saveourearth | Grandma's less pleasant memorabilia [mingle]

Entry tags:

Grandma's less pleasant memorabilia [mingle]

Date: 24-27th of September
Characters: Everyone!

A few weeks ago, they started building at the very end of the High Street. They're tearing down one of those ugly houses that were built after the war to replace all the buildings that had been destroyed in air raids, which Mossgate, being a coastal town with a significant harbour at the time, saw a lot of.

It's not an exciting rebuild in itself - Premier Inn is building a hotel to have a foot in Mossgate's reviving tourist industry. It is, however, kind of exciting to see new buildings, as there hasn't be much building activity on the High Street since the recession hit.

Or, well, it certainly causes some excitement. Because one of the typical hazards of building foundations in this area strikes: You tend to either hit Roman ruins, in which case you need to let the archaeologists have a go at it before you can continue - highly annoying for the builder. Or you hit a WW2 bomb, which needs to be defused and removed before you can continue - highly annoying for everyone who lives, works or shops nearby.

In other words, around 11am of the 24th, anyone within a certain distance of the bomb will be evacuated indeterminately while the experts come in and have a look at the bomb. So far, so annoying. The constables say that it shouldn't last longer than two days.

Due to the location and size of the bomb, the area of evacuation includes shops, a part of residential suburban Mossgate, a school, a senior residence and the town museum.

People who live nearby have to evacuate their houses and either stay with friends or relatives or bunk up in a hotel or emergency shelter in one of the local school's gyms.

Shops have to shut down and leave their goods in the hands of their security systems and the local police force.

A call for volunteers goes out to help evacuate the residents of the senior residence, as there isn't enough staff to evacuate all of them quickly enough.

Bus lines get rerouted.

Constables are pulled in from other locations and volunteers activated to send people away from the dangerous area, and tape goes up. Interested Bystanders [tm] gather and have to be argued with to make way for evacuees and professionals. Some local press gathers. Car drivers who just need to go through real quick, there's no reason to be like that Constable, don't you know who I am need to be sent away.

The excitement dies down some on the following days, though the evacuation lasts.

On the 25th, the Super announces that according to the experts the bomb should be in a state to defuse it and take it away safely.

On the morning of the 26th, a second announcement follows: No, it seems that the fuse and the bomb is too corroded to be defused, and that a controlled explosion will have to be undertaken.

Straw and other materials are brought in to pad the bomb and thus protect the neighbourhood from the detonation, other precautions are taken and preparations made, and on the 27th a controlled detonation removes the danger. But as detonated explosions go, they are still explosions, and the shock wave damages a wall of the next house, which holds McDonalds, while some of the straw catches on fire and is taken up by the sea breeze to set a roof two houses over on fire, which is the town museum. The fire department is present and quickly takes care of it, but the damage is still done.

After that, everyone is allowed to return to their houses, schools, shops, and so on.

Flat | Top-Level Comments Only

Walter moves one hand from her back to her shoulder, trying to steady her.

"All right, all right. Our flat, then," he confirms.

He'd make the run, but he doesn't exactly want to (a) jostle Sadie, or (b) draw attention.

Sadie leans into that steady contact and tries to focus on it. It works, for the most part, with some help from her now stinging arms and the unpleasant feeling of her top as vomit on it cools.

By the time they reach Walter and Russell's flat Sadie's crying has nearly stopped altogether, just a stream of tears and some shaking.

Walter manages to navigate them in one-handed, double-checking to make sure the door is locked (he really does know after the first time, but doing it twice may well reassure Sadie).

Looking around at her again, he grimaces.

"I should have some spare clothes - and I can warm up something for you."

One of his larger jackets should fit, anyway.

Sadie nods and sniffles. "...Thank you Walter, do you have any mouthwash?" Her mouth feels and tastes awful, although the tang of acid was better than- Sadie stops that thought as dead in its tracks as she can, her entire posture sagging.

"Please may you call Ben for me?" She quietly asks Walter.

"Yes, though it's the kind that burns," comes Walter's answer.

Sadie's next question is answered by a solemn nod.

Probably shouldn't call him on the Network... Walter had picked up Ben wasn't comfortable with it, much as he kept an eye on it. Understandable, but that just meant using "old fashioned" methods to keep in touch.

Like text messaging.

"I'll go get it, and the clothes." And Ben. "Sit down for now, okay? I'll be right back."

A couple minutes later and he'll return, having also retrieved his laptop and sent the text:

Sadie and I ran into someone at the bomb site; a bald man, looked like a complete stranger. We both talked with him and were then hit with unrelated flashbacks simultaneously. At my and Russell's flat. Sadie wants to see you.

He could have written 'needs to see you', or even just 'Sadie wants you', but neither feels quite right for him to say.

Late as it is, Benjiro had already wrapped up his two-hour stream online for the evening but remains seated at his desk while he attends to matters of homework for school. The message alert pings from his speakers, and he glances to the direct message with Walter that comes to the front of the screen. Concise, he reads it in a flash and he sends back a response as quickly as his fingers can move.

Sadie wants to see him, but Walter is the one telling him. If she can't message him or call him, something has gone wrong.

Out the door in 3 minutes and I'll be there as soon as I can.

Already half risen from his seat, he sends the partial work to his online storage and closes it out. Shutting down the computer, he waits for it to cycle down before hitting the power switch, and changes clothing as he waits for that process. In appropriate attire, if hastily donned, he reassembles his backpack for school and slides it onto his shoulders before snagging his phone along with a small bag left tucked away under his desk. Benjiro prepares for all reasonable possibilities, and that small bag is all he needs to stay somewhere else overnight.

Lights flipped off and door shut, he nearly vaults down the entire staircase in a few bounds with the noise causing his aunts to pause their television program. He yells through the house to his great aunts, "Aunt Rosemary, Aunt Agatha! I have to go! Walter's having an urgent plumbing issue and he can't get anyone else out! I'll text you if I stay overnight!" Excuse answered with an affirmative understanding, he bolts out the door at a sprint for the station.

Edited 2018-10-29 00:16 (UTC)

Will be at door when you get here. I'll focus on helping her in the meantime.

In other words, Sadie's health in all aspects is paramount.

Though, he will want to know why on earth Ben came up with that explanation.

Once he manages to barely catch the transit, he settles in a seat and fishes out his phone as he starts to recover from the run. Reading the message from Walter, he replies swiftly.

Please focus on her. If you can’t respond until I get there, that’s okay. I told my aunts I might be out for the night. Said I needed to help you with an urgent plumbing issue. Is Sadie injured?

That final question is at the forefront above all else.

Walter's reply is delayed by a few minutes.

Not injured, at least by the stranger. Whatever she saw made her sick.

There's a moment spent wondering whether Sadie would rather tell Ben herself- I'll ask her what she wants to share with him, first, he thinks, and looks up to ask her permission...

She has claws, now.

And then, almost as an afterthought:

Plumbing issues, really?

Edited 2018-10-29 22:32 (UTC)

He sighs in a shaky, shallow exhale when the answer loads onto the screen. She had not been attacked by the stranger, and now sporting claws, he can reason from where her injuries stem. The teen runs a hand back through his hair as the myriad of other questions contend for answers in his head. That means...whatever memory she had regained had been that horrific. Claws were not out of the question with cat eyes and the expectations for a tail, and self-inflicted injuries tend to be self-limiting when accidental.

At a loss for the moment, he blinks at the question about his excuse and replies promptly.

It was the first excuse I could think of that qualifies as something I can repair that cannot wait until morning. A broken pipe spilling out water for instance. We’ll hash out the details for a cover story later.

As the adrenaline begins to wear off, his rib and bruises are starting to complain fiercely.

It's fine.

Meaning they could handle it together.

We can talk more when you get here.

He'd offer tea, but Ben is probably far from in the mood for it right now.

He'll start making some for both teens, though, just in case. Something calming...

It will have to be good. I am still effectively grounded. See you soon. At least the overnight will make sense given his condition regardless of the excuse they weave.

Tea will be a welcome comfort once he makes sure Sadie is tended. For now, he bides his time on the bus dry swallowing a couple of NSAIDs and mentally preparing for what may be waiting at the flat.

Edited 2018-10-30 00:58 (UTC)

Riiight. That IS still a thing.

Walter will put his best effort into it, then, no doubt about it.

Likewise.

Sadie perches herself on the very edge of Walter and Russell's sofa as directed, not wanting to lean back with her current clothes on. As she waits, she focuses down on her hands, even with the shaking the claws were obvious. Sharp and curling out of her nail beds, exactly like large cat claws, and nearly like those of her memory, only lacking the vibrant nail paint of the other person's.

She looks up as Walter reenters the room, "...Where should I change?"

"Bathroom shouldn't be an issue; Russell's out right now," he says, pointing up in its direction.

He'd say she could use this room, but she might not be entirely comfortable with that.

"I can walk with you, if you want...?"

On the one hand, it's not as if she hasn't seen it before by this point. On the other, Sadie would be absolutely in the right to not want to be alone right now.

Sadie nods, pushing herself slowly and not quite so steadily off of the sofa, and wobbles back towards the door to pick up her shoes, they were also going to need a wash but thankfully they were leather boots. She then follows Walter to the bathroom.

"Would you wait outside for me please?"

"Of course."

If she hadn't picked up the shoes, Walter would have insisted on washing them himself.

He's not going to loiter just outside the door or anything - he'll be close, but not obsessive.

Sadie shuffles into the bathroom, and gently closes the door, just shut, not locked, and places her shoes into the shower. The next order of business was to shower down her shoes and then strip, which is exactly what she does, slowly removing each layer and placing those into the sink. Only once she's rid of her hoodie, t-shirt, and jeans does she take in the mess she has accidentally made of her arms.

The outer side of Sadie's arms is covered in scratches and deep gouges where she had accidentally gripped onto herself. Sadie feels her lips and hands tremble as she changes into Walter's baggiest clothing, choosing to forgo the jacket, not wanting to get blood on it, and exits the bathroom, her own clothes in hand.

"I didn't want to get blood on the jacket." She explains to Walter why one piece of clothing was missing. "Where's the washing machine?"

Walter inhales sharply as he takes in Sadie's wounds, and the blood on her clothes.

"The kitchen - but I'll have to go at them with ammonia beforehand, anyhow. Otherwise it'll stain." He speaks from experience. Very unpleasant experience.

He looks pointedly at her arms again.

"You should clean those, though. And there should be bandages in there..."

If she needs his help to put them on, it's no trouble.

Sadie nods miserably, gingerly handing the tightly bound bundle of clothes over to Walter, the cleanest layer of clothing wrapped around the others to help Walter keep his hands clean, before heading back into the bathroom and sticking her arms under the shower.

She chooses a lukewarm temperature and makes sure that the spray isn't too strong before rinsing both her arms and her boots off. It doesn't take her long to find the bandages inside one of the cupboards, and so she heads out into the lounge once more to sit herself down on the sofa. She holds up the bandages to Walter, a wordless request for help.

"...What did you see?"

Tepid water isn't exactly the best idea, but rinsing things off will doubtless help.

Having set out the clothes to clean them later (given the smell, it may be best to wait until Sadie falls asleep - if she does), he returns and starts bandaging up her wounds.

Ah; time for distraction.

"I was- seeing out of a girl's eye. She looked about your age, though a little shorter. Darker hair," he says.

"Just looking at herself in a mirror; it wasn't a long memory, but it also wasn't the only one. The other..."

The pause is strictly for effect as he keeps moving the bandages into a comfortable tightness.

"I suspect I was looking through her eye again, only this time she was watching a video, of an ape painting. Portraits, even."

He smiles, looking up at Sadie's face.

"Doesn't sound like something you see every day, now does it?"

Sadie wants to answer Walter properly, because it sounds fascinating and it is certainly unique, but talking again is proving to be a struggle and instead she has to settle with a tired, wobbly smile and a nod. She promises herself she'll ask Walter more about it later.

Once bandaged, Sadie tucks her legs up scrunching into as small a ball as she can, head resting in her knees. Now she just had to wait for Ben..

By the time Sadie has cleaned up and her wounds have been treated, the wait will not be long. Benjiro disembarks from the transport and heads down the street towards the flat of Walter and Russell. His initial urge is to run again, but still anemic and hurting, he needs to temper his pace in order to make sure he is not falling over by the time he reaches the flat.

A little woozy as he approaches the front door, he pauses to breathe while counting the seconds to forgive the oxygen deficit created. Ten seconds allowed to himself makes a difference in slowing his respiration rate, and he reaches to knock. Once the door opens, the pale, bruised teen steps inside and immediately shuffles off his backpack and shoes.

He doesn't have to ask where she is, as he can see her curled up on the couch with her forearms wrapped in clean gauze. He frowns with worry etched deep in his expression as he starts towards her, "...Sadie?"

As soon as Ben walks through the door, Walter does his best to stay out of the way.

These two might really be the best comforters for each other.

"I'll- go start cleaning those clothes. Apologies in advance for the smell."

He can't help one last, worried glance at Sadie's form - as well as another, longer one at Ben's visible injuries.

Sadie takes a moment to respond to Ben calling her name, her initial distress having been replaced by this odd cotton-wool numbness as she forces herself to think of a million other things but what she saw.

Seeing Ben, still bruised and a little battered, knowing that he had come all the way here for her wipes away the cotton in Sadie's head and her face crumples, her breath hitches, and Sadie starts to cry again, ducking her face away to be shielded by her knees again.

Hmm. Should we joint-thread with Russell, or just assume he's not in due to the other NPC thread?

We absolutely can if Swirl wants in. Sadie's probably going to ask Walter to call Ben for her too

Plurked the question~

/thumbsup

Ben reply parallel starts here~

no subject

no subject

no subject

Sadie's choice PM'd with her mun!

SORRY! I had to fix it after seeing the edit too late

no subject

no subject

Aaand merge with the other thread whenever you'd like!

no subject

Since I don't recall if the flat is one floor or two...

no subject

no subject

cw: cuts to the arm

WELP.

no subject

no subject

I'm fine with Ben dropping in whenever from now on

no subject

no subject

no subject