You know Atlanta never looked the same, after she burned to the ground.

[savesomelight]

In the wake of recent disasters, there are a few people around.

Wandering around the Gauche in a state that's more dreamlike than anything is Piper Paxton, who is utilizing the same technique she used during the attack on the Gauche to keep everyone calm. The tension in the air may be palpable, but it's nowhere near as bad as it was when the

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[changingtheodds]

Ruvin watches from the doorway of the common room, hugging one of her books and unnerved by his quick, savage march back and forth across the room. She's scared all right, and seeing the person that so many others defer to looking this tense has put her even closer to the edge. She's never been involved in something like this before. She's never been remotely close to something like this before.

Was she lucky, or just really disconnected from the world?

[thrillofthekill]

Vincent's wings twitch instinctively when he feels he's being watched and he turns around to see Ruvin in the doorway and winces, because... Yeah, he's setting a good precedent here. He wants them to feel safe and here he is, stalking around the common room like he's going to stab the next thing that walks through the door. At least Romana took that shit to the conference room.

He pulls his wings closer to his back in a gesture similar to a dog flattening his ears against his head. "Hey, sorry... Just a bit on edge. You okay, darlin'?"

[changingtheodds]

She nods, hating herself for this unexpected timidity. Where did it come from? It's not her, she's never been this way. She may not blather on as much as some people but to be struck completely dumb by faceless hostility from those who can't possibly know who she is, what she is--

And now she's scared of being That, too. Not like she can change it. "I'm sorry, I didn't mean to interrupt."

[thrillofthekill]

Vincent stares at the phone which is still playing elevator music at him. "Nah, it's fine. Nobody's answerin' anyway." He pulls his journal out, flips through it once, finds no joy there, and then closes it again.

"You look a little white around the edges. You know, it's okay to be scared- this shit's fuckin' scary, but you don't have to worry while you're down here."

See Vince. See Vince try to be reassuring while he's trying not to throw his phone against the wall.

[liberatechicago]

Vincent's phone clicks over from the latest batch of elevator music.

"This is Deputy Chief Scott Randolph. How may I help you?"

[thrillofthekill]

And here Vincent was about halfway to making vulgar threats about tearing James' wings off and using his feathers to stuff a mattress.

"Yeah, this is Vincent Sterling over at the Conrad, and, in case you haven't noticed the smoldering pile of rubble where there used to be establishments around here, there's a smoldering pile of rubble where there used to be establishments. I'm curious as to how you're goin' about dealin' with that."

Okay, so maybe getting tetchy with them is not the best strategy, but ask Vince if he cares.

[liberatechicago]

"The police department is taking all appropriate measures to investigate that, sir. I'm afraid police investigation records are private."

[thrillofthekill]

Vincent blinks. The fuck? "Are you deaf in one ear? I'm Vincent Sterling. I do work with you guys all the time. Nick Angel used to work with my old boss before he got killed. Where the fuck's James?"

[thecellsiam]

Aubs is pretty aware of what Piper's doing -- hard not to be, because xe was going to go down to the Skid in a fit of anxiety-induced restlessness, but once xe got anywhere close to her in the hall, the anxiety...left. Or at least lessened; xe's not sure it ever really leaves, just gets to bearable levels.

Xe gives her an awkward wave and a smile. "Hey." She looks a little out of it, but xe's not just going to pass on by without saying anything, because xe really likes Piper.

[savesomelight]

Piper blinks a few times like it takes her a moment to register that someone's spoken to her, and finally she shakes herself out of it. "Hi! Sorry! I'm..." She waves a hand and then brings it to her head. "I... I think I need to be more careful."

Especially since, well, it's not like anyone's come near the Gauche yet and the Gauche is well-fortified, but everyone's twitchy and she's paranoid and trying not to let that affect anyone out here inadvertently.

[thecellsiam]

"Nah, it's okay, really," Aubrey says, waving a hand around vaguely. "Think everyone's a bit off given the whole Attacks on Wanderers thing." Xe shrugs, looking a bit uncomfortable. It's one thing to target the weirdness that's caused explosions about the city (though xe questions the effectiveness of exploding more buildings to remedy that), but Wanderers specifically seems...off. Odd. Because in xes experience, it's more been the angels and demons (and Torchwood, granted) causing the major explosions. That xe knows of.

"Hey, at least you thought of something you could do, y'know?" xe continues, giving her arm a friendly nudge. "Wouldn't've even occurred to me, I always think of the people here as, y'know, proactive and armed and not bothered by these sorts of things -- other than us, I suppose -- but I guess everyone's gonna be tense about it. Point is, it occurred to you."

[savesomelight]

Piper nods, biting down on her lip. "I'm just... Worried they'll start moving out here." It's a valid concern for someone who is as generally paranoid and easily frightened as Piper is... Not so much for anyone who happens to know that terrorists generally don't target suburbs.

"Yeah, there's that!" She says, smiling just a tiny bit. "Well, Eric taught me how to do it when the Gauche got attacked, so I thought... Well, I could do it again. Figure I might as well do the one thing I know how to do."

[wineandvenom]

Eric's wandering the Gauche, himself, checking in on the people he's especially interested in. And when he feels the enforced calm...

See Eric. See Eric be a proud mentor. Be proud, Eric. Be proud.

And slowly, almost imperceptibly, the tension and paranoia eases in Piper, herself, replaced by a growing certainty that things are going to be all right.

"Hope you don't mind," Eric says, walking up to her with a faint smile, "but it felt like you could use that."

[savesomelight]

Piper breathes a sigh of relief at the sudden ease in her tension. She gives Eric a bright, cheerful smile right back. "Thanks. I appreciate it. It's becoming a lot easier to keep everyone else in check than it is keeping me in check."

But she's getting better! ..Scarily better. If Piper ever really stopped to think about it, she'd realize that she's better at this than she thinks.

"But I did what you taught me, even if it was just a, uh... Preemptive measure?" She frowns like she's not sure that's the right term. Yeah, like Piper knows anything about tactics and the like.

[shealone_stands]

Buffy doesn't do well when she's cooped up. She's the Slayer, and she's not used to people acting like she's the one who needs protecting, but now she's got a guardian angel and a guardian Barnam watching her like hawks to make sure she doesn't go out and get herself set on fire or something, and she just wants to find whoever's responsible and throw them through a wall.

Instead, she's pacing the halls herself, considering taking a walk outside even if she might freeze. She stops when she sees Piper, and the slightly unfocused look in her eyes. "Hey. You okay?" She likes Piper. She's sweet, and reminds her a little of Willow.

[savesomelight]

Piper holds up a finger to indicate that Buffy's going to have to give her a minute before she can respond to that. Stupid Glaysa powers taking over her whole headspace. She blinks a few times and shakes her head.

"Sorry!" She says, giving Buffy a sheepish grin. "Trying to, uh... Um.. Keep the calm around here? I needed to something useful and that's what I did when everyone was freaked out when the Gauche got attacked, but... It's not freaking you out, is it? Because that would be counterproductive and I know it's sketchy and.."

Breathe, Piper, breathe.

[shealone_stands]

"No, it's not, it just... You looked kind of... out of it." Really out of it, and Buffy worries about her friends when they start acting weird. Granted, Piper isn't likely to start turning into a hyena or anything, but... "You know that's not your job, right? I mean, I'm not trying to stop you, but you don't have to."

[savesomelight]

Piper rubs her head, grimacing a little. "I feel everything, especially when everything's all tense like this. I just thought that maybe people could... Stand to be a bit calmer. I don't like it when my friends are unhappy if I can fix it."

Why does she have these stupid powers if she doesn't use them to help people, after all?