Second Prayer | Sept 14th | Video/Action/Text
[The image that blips onto the screen is somewhat blurred by the darkness and the torrential downpour, but the one thing that comes into focus is the pale and rain-splattered face of Justin Law. He's utterly drenched, and the cold and the water combine to make his usual vacant stare even eerier than usual, moreso by the fact that he seems
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[Now, the thing with Watson is that he limps and walks around with a cane. With his cane dangling from an arm as he had been inspecting the machine, it had been so easy for him to lose his balance and footing with the water.]
[Cue coughing and choking as he's dragged down. Of course, when something suddenly grabs you by the waist in this damnable weather in this war, you think that you are being attacked. You know those screams of horror on the video? That's him. He's raised up a little before he beats at the claw with his cane, and he's sent crashing back down.]
[SHRIEK OF HORRO-- cough gurgle choke.]
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Carcan Claw!
[The black claw exploded from his arm with the sound of a gunshot accompanied by the shrilling of unfurling chain. It careened to explode into the water below, spraying everywhere. Unfortunately he'd overshot a little too much. Better than shooting too close; getting hit by that might've been rather painful.]
Do you think that you could grab onto the chain?
[Hopefully noone else was around to hear him. At least the rain was loud. More importantly, though, if he didn't rescue the man soon he'd be swept away completely. This street was adjacent one of the main ones that led out of the city.]
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[Also, all of his Victorian era clothing, coat and all? They are weighing him down terribly. But Watson is not so far gone as to not realize that the claw is attached to a man he recognizes as that young priest. Kind, but peculiarly deaf.]
Yes, yes-- of course! [This said between sputtering, because manners above all else! Watson however has a hand to his hat and a hand to his cane. Choices.]
[He hooks the cane on the claw instead, right where the chain is attached to it.]
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He experimentally tugged the chain to test if it had caught. It apparently had, so it began retracting. Slowly. A bit too slowly, because the river was still carrying the man and there was the risk that the chain may swing him across and into one of the buildings. Which was... well, bad, probably. So he had to move and retract at the same time, making for very, very slow progress.
They were also now moving into the major intersection before the city gates. Debris was floating past, too, and a particularly large piece (was that a mailbox?) was heading for claw and rescuee. In a hurried attempt to avert a collision, Justin yanked the chain hard to jerk the man out of the way.]
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[And then the debris comes, and then he’s yanked none too gently out of the water. Watson makes another horrified shout before finally leaving his hat to the mercy of the wind and, making a great effort, clung to the cane and claw for dear life as he’s pulled against the current.]
Good heavens!
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[That left one thing only, really. In a flash of light both the claw and the chain completely dematerialized. Justin began to sprint, picking up speed such that he was a pale blur flitting along the rooftops. A blade jutted out from his right arm and he aimed carefully and...]
[It shot forward, chain trailing, to strike the underside of the arch to the city gates. He murmured a quiet prayer and he was ripped forward by swiftly retracting chain, leaving the rooftop to skim along the water rapidly. On the way past, he expertly snatched the drowning man and dragged him along with him.]
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[The logical thing to do would have been to inquire upon the man's state of health. Instead, Justin looked down and beamed vibrantly at him in a disarmingly bright manner.]
Hi!
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[He coughs out some more water, trying to be polite about it, and with watery eyes stares back up at Justin.]
I'm much obliged by your coming to my rescue, sir. [weakly]
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...Okay.
[He looks up to check that the blade is well-secured in the stone arch; fortunately, it is. He then looks down and slightly to the side, to watch the water flowing beneath the both of them.]
[He stares at nothing in particular for a long moment before speaking, awkwardly.]
So, ah. How did you get caught in the flood? [Don't mind him, just making conversation.]
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I was attempting to work out that vendor machine when the water came so suddenly.
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[That is all he says. His expression becomes blank and he simply stares into nothingness, seeming as if he is utterly ignorant to the world surrounding him. There is silence for a long, long, long stretch of time as he and the man awkwardly hanging onto him swing idly in the breeze.]
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I may not have a plan for what to do from here.
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[Watson stares up at him in mild disbelief.]
Is there any way for us to make it into one of those buildings, sir?
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[He looks away blankly for a long moment-
-But then something catches his attention!]
Aha!
[The chain begins to extend slowly, until both of them are hanging only just above the rushing water. A couple of seconds later, a large wooden billboard floats into view and Justin lowers the man onto it.]
That should stop you from drowning at lea- ah. [Right, it's heading out into the desert. He tugs at the chain to dislodge it, only to find that the blade is quite firmly stuck. He wriggles and tugs some more, but the effort is awfully futile. Of course, by this time the makeshift raft is floating, well, away. So he has to shout.]
Try to find somewhere dry to hide! I will, ah, attempt to catch up!
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Hide? [Hide from what? And oh, dear, he was being separated from his fairly inept saviour, wasn't he? And attempt to catch up? Watson may be giving Justin a dreadful look of SCREAM right about now.]
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[Besides, there was still plenty of chance that this man wouldn't run into a Kishin Egg or six. Some parts of the ruins were safe! And he'd been warned to hide. No sense in panicking him any further Justin you are a horrible, horrible person.]
DON'T WORRY, YOU'LL BE FINE probably.
[And now, to get to work on freeing himself. Justin could only hope that nobody would wash past and see him like this, or worse, have one of the faculty members check up on him. He spared a little bit of hope for the man on the raft, too. He was such a generous soul.]
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