The end of the Conrad [forward timed to 12pm]

[disastering]

[OOC: Party/disaster thread! Make threads for pre-destruction leading into destruction, during the destruction, and post destruction. Timey wimey, etc. Obviously, if you're under the rubble, you're only going to be near a limited number of people]

The city of Chicago had no idea that the Rift preshock that occurred earlier in the week was only an

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[doyoulikecake]

Kaden was in a nearby coffeeshop, between classes, grading papers, when the first reports came over the TV behind the counter -- two seconds later, they hit Twitter. It took him about .2 seconds to send an email canceling his afternoon class, snap the laptop shut, gather his papers, and get out the door.

After a brief stop at home -- and thank whatever he lives downtown -- he's at the Conrad, about fifteen minutes after he left the coffee shop. He very well might have sped the entire way there. But nothing, not traffic nor red lights nor, hell, that monster he had to swerve to avoid, was going to keep him away from the last place he knew his sister was.

He leaves almost everything in the car but his phone, his journal and his wallet; he even peels off his t-shirt and throws that in just before slamming the door. The a-shirt underneath has the tailored slits in them and he knows there's no way he can keep his wings in much longer.

It's relatively easy to shove past the police line -- everyone's too busy with the chaos to notice a small Japanese man for very long -- and makes his way directly to where a number of people are already starting to clear the rubble. Halfway there, his prediction become fact, and out come his wings, large white things nearly trailing the ground. Almost the stereotypical idea of angel wings.

And while he's still relatively calm aside from the half-panicked look in his eyes as he starts working on clearing the rubble alongside someone who immediately registers as Wanderer, his wings are mantled and twitching and very obviously giving away how upset he is. At this point, he doesn't care.

He just needs to make sure Lily's okay. It's all he can think about, underneath the collected disaster-response exterior. Just a steady beat of panic. He can't lose her again, the first time was bad enough, and even then he knew she was still alive and now she might not be and--

He can't lose her again.

[backlighthaunts]

Mariah has plenty of questions right now. Everything's so confusing. The wings -- so many wings.

"I'll-- I'll have to find someone who might have more comprehensive lists of the lost," she says. She really wants to believe Jessi wasn't down there. There's a chance, right? He said she was visiting the Conrad, but there have to be plenty of people who aren't-- who didn't. Who made it.

[doyoulikecake]

Kaden doesn't really pause when Mariah shows up, just keeps working at the rubble pile he and a behemoth -- and when did he ever think he was going to work together on something like this with a demon? -- have been picking apart for a bit now.

He does spare her a glance, before hauling up a chunk of concrete that he logically shouldn't have been able to (thank god for angelic strength) and handing it off to said behemoth. "I doubt they've got one yet," he says.

[backlighthaunts]

And Mariah is going to stare at his strength. She's not exactly sure what's going on at all right now.

"Kaden," she says, taking in a long breath. "Do you mind explaining to me why you have wings?"

This is probably not what they should be talking about right now, but well, she's going to squat next to him and start digging through the rubble herself. They might as well talk while they dig.

So they don't have to think about Jessi being possibly down there.

[doyoulikecake]

Kaden frowns, picking up a much smaller chunk and tossing it out of the way. How in the hell could she have spent that many years so close to Lily and not know about angels? Sure, Lily had better wing control than everyone, but she couldn't pull them in. And they were far from motionless all the time.

"I'm an angel," he says with a shrug, and pulls up another piece. "Don't tell me you spent all those years with my sister and didn't wonder about her wings." There might be a hint of jealousy in those words. Just maybe.

[backlighthaunts]

"I wondered," Mariah admits absently. "But I couldn't ever really think about it too hard."

It's weird, now that she thinks about it. This is... quite a lot to think about. She tosses a piece of rubble aside, and takes in a long breath. "What exactly do you mean by angel?"

[doyoulikecake]

Kaden snorts. "Of course not," he says. Nobody ever does, unless it's shoved in their face, and isn't Chicago one big slap in the face? Sure, he knows that there's still a lot of people in Chicago that don't know, but really. He'd have expected Mariah to pay more attention than that.

Then again, he doesn't mind the fact that she didn't care enough to ask about her daughter-in-law's wings. He smirks down at the rubble, though it's mostly hidden by his hair. It occurs to him he should probably have tied it back before showing up.

"I mean we're a completely different species from you," he says, nodding back toward the wings as the smirk drops from his face. "Lower body temperature, wings obviously, Callings, though the moral points of the compass got a bit skewed and we don't follow any god. If you'd like I can dig up some more detailed information on it later for you."

[backlighthaunts]

It wasn't that she didn't care; Mariah cares about Lily more than almost anyone else. She's asked about her wings, but only to her son, who very quickly changed the subject, and never brought it up again. It was easier not to talk about, somehow.

"That would be appreciated," she says, clawing at the rubble in a frustrated fashion. This one piece seems to be oddly jammed and she just can't-- just can't seem to get it to come loose. "I assume there's quite a bit to all of this I've overlooked up until now."

She's thinking about the monsters.

[doyoulikecake]

"Clearly," Kaden says, reaching over to dislodge the piece she's yanking at. It takes a few tugs, and he can't help the way his wings twitch and try to lift into a half-threat display, nearly mirroring his arms' movements.

Finally, it comes loose. "Also, we're stronger," he says, giving her a bit of a smirk.

[backlighthaunts]

"Well, I'll try to keep that in mind next time I need someone to muck out my gutters," Mariah says with a smile. Conversation. Anything to think about the fact that her daughter-in-law is probably down there and how hard it would be to survive something like this. So hard, no matter how strong she is.

"So, are inter species relationships common?"

She's pretty sure that she would have known if James were a different species, whether or not she knew anything about the home he came from.

[doyoulikecake]

Kaden's return smile is brittle -- he can't get Lily off his mind, though he can certainly pretend well enough right now. He has to be able to. "If you manage the feat of actually catching me on a day off, I suppose that could be an adequate reward," he says.

He shrugs. "Sure. We've all got the requisite parts, why not?" Not that he would have really considered having a relationship with a human or a demon or whatever. Not that he'd really consider having a relationship with anyone, but that's beside the point. "Though relationships between Guardians and their Wards are somewhat frowned upon."

[backlighthaunts]

Mariah is not a stupid woman. She never got a college degree, but she's perfectly capable of putting pieces together when they're placed in front of her.

"I take it 'Guardian' is one of these 'Callings' you spoke of?" she asks, shoving a pile of rubble further away from herself so she can have more room to dig. If he's implying what she thinks he's implying, she's not sure approves.

[doyoulikecake]

"Yes," Kaden says. He's still mostly concentrating on removing the rubble. "One of them. I'd think that one's pretty self-explanatory."

He pauses for a moment, panting, to pull his journal out of his pocket. Still nothing, and his phone hasn't gone off either. Fuck fuck fuck fuck fuck. His wings stretch out, shaking, and he makes an annoyed face and pulls them back in. Not the time, dammit. "I guess the rest of them are pretty self-explanatory too," he continues, as if the conversation were anything like normal.

[backlighthaunts]

Mariah is honestly wondering how long she can maintain her own facade of normalcy. If Jessi isn't trapped down there, they should have news from her sooner, rather than later. Every moment of silence is one less that she can deny the fact that her daughter-in-law is most likely dead.

And that's not acceptable. It's just not. It's not something she can let happen.

She wants to check on the lists of the confirmed missing. Of the confirmed safe. Maybe she was injured but found. It's probably still too early for that.

Her fingers still on a piece of rubble, and she catches herself choking up for a moment. She steels her face, inwardly berating herself for allowing the small crack.

"So, I assume you were implying that Jessi is a Guardian and my son her ward," Mariah says matter-of-factly, as if nothing had happened.

[doyoulikecake]

Kaden is incapable of staying functional and thinking about Lily being dead. So he doesn't. She's just trapped, and the sooner they can get her out, the better.

He's not even going to bother with the confirmed found. If she's found, she would find him. Get ahold of him somehow. Answer his goddamn journal entry. Something.

"I'm not implying," he says, gripping the concrete in front of him too hard and resisting the urge to just throw it. He'd prefer, if they're going to talk about his sister, that they not talk about her dead husband as well. "I think I'm being perfectly obvious."

[backlighthaunts]

"I'm sorry this is so hard for you," Mariah says, stepping away from the subject with precision. "I'm going to go get you some water."

They shouldn't be slaving away without getting anything to drink. And honestly, she feels mildly useless next to so many people who are obviously more capable than her.

It's been a long time since she's felt at such a loss. And it makes her sick.