[Open]

[rowan_narrators]

Who: Tamber, anyone who'd like to encounter him
What: Arrival in Jhelbor
Where: Western Gate
When: Monday afternoon, about half an hour after the fire

Comments

[tenuefarfalla]

Cho didn't think she had ever been this afraid in her entire life. One complete circuit of the wall, just to be positive, and she'd confirmed that the fire was trapping them completely. Even from here she was starting to feel the heat. She wasn't actually sure how many times she'd walked around the edge, but she knew it was more than once. She couldn't stand to look at the fire any longer - she felt caged and nervous when she could see it, so she went down the nearest staircase to make her way back to her building. There was someone walking just ahead of her, and doing so very slowly, so it was easy for Cho to catch him up. She didn't recognize him, but she very much doubted she'd met everyone here already. "Are you hurt? Here, let me help you." And she offered her arm and shoulder for him to lean on, because she knew that taking just a bit of the weight off a wrenched ankle made all the difference in the world.

[rowan_narrators]

Tamber leaned on her, gratefully. He shifted Ankhyrad to his far shoulder, so that she wouldn't interfere with Cho's support.

"Thank you," he said. "I'm headed towards the city center."

[tenuefarfalla]

"All right." Cho kept her pace slow and even, trying to move no faster than she thought was best for an injured ankle. "Were you... out there? Did you come through the fire?" She turned her head to look at him, feeling she could support the weight he was leaning on her with less than her full strength, and got a good look at what it was he'd moved to his far shoulder as a tiny human face peered at her from around the boy's head. "Is that-- a fairy?"

[rowan_narrators]

She probably could support his weight with less than her full strength; Tamber looked small, as though he hadn't yet reached the extent of his teenage growth spurt, and he was wiry. Slim and strong.

"It closed behind me on the road," said Tamber. "If I'd delayed further, it would have blocked me from the city entirely."

The support was quite a relief.

"Like a sprite?" asked Ankhyrad, in confusion.

"No," interrupted Tamber. "She's a sylph."

[go_for_barney]

Barney was torn.

On the one hand, did you see that fire? That was awesome!

On the other, looks like they were trapped in the city. Not like it really mattered to him, since wandering out into a strange world that made less than zero sense? Yeah, that sounded like a great idea. He'd get right on it.

But he just hoped Lottie had everything she needed to finish his suit.

BTdubs, he should actually check on that. He headed down the street in no real hurry. After all, no-one was gonna be going anywhere, right? So no rush.

But what did we have here? An Asian woman was helping a kid limp down the road, and she was hot. Like, not Lebanese hot, but still... after weeks of nothing but ice queen elves and hot chicks who laughed at him, some fresh blood was just what the doctor ordered.

He jogged a little to catch up. "Konnichi wa," he said sexily. "Who are Peter Pan and Tinkerbell, there?"

[tenuefarfalla]

Cho heard the 'Konnichi wa' in Japanese, but she understood the rest of what he said as English, so clearly he was trying to be, what, cute? Had he not noticed the wall of fire all around them. "I don't actually know yet," she told the newcomer. She stopped looking at the blonde man and focused her attention back on the boy she was supporting. "I'm sorry. That was rude of me. My name is Cho Takahashi. What should I call you two?" She remembered to add the last word at the last second, because if the Sylph could answer for herself, then she could obviously think for herself as well, at least a little. "Do you know where the fire came from? It doesn't look... right."

[rowan_narrators]

Introductions. Of course.

Tamber struggled to cohere his thoughts. He hadn't slept in - a few days, at least. He'd been through worse in training, of course, but he hadn't been quite prepared for the ebb and flow of adrenaline.

"Tamber," he said. "This is Ankhyrad," and the sylph waved, a little hesitantly, clinging to the hood of Tamber's cloak. "Neither of us are called 'Peter Pan' or 'Tinkerbell'." This last was said with not a little bit of irritation.

He sighed, faltering a little, leaning harder against Cho. He probably shouldn't have accepted the help. "It most certainly is not right. It's clearly magecraft."

[go_for_barney]

She seemed kind of scatterbrained. Barney could work with that.

She also was... ignoring him completely. Awesome.

But maybe he could still endear himself to her by showing what an awesome great guy he was. And she was kind of struggling with helping the kid. She was what, 90 pounds soaking wet?

Heh. Yeah she was.

Barney allowed himself a mental-five for that, and came up around the kid's other side; putting a hand on his back to steady him. "Here, let me give you a hand, Tamber."

He was kind of frustrated about the magic thing. If anyone had two thumbs and deserved to be a fire mage, it was this guy. But it was an awesome effect regardless. "Do you know who did it?"

[tenuefarfalla]

Cho looked back over at Barney when he came up on Tamber's other side to give her a hand with him and smiled. "Thank you." She didn't know what Magecraft was, but clearly there were many things in this world that she had no frame of reference for. Like sylphs, and martians with Spidey powers, and walls of fire that someone could apparently control like fences. Well, she might not have understood the situation, but there were really only two things it could mean. "Tamber... are they trying to keep us in, or other people out?" She wasn't sure which one would worry her more.

[rowan_narrators]

"Of course I do, and most likely both," said Tamber. "It is of a particular style to use each and every aspect of a tactic to one's advantage. Left, here, towards the city center."

The ankle was really starting to throb now.

"Quickly, too," he added.

Ankhyrad, bless her, as tired as she was, lifted off of his shoulder and into the air. "Be careful," she warned, though Tamber wasn't sure if she was warning him or his helpers.

[go_for_barney]

Barney nodded nonchalantly at Cho's thanks, a casual shrug as if to say "whatever, I save people all the time, it's nothing"; though he was inwardly giving himself pretty big props for correctly reading the new hot girl. He tightened his arm around Tamber's waist, taking more of his weight so they could move faster.

He knew all about using tactics to one's advantage. What up. But, seriously, he was starting to get a little freaked out by all this ominous talk.

The fairy told them to be careful, and Barney smiled a little. That was pretty cool, having a fairy talk to you. Too bad she was all doom and gloom, too.

"Almost there," he soothed, because Tamber seemed to really be hurting. And hot chicks aside, pain was not cool.

[tenuefarfalla]

Cho was still smiling at Barney, or what she could see of him over Tamber's head, glad to have met another person who seemed so nice and helpful. "We won't hurt him," she promised the little winged creature. Then she noticed how tired she seemed. "I can carry you, if you like. You look exhausted." Cho wasn't sure if the Sylph would accept, but she'd seemed to have no qualms about hitching a ride on the elf boy. They were quickly approaching the city center, but still, it couldn't hurt to offer.

[rowan_narrators]

Barney's presence was rather unexpectedly nice. And soothing. He took Tamber's slight weight better than Cho.

And it sort of unsettled something, in Tamber's stomach.

Ankhyrad, at Tamber's nod, gratefully settled on Cho's shoulder, careful and light, folding her wings. "Thank you," she said.

They were close to the city center now.

"I'll have to go the rest of the way myself," Tamber told them.

[go_for_barney]

Cho was still smiling at him. Excellent.

"You sure, bro?" Barney asked, because Tamber was still leaning pretty heavily on him. He wasn't complaining; it wasn't like the kid weighed much; but if he was really hurt, he shouldn't be walking unassisted.

He didn't let go just yet, just in case.

"What's so important in there, anyway?" he asked, nodding toward the city center.

[tenuefarfalla]

Cho was having similar feelings about letting Tamber go the rest of the way on his own. "Please let us take you both to the door," she asked in the kindest voice she could manage. He didn't look a day older than Ayame's grandson. If he wasn't worried about himself, perhaps he'd be worried for his fairy-- sylph. Or maybe they could keep him talking until they got there. "Why would someone want to hurt us, Tamber? Who brought the fire here?"

[rowan_narrators]

"Please," said Tamber, "I have to report in." He shifted, supporting his own weight, and limped in towards the door, shrugging off their help.

The sentry at the entrance to the city center let him in, without question, and he disappeared into the building.