Outside the Mall: Ebony

[_ebony_]

After hearing the commotion coming in the direction of the hospital, Ebony followed Siva Salene and Dax, all be it somewhat slowly. No sense in charging the entrance of the hospital all at once even if there was trouble. Upon reaching the scene, Ebony remained stationed in the doorway. There seemed to be more than enough people to deal with the

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[tribal_willow]

Willow followed behind Flower through the carpark which seemed to be slanted and going downward they eventually ended up out on the street level, and there before them was a girl, or a woman? Standing there screaming a name Willow figured out, Jay? She held her sisters hand and walked close to the lady, her eyes wide, staring. Was she hurt? Would Jay coming be a bad thing, or a good thing? Perhaps Willow could tell her about the hospital in the Mall, maybe she didn't know about it and she needed Jay to get wherever she was going. Willow looked at Flower (O___O) and then back at the lady (O____O) and opened her mouth to talk, but found herself speechless. What if she was bad, and this Jay person was bad, and they were going to do something bad to the Mall, or to other kids? She was wearing red, like so many of the kids with the light guns were, perhaps this was part of the virtual game, and Willow felt instantly uneasy, giving Flower's hand a quick little squeeze that said let's get outta here!.

[tribal_flower]

Flower kept sneaking glances at Willow. Now that they had found out that the source of the screaming was a girl down on street level, and that she was calling out a name, Jay, Flower was unsure of what to do. She was pretty sure that Willow wanted to run away, but she just couldn't do it. She needed to know if this girl needed help, or if Jay was bad or good, or if Jay was missing, or hurt, or if she was worried about Jay or mad at Jay. So many questions were running through Flower's head, and all she could do was stand there, gripping her sister's hand, waiting to be noticed.

[_ebony_]

Pausing for a moment to catch her breath and listen for any kind of a response, Ebony caught site of two girls standing a few yards away. Neither one had said anything thus far, and now looked very much like a couple of deer frozen in headlights. The presence of the two wide eyed kids silently standing side by side and simply watching her was both unnerving and highly irritating. The fear that Jay might be being held captive somewhere in the city more than put her on edge, and being openly stared at wasn't helping matters. Turning to the girls abruptly, and motioning with her arms in the air before bringing them to her hips, Ebony's voice became a mix of annoyance and anger. "What?!! Is there something you want, or do you both just enjoy playing statue?" After taking one quick forceful step towards the young girls in an attempt to scare them off, Ebony breathed in once more and resumed calling out into the city for Jay.

[tribal_willow]

Willow watched the lady, ready to swallow her fear and suggest that she go visit the hospital, perhaps her friend Jay was in there, but she was rendered speechless. When she put her hands on her hips, Willow instantly spied the star on her hand, and only jumped back and yelped when she took a step towards her. Willow looked to Flower again before speaking, "Are you a Mall Rat? Cause, you have one of those," she dropped Flower's hand and held her left hand up, pointing to the back of it to indicate her pentelgraham. "Maybe Jay is in the Mall," she said simply, now out of courage and the lady was screaming his name again. Willow looked to Flower quickly with a wary look on her face, what if she wasn't a Mall Rat, what if that wasn't the symbol she'd seen on everyone and just looked a lot like it? She knew she was being silly, but she was kind of worried now.

[general_jay]

Jay walked through the darkened streets as if on automatic pilot. He paused outside the carpark to gather himself. Long practice meant it took very little time for him to compose his face into the proper balance of aloof concern. Clearing his mind proved more difficult. Jay was all too aware that he'd accomplished nothing that day. Problems, which had been growing in his mind for some time, now resisted being shut safely away.
When he made out the dim figure standing before him he forgot all about his internal struggle.
"Ebony," he said, startled, "What are you doing here?" As soon as the words were out of his mouth he felt a rush of shame. Of course she would be wondering where he was. Didn't he worry when she left without a word? It was unfair of him to assume she wouldn't.

[_ebony_]

[OOC: Sorry it took me so long! I didn't know you'd posted until late last night and I was gone most of today. >.It had gotten darker, and darker, and there had still been no sign of Jay. In fact, very few people had crossed within her line of site, but at each shadowed movement Ebony's eyes strained to make out who was approaching. With each possibility, she held her breath just slightly, exhaling in disappointment when the dim form turned out to be just a random passerby. At first, Ebony thought her eyes were just playing tricks on her as a figure approached with a very familiar stride to his step. Squinting hard, it only took a few more seconds before the blond hair on the individual became vaguely visible. It was only until Jay had approached close enough to be unmistakable that she allowed herself to believe it truly was him

[general_jay]

Jay wrapped his arms around her, surprised at his own relief to have her solidly there with him once more. This was only the calm before the storm, but there would be time later for answering her. Momentarily he felt the smallest hint of satisfaction and severely suppressed it. Ebony had clearly been frightened for him, there was absolutely nothing positive to be gained from hurting someone he loved.
"I'm here," he said, soothingly, "I'm safe."

[_ebony_]

Just hearing Jay's words was enough to truly push aside all feelings of anger and suspicion for the moment. Maybe later tonight they'd discuss it, but right now, all she wanted to do was get back inside. Ebony pulled away after a few moments, looking back in the direction of the mall. She knew dinner had to at least be well under way by now, and Jay had been gone virtually all day. More than likely he hadn't brought much if any food along so he had to be starving at this point. While she herself had eaten a late lunch, dinner didn't sound all that bad either. Taking his hand firmly in hers, she offered a small but genuine smile before motioning to the mall. "How 'bout some food."