Skating board is for cool kids only.

[wrathfulkhan]

Characters: Gene Khan, Jackie Ma, Miles Upshur, Aly Haskell, and y'all
Date: throughout April
Location: Aifaran and environs
Situation: Standard mucking about. Jackie's depressed, Gene's paranoid, Aly's got half a death wish, and Miles is driving local priests away! So, a normal Tuesday for these nerds.
Warnings/Rating: Will be added as necessary

[A] | Gene | throughout Aifaran | throughout April | open
Gene's finally gotten over being shy - shy! Rare, for him - and is out and about in Aifaran. He's still worried that Nick Fury is going to pop in from nowhere and haul him off to a SHIELD cell, but it's just as likely that he'll pop back to Earth.

Earth. Not home. It'd be a disturbing distinction if he hadn't come to terms with Konryu being more of a home to him than Earth had ever been long ago.

First point of order, rank the teahouses. Things have changed in the past five hundred-some years, so of course he has to stake out the best places for brooding thinking. With the best tea.

Second point of order, get...eh...friendly with some of the other Dreamfolk. The locals, he's been able to connect with easily. His fellow Dreamfolk, though...not so much. It's a personal failing, and he knows that, but it's one he's working to correct. So...A for effort? He seems to look like he knows what he's doing, at least; he certainly looks at home in Aifaran, more so than one might expect.

[B] | Jackie | throughout Aifaran | throughout April | open
Despite the heartbreak of having Brigid back for such a short time and losing her again, Jackie has to keep going. He's lost her before, and this is just...it's his life now. He could wake up any day to find anyone else he knows gone, and he knows that at any moment he could 'no longer dream in Aifaran' - or, to put it more bluntly, disappear back to being a strung-up disemboweled corpse in North Point.

The Dreaming's anchored him in Konryu for a while, but he knows that may not last forever.

He takes a lot of time to speak to shopkeeps and make himself known throughout the city, because he's trying to get the Golden Koi started again. Another iteration of the bar he'd started in Keeliai, named after the restaurant that had always been a safe place to him back in North Point. A little piece of home, one that he'll hold onto as best he can.

He might be walking alone, but he's certainly not averse to company. He's friendly enough with the denizens of Aifaran, and he's stopping at many of the local cafes and teahouses throughout the month, making friends and potential future business partners.

[C] | Miles | throughout Aifaran | throughout April | open [Faith 2]
Oh, boy. Miles is getting pretty p.o.'ed about getting cornered by a Sabonile priest, but since these guys haven't tried to kill him (yet), he's not going to hit the guy. And just as the guy's really beginning to spin up, he stops and gives Miles a strange, apologetic look, declares that he can't preach what he doesn't believe in, and just. Leaves...?

Fine by Miles, but that's a new one on him. Maybe he has a new anti-religious aura. That'd be cool. "What the fuck just happened?" he mumbles to nobody in particular.

[D] | Aly | look up. no, further up. there. the rooftops. | throughout April | open
In an attempt to get her frustrated energy out, Aly has taken to the skies! Or as much as she can, anyway. She can't fly, as much as she's tried, but she's pretty agile. She's running around day and night like a little ruffian who thinks she's Batman. Watch the skies for a blur! Or watch your head, because sometimes she doesn't look too well where she's landing.

[E] | Aly | down by the piers | April 7 | closed to Devin
Aly's agile, but even the most agile runners miss a step.

And so it happens.

Unfortunately for her, she misjudges distance - again! - over a gap between buildings. And especially unfortunately for her, it's a gap over water.

Her stomach and heart seem to fall faster than the rest of her, and a choked squawk tears itself from her throat as she tumbles. Everything else she could deal with, broken bones she could take, death she could deal with again, but water? No!

There were two ways to kill a Flame: Suffocation, and drowning. And she doesn't want to drown.

This time, there's no Princeps to give her a gentle push to the other side with some mastery of air, and she hits the water like a stone.

[F] | Jackie | the Dreaming Bridge | April 6 | closed to Valdis
Jackie's been doing his best to keep it together, but after he makes the announcement over the Lae (he'd phrased it as a question, but he knew in his heart that it was really an announcement), he needs to go somewhere quiet. He finds a little-trafficked lounge in the Breakwater wing and sits down, his head in his hands. He can't go back to his room, because Chase may be there and ask what's wrong, and he doesn't want to explain.

There's pretty much one person here in Aifaran who's familiar enough to him, unless she leaves, too, and he'll be all on his own again. He'll need to go find her. He doesn't like the idea of being entirely alone again; it had been bad enough when they'd thought only a year would pass. Here, everything was so different, he feared that he'd give in to his old habits and patterns and turn back to crime, because it was easier.

I'm not that guy anymore. He hoped not.

---

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Comments

[annihilist]

The fact that Aly can't or won't speak is almost as concerning as the fall she took, and Devin can't discern whether the problem is physical, mental, magical, or all three. Her pyrokinetic abilities - and whatever else was associated with them, he still doesn't know - almost certainly make water something of a natural enemy. It isn't such a leap to think that's why she's panicking.

Some spectators have gathered, and Devin ignores them. He glances over his shoulder at the water, and then around them to search for his jacket. It's laying a few yards away and Devin goes quickly to retrieve it so he can wrap it tightly around Aly's shoulders. "Alright," he says, rubbing her arms for the tactile sensation as much as trying to provide warmth. "New question, and this one is a test. A smart high-schooler like you ought to be good at those." When in doubt, go back to their old patterns of hassling each other? "Can you say the alphabet backwards? Out loud," Devin prompts.

He's relying on techniques that he sometimes uses, or has seen used, but not everything worked for everyone. Maybe if Devin can shift her concentration, she'll be able to calm down some.

[wolfishflame]

Aly just shivers, completely unable to think. The coat helps bring her back to reality a little, as does being scrubbed at.

It takes her a moment to realize that she's been asked a question, and another moment to process it. "Z. Y. X. W? V...U," she says slowly, still too rattled to even shoot back. That ought to be more concerning to Devin than anything else.

[annihilist]

Her responses are still slow, like she's disconnected from the present, but he's optimistic that she's avoided serious head trauma. Other trauma, however…

Devin would normally be inclined to stay put until she's more recovered. In this case, though, even if she's in no immediate physical danger, getting away from the water could be wise.

"Good. Keep going; twenty more letters to go," he encourages quietly, scooping her up carefully into his arms. If she doesn't struggle with him, he'll start heading to a clinic. "Let's get you somewhere warmer."

[wolfishflame]

"That's too many letters," she mumbles, struggling a bit. It's more perfunctory than anything; she doesn't think she's in any real danger, so she's not trying to get away.

She's still cold, though. So, so cold.

[annihilist]

Unfortunately, Devin doesn't have much in the way of body heat to offer, seeing as he's naturally colder than Aly. The water and his jacket around her probably makes them feel about even.

"I know," Devin acknowledges; the task isn't the easiest when one is in fine form, much less when you've just taken a thirty-foot tumble into a canal. He adjusts his hold on her to be more secure, walking at a brisk pace. It shouldn't take them long to reach their destination, at this rate. "But you're not usually one to back down from a challenge." He pauses to glance at her before turning down another street. A few people are giving them strange looks. "Can you light yourself a fire like this, or are you still too wet?"

[wolfishflame]

"T...S..." She's still trying to do the alphabet thing. But she is focusing on her internal Flame. If she couldn't spark herself up at all, she'd basically be dead.

Aly closes her eyes and bites her lip, trying to coax the spark into a proper flame. Changing her essence would hurt her more, which she didn't even want to try, but kindling herself up would be okay, right? The fire she sees as herself is low, but still burning. She's still burning.

"Huff." She's shivering, and mentally blows on what she sees as her energy, trying to bring it higher.

Too high. She briefly wreathes herself in crimson flame - not enough to hurt, just enough to startle - before it gutters out. She's a little warmer now, but that was a big energy tradeoff.

[annihilist]

One would think Devin has learned to be more specific by now. He'd meant something along the lines of the fireballs he's seen from her before, not... that.

The vampire stops dead in the street when the flames appear, and he's just about to set her down and dart away as they go out again. After double-checking that none of his clothing is burning, he gives Aly a dubious look.

"Well, I suppose that qualifies," he remarks dryly, and picks up his feet once more. "Though a little warning might not go amiss next time. Did that help at all?"

[wolfishflame]

"Not what I meant to do," Aly mumbles thickly. She shivers. "It helped, I guess. I don't...that was too cold. Can't think right."

Yeah, a pyromancer not being able to control herself, that's a comforting thought.

It was like when she'd finally run out of energy when holding the Faerie Queen and her people back from invading on Halloween. She's done like dinner, and she's not about to try and do something else like that anytime soon.

[annihilist]

"Yes, I've noticed the distinct lack of acerbic commentary," Devin returns, though it lacks any real edge. Constantly needling her will probably not do much good, other than retaining a fraction of their normal behavior around one another. He considers the time it will take to reach a medical professional.

"If you're up for a run," he continues a moment later, "I can get where we're going much faster. It may be disorienting for you, however."

[wolfishflame]

Aly just grunts when he semi-snipes back at her. She'd come up with something, but her brain's still too shocked. Right now, she's got to focus on bringing herself back to life, so to speak.

"Sure," she said. "That's fine. Ride like the wind, Shadowfax."

[annihilist]

The corners of Devin's mouth twitch upward in the bare shadow of a smile; both the reference and the nickname are signals that she will - eventually - be herself again. He makes his grip more secure on her and sets off at a run. Devin doesn't press to his top speed, but their surroundings are definitely blurred as they zip past shops and passersby.

It takes half the time to reach the clinic than if he'd continued walking, and Devin smoothly returns to walking speed at the front doors. "Protest all you like," he says, anticipating complaint for the destination. "You're still seeing a doctor. That was a hard fall you took."

[wolfishflame]

The blur means that the world passes Aly by. It's a lot like when sensei's allowed her to ride on his back, the two or three times that's ever happened (usually after she's refused to jump into water to travel...hm. She's seeing a pattern).

"No," she says petulantly. "I'm fine, I'm a rock, I'm not bleeding. Even if I am bleeding internally, that's fine, that's where all the blood's supposed to be."

[annihilist]

Devin is already backing into the door to open it as she lays out her complaint. "You certainly fell like you're a rock," he remarks, undeterred. "You could have compression fractures, and I wouldn't be surprised if you have a concussion. I give you full license to be annoyed with me later when you're warmed up and we know you're not injured."

Their drenched state and the fact that Devin is carrying Aly immediately gets the staff's attention, and they direct the pair back to a private room where he deposits his charge on the bed and steps to the side. Blankets immediately replace Devin's jacket around Aly's shoulders, and he himself is unsuccessful in waving one off. Nurses are not to be argued with.

[wolfishflame]

"My head's one solid piece of bone, there's no way I have a concussion," she grumps, but doesn't fight. She's been to too many doctors and been healed too much in her life to get testy with medical staff.

"Ha, ha, you're getting examined, too," she says, and sticks out her tongue.

[annihilist]

"Let's let the experts determine that, shall we? And there are worse prices to pay for ensuring your health," Devin says dryly of the unwelcome attention, settling into a chair. He was only wet, but otherwise unhurt. His temperature would probably give the staff a scare until he told them what was normal.

"If you're going to insist on continuing to traverse rooftops at speed, you'll find this is occasionally the consequence," he says, gesturing around the room and at the various tools on display. Many are similar to Earth-standard, but all with slight changes, some to accommodate the species of the staff using them.

The hypocrisy is not lost on him. Devin would protest medical attention, too, were their places reversed.

[wolfishflame]

Aly's temperature might give the staff a scare in the opposite direction, but she'd be running cold for her, anyway. That'd be concerning all on its own.

She scowls at him, rubbing her arms to try and warm up as her brain continues to reboot. "I just...misjudged." That had almost happened before, but that had been different - around her friends, and she wouldn't have been in any real danger. She'd just have been a wet dog.