rattle...what’s that rattle?

[felinemystique]

Characters: Bastet/Yoruichi felinemystique, and OPEN to witnesses/arrivals after the fact
Date/Time: late morning, Monday, August 15, directly after/during this entry.
Location: A remote area of the Park
Rating: PG-13 or so
Summary: Yoruichi has unwisely taunted the Tree and its creator, and so pays the price.
Notes: While I know some people will arrive during

Comments

[crimson_seeker]

"Thank me if he can find her in time," Hawk said, somewhat glumly. The answering smile he slanted at her was lop-sided and short-lived. "His eyes are very sharp, that much I know. But if she's in the lower levels, then he probably can't reach her in time."

More to distract himself, he headed back to the entrance of the planetarium, still partway covered by bags of sand. He wasn't quite sure what the practical point of obstructing entryways with junk was: it wasn't as if Captain Planet had proper streets that could be easily barricaded. You'd get past such blocks simply by stepping into the woods for a while. The work would serve to keep him from pacing while they waited.

It wasn't very long before Fuu reappeared, already chittering off his report as he swung down towards the two of them. Hawk dropped to sit on a stray crate and held out his arm, letting the dragon scrabble up to his shoulder.

"She's still alive!" The relief was evident in his voice as he called out to Stellaris over Fuu's warbling. "But she was attacked by trees, he says. Roots? No. Branches then. Sorry, he's a bit excitable."

[lingeringlegacy]

For a moment, Stellaris sat on one of the lower piles of sandbag, flipping her journal to the page in concern. Yoruichi had stopped writing, and so had the rest. She traced the part saying the Irishman with a finger. It wasn't difficult to connect the dots, what with Lyle's strong reaction and her own notes regarding comrades who had come and gone listed so many names in Lockon's row. His latest appearance even barely lasted two weeks.

Competition?

She did not know, had never pried, what the nature of Yoruichi's relationship with Lockon's previous incarnations were. Yet since the beginning of her days as Stellaris, she had never gotten the expression Aim was particularly close to Bastet. Thinking of the common worry every time someone got reborn, that the person would get a memory reset, Stellaris wondered if that was the case.

And how sad that was. For them, certainly, but also for Fugue, if indeed he controlled all of Edensphere. They said all those trouble manifested because the old man was lonely, and yet he withdrew from people, dodged questions about himself, never seemed to fully participate in activities people organized.

Stellaris lifted her face to see that Hawk had started working again. She closed her journal, got up and followed suit, if less talkative than before.

Fuu's reappearance got her heart racing. She skipped to where Hawk sat, listening to the noises the little dragon made before conceding that she probably would never be able to decipher his 'speech'. Fortunately, Hawk soon relayed the not-so-bad news.

"Oh that's wonderful." She exhaled. "But... trees? Does he mean the majestic one where the houses are?"

[crimson_seeker]

Hawk shook his head. "No, she's... not that far from here, right?" Fuu chirped in affirmation. "On the same island. And Fuu says there are others there with her now, though he doesn't know them. He's a bit bad with faces, m'fraid." He sat bowed towards the little dragon for a moment more, speaking to him in a quiet voice.

"Ordinary branches, but they came up from the ground and tried to trap her." He bit his lip. "That's not... the first time someone's died by being pulled down by tree roots or branches, Stellaris. Might be the first time someone's survived that that I can remember."

[lingeringlegacy]

"Others... helping her, presumably?" Stellaris asked hopefully. The Captain was well-liked, of course people would help her, people with relevant abilities most likely, to be able to reach her so timely. "That's a relief, then. Muchly so."

She exhaled and nodded, looking less tense now. "Yes. Grift, at least, but that was near the main trunk." His autopsy records had detailed the wounds and site of his death. Her next words came almost a hiss. "Conscious or not, that's vile."

[crimson_seeker]

Fuu gave another stream of noises at Stellaris's question, and Hawk huffed as if a little put upon. "Yeah, you little nuisance, I gathered they were people. How about you work on describing them for me?" The dragon chittered with evident displeasure, but continued then.

"He says they were beating back the branches, and one of them held her... Not sure how wise that is, when she's hurt, but that still fits under help rather than harm.

"Grift? Old bartender, right? Died with quite a bit of noise, in the winter?" Hawk frowned, fishing after memories that had by now sunk quite deep. Souji had wanted Orca dead over this particular killing by the Tree. "Conscious? You mean... You mean the culprit. The one who sent the branches to attack her."

[lingeringlegacy]

It was so weird to see Hawk talk as though one-way to Fuu. Handy, but still novel in her eyes. Like when Philosopher communicated with Beep.

"We'll hear about her soon I suppose. If not, I'll stop by at the Clinic on the way home. Lyle would want to visit her in any case." She crossed her arms again. The volume of her voice dropped. "Yes, the old bartender. He was- ...It is not recommended to speak of that here."

[crimson_seeker]

"He's saying something about a man in a green headdress, and a red-haired girl... And... right. Lin is there. Bastet's right hand, if you remember her?" Hawk cleared his throat a little.

Stellaris was much more aware of what went on in the night side of Edensphere than Hawk himself had been, especially back when Grift had died. Still, he knew a reason for caution when it stared him in the face.

"Mm-hm. We can find a safer place if you wish. I don't think Captain Planet is it, especially right now. Something's astir."

[lingeringlegacy]

"The second in command. Yes, I know of her." The ill-tempered, though nonetheless a professional, woman. She respected Captain Yoruichi, as far as Stellaris could tell. Probably more, even. That was yet another reason to believe Yoruichi would be alright. Quadruple Tree-murders was something she had not heard of. On the other hand, apparently her mutters had shifted the conversation to a different direction.

"Meet me at the Access Point tomorrow afternoon... or whenever you're free. I know the Guards are in high demand these days." Where after that, though? The safety of the Scavenger's yard was in question after they got wind of the card with the curious floor plan. But whoever distributed that card might be luring people too.

[crimson_seeker]

"Third in command, but don't let her hear I corrected you." Hawk smiled a little, a wry sort of expression. You learned to put up with Lin, and once you worked out what her sore spots were, she was frightfully disciplined and competent. The Guard would have run much less smoothly without her.

"I'll let you know when the situation eases," he said. "Can't promise I'll know when it is. I'm already patrolling for criminals and newborns, and now we've got exploding puppets and suddenly appearing underground shelters on top of that.

"But the Captain is in good hands, so shall we finish here?" After this scare, he'd be almost glad to tire himself out with the work and then simply go home and sleep.

[lingeringlegacy]

"Ah," Stellaris placed her fingertips over her mouth, "yes, third. You're right." It was easy to forget, she thought. Bell was the second, but when it came to acting authoritative, Lin was the more apparent.

She nodded. "You have your responsibility. Even now, I'm grateful you're able to take time to help me."

/closes this thread

[crimson_seeker]

He gave a quick shake of his head. "Don't mention it. Let's just get this done."