Leave tomorrow, live tonight. Gotta throw your heart right in cause we all fall [Locked]
Ariel is happy to be doing Guardian Angel things, again. She hates owning a hotel and all of the business that goes with it. It keeps her from doing what she was made to do, what she actually feels accomplished with. She has a ward. She has a real purpose and reason in her life, again, that was more fulfilling than all of the rights movements she
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Also there's a hallway in the Tower that is the definition of evil and visiting it was an altogether wonderful experience. Not.
He doesn't say any of that, however. He just responds with a simple, flat, "No."
And to avoid her pressing the question, he adds, in the same blank tone, "However, I seem to have a cat now."
...How one seems to have a cat is another story entirely, one that will hopefully distract her and keep her from asking questions. Because, yes she needs to know that earlier this week, he rescued a cat from drowning and then he rescued a teenage girl from some horrible monster, and somehow this is the most ridiculous thing ever.
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Right to privacy is one of the things that she has fought for over her lifetime. Along with many others.
"Savin' teenagers and owning cats that's some leaf you've turned over," she comments, almost offhandedly. "A pet'll do you good. They're supposed to alleviate stress, I hear, if you pet 'em enough. 's why they bring cats into nursing homes. Makes people happy whether they want to or not."
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Although, there is something rather endearing about Ragnar, whether he'd like to admit it or not. And, well, April's fond of him, anyway.
He huddles a bit deeper into his coat. It's times like this, he really wishes the Tower were a little bit closer. That's always been the problem with him and Ariel- he doesn't know how to talk to her and he's always felt obligated to figure it out, rather than just avoid the situation altogether. It's no way to be, but he's never been very good at this sort of thing.
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It wouldn't be Chicago if people owned regular cats that didn't talk or want anything beyond milk and occasional scritches.
She shakes her head and frowns in frustrated, concerned amusement. It's a complicated emotion. "It can never be simple with you now, can it?"
Ariel is glad the Tower is so far, but she is the kind of guardian angel, who enjoys making their ward uncomfortable. It's just fun and easy to do.
"One year later and some things never change," she says. It reminds her of when they first met of all the shitty guardian angel/ward pairings in all the world. W
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He's heard the hotel was being watched- hell, even the Kashtta is being watched- but he hasn't seen or heard hide nor hair of the CLF... If it's even them, but he can't think of what else it could be.
...Maybe it's nothing at all and he's just jonesing for a conflict he might actually win.
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Her wings bristle. They want to come out to give her more of an advantage, but she won't let them if it will only bring more attention to them right now.
It wouldn't have been a problem a few months ago, but the CLF has changed a lot.
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He scoffs and starts walking again. "It's nothing," he mutters, shoving his hands in his coat pocket.
Or, at least, he hopes it is. He doesn't want to be careless, but he also doesn't want to just stand there when it might be absolutely nothing. This isn't Kashmir in the middle of a warzone. This is Chicago and the CLF aren't that subtle.
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She catches up with him a moment later, only walking a step behind.
"Yeah," Ariel agrees and glances behind her. "Seems like it."
She is really glad she came now, however, even if it is nothing.
"Never was paranoid till I came to this city." Not until she got a ward and paranoia was simply being extra careful for her ward's safety.
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When the first one starts in, he knows it. They're not being subtle and they don't have to be. After all, they have sheer numbers on their side, don't they?
Idiots.
Sark stops and turns around to face them, expression and tone utterly flat, but there's a dark threatening glare in his eyes, telling them without words that they're going to want to back off right now. "Five against two doesn't seem fair, now does it?" It's not immediately evident whether he's addressing them or Ariel.
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The wings come out now. The threat is real, and they are holding weapons so there's no stopping the wings.
She has this cold slab of realization that hits when she realizes this is the first actual fight she has been in. The only situations that even compare to this are when she was in activist groups that were attacked. The worst of that happened during the civil rights movement. People were going down around her. She didn't lose her cool and she came out with hardly a scratch on her all of those times, but this is different.
They want to kill her ward and that scares her. It scares her so much it's hard to breathe, even if he can handle himself. She doesn't want them even so much as scratching him. These hateful, spiteful people who want only to hurt, to destroy what they don't ( ... )
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"Lookit that- wings just like they said."
"Freaks."
"We don't want you here."
"It's just not natural."
"Get out of our city."
"Some fucker with wings killed my sister."
The one that's clearly the leader leans down and picks up a small rock. "We'll give you a chance to turn around and run like the dogs you are." He throws the rock at Ariel, aiming for her head.
The one on the end with the chain is starting to edge towards Sark.
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Poorest. Word choice. Ever. They're dealing with a dog, all right. The worst kind of dog- a stray backed into a corner with nothing but raw instinct and no mercy and no remorse.
Ariel's determination to protect him actually serves an interesting purpose. With her angled that way and with her wings coming out and distracting the gang, he can get his gun out, which means he has something to pull on the person trying to sneak up on him- really, have they learned nothing?
Something's wrong here though. That's the thought that crosses Sark's mind when he fires the gun, going for the headshot (no mercy and no remorse)- they came after him and they should have realized this was a mistake.
No, the problem here is that if the CLF are targeting wanderers, why are they going off on angels? He might have thought it was because she was protecting him, but the way they carry on about her wings... Something isn't right.
He doesn't really have much time to think about it though.
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Her instincts keep her close to Sark, because if anything is aimed at him, she wants to take it for him, but she does take a step or two toward the one closest to them. Ariel will punch anyone that gets too close within a few steps. Anyone that aims their gun at Sark, she will charge in front.
She does not even consider the implications of their words about her wings, beyond wishing she had kept them in a little longer. Her heart is pumping faster than it ever has before. Every muscle in her body is poised and ready and tense. Her mind is completely set on protecting Sark. That is all that matters.
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That one cry incites them to action. Wanderer freaks are attacking them, killing them, just like they heard they would. Shots are fired aimlessly without consideration to what (or who) they might hit, and then the remaining four lunge at the two freaks with their switchblades and improvised weapons, hoping to overwhelm them.
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