whistles softly and then gestures to the examination couch.

"Please sit over there and put your legs up." She'll need to have a closer look at it, and also gather a few necessities before getting to it, which she'll do while he heads over there.

"How did it happen? Really, I mean. You said something about walking in the river?"