From the Warehouse District to the Dorms, But Really Across The Island, Wednesday Morning

[rebelscreams]

There was a flicker of something that passed over the warehouses early in the morning; some strange twisting in the air that warped them, changed them, and for a moment showed signs of rot. Walls that had stood proudly now laid collapsed, ivy and moss winding their way through the ruins

Comments

[godilovedthis]

"Something's happened."

It had taken Kathy a lot longer to reach the edge of the preserve than it had Dante and she could not jump up into the tree to join him. Both of these had been true for long enough that she no longer felt a sense of wrongness over either fact--just a simple pang that tore through her and was easily pushed aside.

"Still happening, I guess," she added as a flicker danced across the side of her vision. She eyed the tree, looking for any branches low enough for her to grab to pull herself up. It was never a good idea to be caught flatfooted on the ground when she couldn't run and those hard-won instincts didn't desert her just because Fandom was being Fandom again. "Obviously. Any clue about what's going on?"

[rebelscreams]

"If I'd have to take a guess," Dante drawled, his voice slow and measured, "Our plane's mashing into another one." Beat. "It's been a while."

It was more complicated than that; from his perch here in the tree, he could see not just this plane, but the overful mess of the afterlife mashing into an emptier copy of itself. But the difference wasn't exactly important.

[godilovedthis]

The closest branch was a little higher than she could reach on her toes. With a sigh, Kathy jumped to get it--and missed. "Fuck!" she cursed, wincing in pain as she landed.

To try to cover it up until she could make a second attempt, she glanced back over towards the school. "Looks like it's going to be good for scavenging, at least," she noted. "That's always a plus."

[rebelscreams]

"I don't know."

Dante uncoiled, letting Spiral slip back to the plane it came from. He climbed down from one branch to another. "This might get interesting," he noted, as he came down to the lowest branch.

Not for any particular reason, of course.

[that_oldsaying]

Alluka had dropped one wagonload of her friends (her toys) at Papa's place and then, when he'd been busy getting ready for all the friends, she'd wandered out again to go and get more. Now she was trundling back with a wagon full of toys and having taken a few deliberate wrong turns. She didn't want to worry Papa, but she was terribly curious about what was going on.

And Nanika was aware and watching but not worried so Alluka fearlessly wandered into the Warehouse District with her wagon full of toys, just poking around, not really expecting much.

[rebelscreams]

In the trees, Dante - a Dante, not the same one waiting at Jono's right now - followed her with interest. Another shadow of a hollow popped up not far from her, lingering for a few seconds.

He raised his rifle, pointed it at the thing-- but then it faded.

He lowered Spiral again. "Might want to watch your back down there," he called.

[that_oldsaying]

Alluka hadn't even noticed the thing, too busy pointing out a tree to Mr. Bubbles. They weren't sure what kind of tree it was.

She craned her neck to look up at... more trees.

"Nothing's hurt me yet," she said cheerfully. "Papa said it was dangerous but I haven't seen anything."

[rebelscreams]

"That's 'cause the bad things are still hiding, sweetheart," Dante said.

... and then to prove he wasn't one of them, he threw his legs over the edge of the branch, letting his feet dangle.

[soniaroadsqueen]

It was Wednesday. That meant Ringo had classes. Which, in turn, meant that she had to head out a bit earlier than usual if she wanted to get in a good ride before she had to be in said classes. So she was out in the cold, bundled up in a couple of layers, and humming happily as she slowly glided from the dorms toward the warehouse district.

The humming slowly trailed off as some instinct in the back of her brain began to sound quiet little warnings. Not imminent danger or anything, but something was, well, off. And she wasn't sure what.

[rebelscreams]

Now there was a familiar old face.

Dante's eyes jumped to Ringo, but they quickly slid away from her form as years of experience saw him looking for anything that might make things more dangerous for her.

He shifted on the branch, but said nothing.

[soniaroadsqueen]

Ringo slowed down as another instinctual warning told her that someone was watching her. Sort of. It didn't feel like a threat, but it wasn't something she felt very often on the island.

She found herself coming to a stop, turning a slow circle looking for whatever it was that was pinging her mental radar. Nothing on the ground, and none of the buildings within sight. Her eyes shifted to the treeline. Was there someone there?

"Hello?" she called a bit hesitantly.

[rebelscreams]

Dante... could have been helpful, yes.

But just because he'd changed didn't mean he'd changed all the way.

So he simply echoed her. "Hello."